Is this Contax IIa worth taking a gamble on?

[Gregm61]

I’m pretty sure very little Kiev parts will ever fit into a contax IIa.
Regards, Nathan

And then the world eBay market place is littered with yet another ruined Contax (who knows, this one may already be that- Kiev’s are based on the pre-war Contax..much different than the post-war Contax “A” series, making Kiev parts even WORSE) that the future new owner won’t realize, and the seller wom’t disclose...

Who buys a Contax IIa and is happy coming out of it with, in essence, a Kiev? Just buy 8-10 Kiev’s and hope someone can make you one decent camera.

 

[escuta]

Jesus christ, i'll leave you all to it. Thanks for the helpful messages earlier on in this thread. Enjoy your sunday, i suggest taking a little sun. Signing off

 

[RObert Budding]

“Contax” SLR’s were made by Yashica much, much later. Nowhere near the same thing.

You should probably assume the only thing you’re getting here that you may have long-term comrade is, the lens.

Unless the OP is referring to a Contarex or a Contaflex, both of which were made by Zeiss.

 

[nhchen]

And then the world eBay market place is littered with yet another ruined Contax (who knows, this one may already be that- Kiev’s are based on the pre-war Contax..much different than the post-war Contax “A” series, making Kiev parts even WORSE) that the future new owner won’t realize, and the seller wom’t disclose...

Who buys a Contax IIa and is happy coming out of it with, in essence, a Kiev? Just buy 8-10 Kiev’s and hope someone can make you one decent camera.

I would be interested in seeing a contax IIa with Kiev parts inside. Up until now I never realised the parts can be easily exchanged!😉

 

[Gregm61]

Unless the OP is referring to a Contarex or a Contaflex, both of which were made by Zeiss.

That would be even scarier if it was a leaf-shuttered Contaflex (LOL), but it does seem there’s not a lot of practical Contax knowledge expressed so far by the OP which, for someone looking to buy a Contax, is more likely to mean you wind up more with a frustraitingly non-operating body than one in good condition.

 

[Gregm61]

I would be interested in seeing a contax IIa with Kiev parts inside. Up until now I never realised the parts can be easily exchanged!😉

I would not assume it is easy, or that the resulting body will operate well, if at all, long-term.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I think that part of the problem is the way the camera models were named; in the 30's there was the original Contax, which became the Contax I as soon as the II appeared. And then in 1937 (perhaps) a version of the II with a built in meter appeared and it was called the Contax III. This is based on a 1930's Carl Zeiss catalogue I have in my collection.

The Kiev was, of course, originally the Contax assembled from Contax parts and so on in the USSR which morphed into the Kiev. Several RFF members have 1930's Contax II's repaired with early Kiev parts and seem very happy with them.

Regards, David

 

[santino]

The price is nice 🙂
But be warned: as others have already mentioned the iia is super complicated to repair (its in the same league with the Leicaflex SL).
Unless your repair person knows that camera you will waste your money (not on the lens off course).
The plain ii is a piece of cake to repair...

 

[Paul T.]

Jesus christ, i'll leave you all to it. Thanks for the helpful messages earlier on in this thread. Enjoy your sunday, i suggest taking a little sun. Signing off

Haha, sometimes it is possible to have too much information, and some people do over-think.

Good luck with the camera. I think that lens will be fine; many people get great results with them. The later versions are perhaps slightly better performance but can have their own problems (balsam separation).

The one thing I would notewith the IIa is that you can't fit the pre-war 35mm Biogon lens, as it's bulkier and hits the curtains, so if you want a 35mm look for the postwar Zeiss (expensive), the Nikon (less so) or the pretty good value Voigtlander.

Anyways, have fun, I have always wanted one of those cameras and I'm a little jealous.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

“Contax” SLR’s were made by Yashica much, much later. Nowhere near the same thing.

You should probably assume the only thing you’re getting here that you may have long-term comrade is, the lens.

NO, Yashica made some "CONTAX" badged cameras. The "Contax" SLRs were produced from circa 1948 in the former DDR. Did you seriously not know that?

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

That would be even scarier if it was a leaf-shuttered Contaflex (LOL), but it does seem there’s not a lot of practical Contax knowledge expressed so far by the OP which, for someone looking to buy a Contax, is more likely to mean you wind up more with a frustraitingly non-operating body than one in good condition.

There's nothing particularly scary about the insides of a Contaflex (SLR). In truth, apart from servicing the shutter and some meter cells dying, not much else typically goes wrong with them in most cases.
LOL.

 

[raid]

Ed Smolov used the be an expert on repairing Contax cameras. He once told me that he has to work with over 200 parts when he services a Contax camera.

 

[Gregm61]

There's nothing particularly scary about the insides of a Contaflex (SLR). In truth, apart from servicing the shutter and some meter cells dying, not much else typically goes wrong with them in most cases.
LOL.

No, it was the idea in the post before my response (I even quoted the line in my response) that someone might mistake a Contax for a Contaflex that was scary. Two entirely different types of cameras.

 

[Highway 61]

I would be interested in seeing a contax IIa with Kiev parts inside. Up until now I never realised the parts can be easily exchanged!😉

I had been thinking for long, like normal people, that no Kiev part could be used on a Contax IIa or IIIa but for some screws (including the front cover and top cover small screws) which are a perfect fit (and the Kiev screws are made of steel and very well made).

Yet some years ago I discovered that a broken back open/close key unit of a Contax IIIa could be repaired with a Kiev 4 parts set (for everything which is inside the camera back, not the key being outside the camera and folded back into the camera baseplate, because those Kiev and Zeiss parts aren't of the same size). See attached pics of the inside of this Contax IIIa back which I fixed with some Kiev 4 open/close parts (disc, washer and bolt). And this worked perfectly. On the second photo the original Zeiss parts (golden color) are on the right and the Kiev parts (matte grey color) are on the left. This is good news afterall because this is nothing which would lower any Contax IIa / IIIa value, and better having this repaired with Kiev parts than having to cannibalize a genuine IIa / IIIa back key unit.

AFAIK and from my own repair experience on many postwar Contax bodies this is really the only Kiev part which can be used with success to fix a Contax IIa / IIIa.
But, then, there is at least *one* part which can be used easily. Note : the Kiev donor has to be a late 4 or 4a model. Earlier Kiev bodies parts (II, III, 2a models) won't fit.

 

[NY_Dan]

Then we go to the Henry Scherer extreme, where he claims only he knows the real secrets of how to properly fix the Contax IIa or IIIa and if you go on his three year waiting list, say a prayer and pay him a hefty fee then you will have the great privilege of a Henry Schererized Contax IIa.


http://zeisscamera.com/about.shtml

Try 9-10 year waiting list!

 

[xayraa33]

Try 9-10 year waiting list!

Ridiculous !

By that time most Contax IIa and IIIa aficionados would have lost interest.. or have passed on to that big rangefinder in the sky.

Whilst the post war RF Contax models are not as numerous or popular as M Leicas, there are still some repair techs that actually have figured them out a while back, DAG comes to mind.

And even proficient no fame camera repair techs can become acquainted with them if they acquire a few parts post war Contax RF cameras to dissect if it is in their business and/or curiosity interest to do so.

 

[Highway 61]

Any amateur repairer reasonably skilled and owning some high quality small screwdrivers and tweezers can service a Contax IIa / IIIa thanks to the tech notes available out there. Rick Oleson's sketches and pics for instance are just perfect.

It's a matter of patience, logic, and careful method (drawing a lot during the process, taping and marking all small parts in a sheet of paper, etc). It's no rocket science.

This applies to cameras in need of service because they got dirty and gummed up over time but had been working properly at some point. Problematic IIa / IIIa bodies with shutters always travelling closed at high speeds in spite of the "full treatment" including ultrasonic cleaning of all shafts and relubing with the highest quality lubricants or which won't want to fire (especially the "color dial" models) aren't worth the time spent. They will never want to work properly.