Building up the kit

[PFMcFarland]

I won my Contax IIa on eBay a little more than four years ago. I thought the price was a steal compared to a Leica M. Then I started looking at extra lenses for it, and saw that's where the real money goes. Throw in the fact that the frame counter was not functioning right, and it wasn't a joy to use as a fixed lens model.

But I never gave up on it. I kept buying accessories as they were more affordable. And I eventually fixed the frame counter. But it still was basically like a 50mm fixed lens model. And I've got plenty of those, either having repaired, or awaiting repair. Which of course takes up my time I could be out photographing. And I'm interested in all types of cameras, and whether I can somewhat learn how to use them. So the Contax has been out of the rotation for a while.

Last weekend, I was up in DC for a camera show, and was there mostly to just buy odds and ends, like the Zeiss 861/0 adapter for the Contaflex I and II, or the #1 and #2 close up Nikkor lenses for the F in their original leather cases. Things like that go really cheap at a camera show. So I wasn't expecting to drop a bundle on a lens. But there it sat, all shiny and complete. As I turned it around, I saw the mark: 'C'. A Contax mount Nikkor! I couldn't pass it up at the "I'm trying to move this stuff" price the dealer gave me. So it came home with me, and maybe now I will start to use my IIa a bit more.


Zeiss Contax IIa with Nikkor-Q C f3.5/13.5cm ‘C’ by br1078phot, on Flickr
With hood reverse mounted and lens cap




Zeiss Contax IIa with Nikkor-Q C f3.5/13.5cm ‘C’ by br1078phot, on Flickr
Without hood




Zeiss Contax IIa with Nikkor-Q C f3.5/13.5cm ‘C’ by br1078phot, on Flickr
Left profile with hood, and 438 finder, showing ‘C’ Contax mount designator

PF

[Brian]

The Russian Jupiter-9 should also work on the Contax IIa, the Jupiter-12 will NOT work, nor will the pre-war Biogon. I had to fine-tune the shim on a J-9 to work best with the Contax, the Russian lenses/bodies were not as "standardized" as the German and Japanese lenses.

The Nikkor 8.5cm F2 "c" is also a fine lens, but cost more than the J-9.

[Santiago Montenegro]

Good find!

[PFMcFarland]

Thanks, Santiago.

I've researched the lenses available for the IIa, Brian. If I had only stopped with the Contax, and saved up, I probably would have a full kit by now. But I got sidetracked with all the wonderful little machines out there to discover, and have finally swung back on a course to complete it. But I'm not going to rush things, because that's what causes the GAS attacks.

PF