Pre WWII Zeiss Contax Rangefinders vs Leica Barnack Screw Mounts

gelatine silver print (hektor 50mm f2.5) leica II (1932)

Erik.

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Cool! It is the photographer who shines and not the camera. It should not make a big difference whether a Contax or a Leica was used.
 
raid said:
Cool! It is the photographer who shines and not the camera. It should not make a big difference whether a Contax or a Leica was used.
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I don't understand why nobody shows here a picture made with a prewar Contax to prove that the Contax is a better camera.

Erik.
 
Late May 2021, flower bed by my front door. Contax Ia AU80859 with 5cm Sonnar f2, CZJ 1398882, Fujicolor Superia 400. I think that this pic has the usual lower contrast of an uncoated lens.
 
another one from same camera and lens, shot at f2.8, I think. Point of focus is second stem from the left. Flower in question is a US milkweed called Asclepias incarnata. This pic is probably a bit over-exposed.
 
Mauna Kea, Hawaii 2006. Contax II with 1936 uncoated 3.5cm Biogon. I have posted other shots from this roll in the past. And yes, the sky really is that color at 13,000+ feet. Taken from road just below the observatories on top of the hill.
 
Great Wall, Badaling section, 2007. Call me a jerk, but I used my Contax II marked "for Manchukuo" and a CZJ 3.5cm Orthometar 2391772 for these pics. Shot most of a roll there, then went back to digital.

 
Erik van Straten said:
I don't understand why nobody shows here a picture made with a prewar Contax to prove that the Contax is a better camera.


Erik.
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Umm, I don't think that it is possible to prove that one camera is better than the others. It is just preference in my opinion. BTW, I only own one Leica, a IIIc stepper with red curtain that I bought because it had an LTM Sonnar on it. The shutter will move but is slow and the curtains have pinholes. I keep it around as historical curiosity.
 
Great shots with the Contax 1 with the f/2 Sonnar! This is the first time I see pictures with such an early Contax. However, I have the impression that the Contax without the long speeds is a more reliable camera than the later ones, less complicated.

I have such an IIIc too. With normal curtains it will be a good camera, but the red curtains are a bit special, so I leave it as it is.

Erik.
 
I have four Contax I cameras, but only one works as it should. I bought this camera (a v3) from Yves Maxence (if my spelling is right this time), a former executive who worked for the French importer of Leica. I recognized his name because Cartier-Bresson once sent him a thank you note that has become famous. It is my only Contax I camera that works flawless. The picture above is made with that camera.

Erik.
 
I have a Contax Ia, Ic and If. The Ic was overhauled in 2004 and works great, while the If has broken shutter tapes.
 
Contax II. I prefer the combined VF/RF over my Leica IIIa.











Eddy Smolov did the CLA on this camera.

I have ~10 Contax bodies between the II, III, IIa, and IIIa series. Fixed a IIIa myself that had a stuck shutter, the others sent to Eddy Smolov and another person that does mostly DIY and tutorials. I have one Contax II that is not operative, on the shelf. It was $100 with a Chrome nose Tessar 5cm F2.8. I also have a number of Leica III, (two) IIIa, (postwar) IIIc, and IIIf. Fixed a IIIa and a IIIc myself. They all work.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
Contax II. I prefer the combined VF/RF over my Leica IIIa.

Eddy Smolov did the CLA on this camera.
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I have a Kiev 4 with a light meter that still works. The camera works very well, but I do not like its ergonomics and I have problems with reading the shutter speed dial. The camera works however, even the light meter works. I'd prefer a Contax II or a Kiev without a light meter, but I really do not need one. I only play with my Contaxes and Kiev and use my Leicas for shooting.

gelatine silver print (nikkor h 50mm f2) contax 1

Erik.

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Nikki with her Heelies.



Moving fast. Contax II.

All of the meters in my Contax III and IIIa work, as well as the 1957 Kiev 3. I gave the Kiev a good cleaning and lube. Fixed a light leak in a Contax IIIa. Also did a CLA on an early Zorki that came with a rigid I-22, 1952.

I find it easier to track a subject with the combined VF/RF. I prefer my Nikon SP over the Contax RF's. Kind of like preferring the M3 over the Barnack Leicas. But that would be the subject of another thread.
 
Leica IIIa with Summar. I had Essex camera do the CLA on this camera.









I have a perfect-glass Summar, and a perfect-glass prewar 5cm F2 Sonnar. I've compared both on the M9 and M Monochrom. I also have a perfect glass Leitz Xenon and several perfect glass pre-war 5cm F1.5 Sonnars. I prefer the Sonnars.

I found a Black Leica III and a chrome IIIa, with Elmar and Summar, for $15 each in an antique store over 15 years ago. The IIIF with coated Elmar in a grab-bag at a camera store for $50. Remember when film cameras were being given away...
 
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