Lenses for Contax IIa

[john6rat]

I have a couple of Contax IIa cameras and one Zeiss lens, a 50mm f1.5 and a Jupiter 8 for the other body. I would love to get a Zeiss wide angle - or even A Voigtlander - for the other body but I can't at the moment. Can the Jupiter 12 made to fit safely in a Contax IIa?

 

[xayraa33]

I have a couple of Contax IIa cameras and one Zeiss lens, a 50mm f1.5 and a Jupiter 8 for the other body. I would love to get a Zeiss wide angle - or even A Voigtlander - for the other body but I can't at the moment. Can the Jupiter 12 made to fit safely in a Contax IIa?

The J-12 and the pre war made Biogon are not recommended for the Contax IIa or IIIa.

They would be fine for the Contax II or III or their Kiev cousins .

 

[Cascadilla]

The J 12 and the pre-war Biogon it is derived from will not physically fit on a Contax IIa, unfortunately. In addition to the excellent post war Biogon and 35 mm Planar from Zeiss, there are also Nikon S mount lenses. I have a chrome Nikkor 3.5 cm f/2.5 who fits IIa/IIIa bodies and is quite good. The Nikon f/2.5 is probably the least expensive option unless you get a deal on a Voigtlander, which also has a good reputation. For a lot more money there is the legendary Nikon f/1.8.

 

[Gregm61]

At some point I want to pick up either a post war 35mm f2.8 Biogon or the 35mm f3.5 Planar to round-out my IIa outfit. With the exception of the 135mm f4 Sonnar, this has all been purchased from Henry Scherer. The IIa + 50mm f2 was purchased in 2014 and is in wonderful working condition.

 

[Hatchetman]

Wow, that's a nice set! I hesitate to spend on the 21mm and the 85mm as nobody can fix the camera if need be.

 

[markjwyatt]

I am having a blast with my Voigtlander SC Skopar 21mm f4; a Nikon rangefinder mount lens (Nikon copied the Contax mount with a minor difference which is fine with wide angle lenses), but has no issues mounted on the Contax. I use it significantly more than the Zeiss Optron 50mm f2 Sonnar.

 

[Bingley]

I am having a blast with my Voigtlander SC Skopar 21mm f4; a Nikon rangefinder mount lens (Nikon copied the Contax mount with a minor difference which is fine with wide angle lenses), but has no issues mounted on the Contax. I use it significantly more than the Zeiss Optron 50mm f2 Sonnar.

I have almost exactly the same set up, except I got the Voigtlander SC Skopar 25mm f4.0. I love the Opton Sonnar 50mm f2.0 lens.

 

[David Murphy]

Wow, that's a nice set! I hesitate to spend on the 21mm and the 85mm as nobody can fix the camera if need be.

Any competent camera tech can CLA a Contax at modest cost. The recent mystique concerning the difficulty of repairing these has been exaggerated to a ridiculous extent. There are hundreds of thousands of these cameras out there, many put their paces by professionals, and they were routinely serviced for decades.

 

[markjwyatt]

I have almost exactly the same set up, except I got the Voigtlander SC Skopar 25mm f4.0. I love the Opton Sonnar 50mm f2.0 lens.

I love the Sonnar also- rendering and contrast, but the 21mm fits my shooting style better.