ZEISS CONTAX IIIA (Your opinions)

[Paola Marinangeli]

I use an M3 for 50mm and 90 mm and a Contax IIIa for 35mm. Just home from a 5-week trip to France, I find I shot 12 rolls in the Leica and 12 in the IIIa. As the trip went along I found myself going for the Contax more and more. The last four rolls I shot were all Contax. Now it could be that it was the wide lens I was going for, but that said, I did like using the smaller, lighter Contax a lot. It was my first RF, and I'm very comfortable with it.

Thanks a lot, Vics, for yr note. I have the 'fantastic' M3 as well and I do really love this camera , the idea to add a Contax to my collection is stronger than ever, and just looking some different proposals I have actually, as what I am looking for is a camera in very good mechanic conditions but also with a good cosmetic condition.

 

[ZeissFan]

Although there are a limited number of post-war lenses, I'm not sure why (collective) we seem to demand this never-ending supply of optics.

I am quite comfortable with a 35-50-135 kit. At times, I'll use the 21 instead of the 35 or an 85 instead of a 135.

In any case, the IIIa is an excellent camera, although the weight of the meter is noticeable. My preference for the black dial model is because the shutter is quieter than the color dial.

 

[Vics]

"...what I am looking for is a camera in very good mechanic conditions but also with a good cosmetic condition."

I think you'll find that most of themare in really good cosmetic condition, except for engravings and "Zeiss bumps" under the leather.

 

[Paola Marinangeli]

Finally I have my Contax

Finally I have my Contax

Dear Rangefinder forum friends,
finally I have my Contax IIIA with a beautiful Sonnar 1.5 - 5 cm lense. I am very happy because after an accurate search all over, I have found a beautiful camera in almost perfect aesthetic conditions and mechanic ones are also extremely good. Now I have to test the camera and enjoy the beauty of her fantastic design and lense quality. Let me introduce to all of you the latest addition to my Classic Cameras collection
Happy New Year to all of you
Paola

 

[Instantclassic]

Good luck with your new camera Paola. There is something special with that specific outfit. I often use Contax IIIa with Sonnar 5cm 1.5 myself.

 

[sevo]

Welcome to the club... 😉

 

[mob81]

Pretty one indeed.

Welcome to the club. I first hated it, but After using a bit more I fell in love with it "My wife hates it and call it my Daughter!!!"

 

[raid]

My two main rangefinders are an M3 and a Contax IIA. Both are in excellent but used condition, however the Contax IIA is more compact, better finished, more refined and in my opinion the most beautiful of the classic rangefinders. Having said that, the M3 is a much more 'user friendly' camera, especially the viewfinder. It is much bigger, brighter and easier to compose and focus with.

If you're a collector and can afford to own a camera to admire and use occasionally, then you owe it to yourself to get a Contax IIa or IIIa (prefer the IIa because the meter make the camera bulkier and less 'pretty').

I agree with you; I also have a Contax IIa and a Leica M3 as mile stones in the history of Zeiss and Leica cameras.

 

[Santafecino]

Just a detail--maybe more than that--I have a Kiev 2 and Kiev 3a and lenses of 35, 50, 85, and 135mm. So I have a couple of those Russian turret viewfinders (copies of Zeiss). I found, after pretty careful testing, that the parallax compensation on the finders works with the Kiev 3a, where the finder sits in a shoe on top of the meter. It overcompensates on the Kiev 2, where the finder sits lower (no meter) and closer to the lens axis. I would expect this to be true also with Contax IIa and IIIa. So--go ahead and get the Kiev lenses for your Contax IIIa and use the Russian finder.

 

[darkkavenger]

Hello Paola,

I've been a long-time Kiev-2 user, I own a Contax III and a Contax IIIa, both are fully functional including the lightmeter and I have never found them ugly or impractical whatsoever. I wish you to enjoy the camera you will choose for a long time!

 

[Paola Marinangeli]

Thanks a lot Max, I have found this beautiful camera easy to use, I would say...users' friendly! I like the way to focus with that little wheel instead of rotating the lense, the lightmeter is working perfectly on my Contax too, and the quality of its Sonnar 1.5 is fantastic. I shot only one roll up to now and the result is very very good, I like this lense very much and just for fun, I did an experiment shooting the same composition with the Contax and its Sonnar and the Leica M3 and the Elmar 50 mm, now I have to compare the negatives and then the prints to see the differences between these two fantastic cameras and lenses but I have to tell you (pls note that I am a LEICA LOVER AND FAN) that this Sonnar 1.5 - 50 mm on the fantastic Contax is not absolutely NOT inferior to Leica plus Elmar.
Paola

 

[darkkavenger]

I did an experiment shooting the same composition with the Contax and its Sonnar and the Leica M3 and the Elmar 50 mm, now I have to compare the negatives and then the prints to see the differences between these two fantastic cameras and lenses but I have to tell you (pls note that I am a LEICA LOVER AND FAN) that this Sonnar 1.5 - 50 mm on the fantastic Contax is not absolutely NOT inferior to Leica plus Elmar.
Paola

Ciao Paola,

I too believe that the Sonnar 1.5 is an exquisite lens, probably one of the best 50mm lenses ever (pls note that I am a ZEISS lover and fan 😀)

I'm glad to hear you enjoy it, I like to think of Zeiss cameras not as cameras but as high-tech precision tools 🙂

Buona sera e buone fotografie!
Max