Pre WWII Zeiss Contax Rangefinders vs Leica Barnack Screw Mounts

[Bill Jones]

I just got a call from a friend that is into photography, he says that there is a company call Fotodiox Inc over at Amazon that has such adapters,if any one checks it out please let us now I don't know what to look for, what is the name of the Contax mount, I know Leica is L39..

Jorge,

You did not say what Contax lens you want to use. The Fotodiox adapter only works with the 50mm lenses. Also it is inferior in general build quality to other adapters. Good adapters for multiple focal length lenses for Contax rangefinder lens tend to be expensive (US $200 and up) as they need a built-in precision focusing helix. The cheaper adapters work with digital live view focusing on digital cameras but not a Leica Barnack or M.

Bill

 

[Coldkennels]

I am chuckling at this discussion -- folks saying that they can load a Barnack while hiking (I understood that to mean, while moving), and then I find out "oh well, of course I've pre-trimmed the film leader." That's rather like saying you run the 100 meters faster than Usain Bolt, but fail to mention you have an 80 meter headstart. (Somewhere I have an ABLON clone, but the business card trick works really well for me.)

Late response, but this is a truly terrible analogy.

Pre-cut leaders are more like making sure you're wearing the right shoes and your laces are tied instead of getting a head start. Or, for another analogy, making sure your car has the right fuel in it and the tires are good before a drag race. I don't know why this is always bought up as such a major thing against the Barnack design - that's how leaders used to come when the cameras were new, and cutting the leaders in advance for use at a later date takes five seconds per film (if that). You don't even need an ABLON - just a good pair of scissors.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (nikkor 50mm f2) contax 1

Amsterdam, 2016

Erik.

 

[Shafovaloff]

If he had started off with a Contax I he would have given up.

OK so a certain Mr A Adams is said to have used one but I suspect it was a PR exercise by Zeiss USA.

My experience with Contax I and II has been great. If the cameras are serviced by experts the cameras are precision machines...even the Contax 1 e and f. Now I have no experience with the earlier designs but the later Contax 1 e and f... I would give a thumbs up.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (1934 nickel/black band sonnar 50mm f1.5) contax 1 (4) 1933

Amsterdam, 2023

Erik.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Say fellows ,can I use a Contax lens in a Barnack camera ? Do they make an adapter ?

Best to open a new thread and list the lenses and the body you want to adapt. Also- be sure your friend knows you want to adapt the Contax Rangefinder lenses from the 1930s-1950s, not the SLR or modern film camera.

 

[splitimageview]

Say fellows ,can I use a Contax lens in a Barnack camera ? Do they make an adapter ?

Quality adapters do *exist* that offer rf coupling. Getting ahold of one is another matter!

If you do a search, you'll find several kinds of adapters from Contax RF to Leica:

• rangefinder coupled
• uncoupled
• adapt to M mount
• adapt to screw mount
• custom designed helicals
• those that re-purpose helicals taken from Kiev cameras
• those that work only with internal mount 50mm lenses
• those that work with both internal and external mount lenses

Bear in mind there are a few lenses with large rear elements that can't be adapted because the rear of the lens physically conflicts with the rangefinder cam in the camera.

There really is only one adapter that is worth acquiring, the so-called Amedeo Adapter from @Amedeo Muscelli. @CameraQuest sells his adapters. Availability is spotty due to the challenge of manufacturing in Venezuela.

You may come across this Kipon but it's not only expensive, it's not recommended for multiple technical reasons.

I think there is a thread about this one, 50mm only. Comments on ebay seem positive but I've not used one.

Here is an Amedeo adapter on a IIIc with a Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5:

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5 1934) contax 1 v4

Amsterdam, 2023

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5 1934) contax 1 v4

Amsterdam, 2023

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5 uncoated) contax 1 v4

Studio of Henk Huig (Dutch painter) 2023

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5) contax 1 v4

café Linnaeusstraat Amsterdam 2023

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5) contax 1 v4 (1933)

Amstel 2023

Erik.

 

[jorgef2002]

Jorge,

You did not say what Contax lens you want to use. The Fotodiox adapter only works with the 50mm lenses. Also it is inferior in general build quality to other adapters. Good adapters for multiple focal length lenses for Contax rangefinder lens tend to be expensive (US $200 and up) as they need a built-in precision focusing helix. The cheaper adapters work with digital live view focusing on digital cameras but not a Leica Barnack or M.

Bill

Thank you Bill.

 

[jorgef2002]

Thank you gentlemen for the help, regards .

Jorge.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Gabor is correct that the Nikkor 50/1.5 and later 50/1.4 are indeed Sonnar type lenses and that the S-mount variant was changed to a Planar-derivate for the "Olympic" lenses.

However if memory serves, the Camus picture was taken in 1944 when Nikon was still producing war materiel for Japan and most likely not concerned with civilian lens production at all. I'm sure an expert like jonmanjiro could tell us more here.

Anyways, in 1944 these however still existed in Leica thread mount. Zeiss even made some in brass barrel and finish (heavy) for what I assume was civilian use:

And if you look at the two Camus shots I quickly googled up you can see that both the de-focus behavior as well as how the highlights and general contrast/detail rendition looks is a dead ringer for a (pre-war) Sonnar type.

Here:

If there is a Leitz lens that draws like that I'd like to know because then I'd like to also get my hands on one of those. 🙂

Cartier-Bresson also used - ca. 1951 - the Nikkor 50mm f1.5 on his Leica, see: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Interviews and Conversations 1951-1998, page 21.

Erik.

 

[raid]

Both brands of cameras were/are first class.
OK< now that we have said the important thing here, I can share with you my own experiences with Contax RF versus Leica LTM cameras. I have a Contax IIa and IIIa. I used the IIa a few times only. Eddy Smolov used to tell me that he knows each of 2000 parts of a Contax inside out, but this did not convince me to use my Contax cameras. Instead, I loved the Standard Leica's smooth shutter release and elegant design. So smooth and so "WOW" overall for me. Slap a Canon 19/3.5 on the Standard and shoot like a king!

I am not sure if my "review" above makes any sense, but I preferred the Leica line of LTM cameras.
I love the Zeiss Sonnar lenses.

 

[Scrambler]

The solution, surely, is to shoot a FED 2, and get all the features complained about in either camera 🙂 bar the focus wheel.

TBH, I have my Barnack Leica films set up ready to load with attached rewind spools, trimmed etc. I do it at home- no nett time saved but I don't need to interrupt taking photos for as long. Grabbing the old rewind spool out is the trickiest part of reloading. The new film drops straight in with the pre-attached rewind.

The rewind spools are ex-Soviet or genuine Leica.

The film canisters are Leica, or are reloadable 1930s made-for-Leica canisters. That eliminates the angle on the negative. And since I am reloading the film, I have to cut the leader. Making it longer doesn't add much time.

 

[Pioneer]

This thread was fun to read through again. Contax II or Leica IIIa doesn't matter. They are both great fun to use. With a bit of time to get familiar with either one, and practice your technique, you can become a very smooth operator with either of them.

 

[Erik van Straten]

When trying out prewar Zeiss/Contax lenses, the best thing you can do is to use a Nikon S2

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5 (1935)) nikon s2

Amsterdam 2023

Erik.