Viewfinders for Contax II w Jupiter 11 and More

[stoutstuff]

Wondering what is being used for optional viewfinders? Have a Jupiter 11 135mm coming for my Contax II. Was looking at a KMZ Turret but it is one with the elements angled to the left. Will this work and have sufficient clearance for the rewind knob? I believe the Kiev/Contax is angled to the right.
Also looking at a vintage Canon 135mm viewfinder that actually looks more convenient and less bulky. What are your experiences??? Thank You

 

[dexdog]

My favorite RF camera is a Contax II. I have a few of the Contax and Kiev turret finders, but rarely use them because they are bulky as you point out. I have used any number of individual focal length finders, brand does not matter, as long as you can see OK out of them. The old canon finders are pretty nice and generally not too expensive. I do not think that the Kiev finders interfere with rewind knob.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Plenty of clearance of the Kiev Turret finder on my Contax II and III.

Should not be a problem.

 

[xayraa33]

Wondering what is being used for optional viewfinders? Have a Jupiter 11 135mm coming for my Contax II. Was looking at a KMZ Turret but it is one with the elements angled to the left. Will this work and have sufficient clearance for the rewind knob? I believe the Kiev/Contax is angled to the right.
Also looking at a vintage Canon 135mm viewfinder that actually looks more convenient and less bulky. What are your experiences??? Thank You

Was not the KMZ turret finder angled so it can be used on the Kiev RF camera AND on Zorki or Fed cameras without blocking access to their rotating shutter speed dials?

The very few times I used a 135mm lens on an RF camera with no built in 135mm lens frame line like the Leica M3 has...then I used a Leitz VIOOH Imarect finder.

 

[markjwyatt]

I have a Nikon zoom finder (the only finder I have that supports the Nikkor P.C 105mm f2.5, Contax mount), an older Zeiss turret (9439), and one individual one for the SC Skopar 21mm f4. I almost always use a viewfinder, even for 50mm. The Skopar one is by far the nicest (brightline, and really nice view). Both of the others cover 135mm. The Nikon has a slider on the back for parallax corrections. The Zeiss finder has multiple settings for each lens to cover parallax correction.

 

[stoutstuff]

Great Resources - Thanks!

 

[RJ-]

Love the Contax II, despite the recurrent services it requires from heavy use!

The Leica VIOOH variable viewfinder with parallax correction works well - this is the one I've been using.

I'm afraid I've not found 135mm very easy to use - any instability transmits more wildly across the zoomed in compositional frame.

The Braun multiviewfinder is a great alternative too - the glass holds up well - perhaps better than the Leica VIOOH which requires disassembling and cleaning. They are practical and affordable too - here's an example of one:

 

[nhchen]

I’ve got a zeiss mask finder for a contax III that goes in the accessory shoe and covers the main viewfinder. It can be used for 85mm and 135mm. It’s 544/7 for the Contax III and 543/7 for contax II.
Nathan

 

[Cascadilla]

My favorite for 135 on a Contax is the post war #440 finder which also has 21,35,50 and 85 mm settings. It has diopter correction as well as accurate parallax compensation as long as you remember to set it to the distance that you have focused with the rangefinder.

 

[jgrainger]

I'm a fan of the finder mask for 85 and 135mm lenses - allows rangefinder focusing while shooting, but at the expense of finder magnification.

 

[mpaniagua]

Using this:

It is indeed more centered than soviet turrent one, but I don't think it would make much of a difference.