Contax IIa - Anyone have any repair experience?

cptrios

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Hi all,

Years ago, my 'uncle' gave me his grandfather's Contax IIa along with three lenses and the cool turret finder. It was really just a "here's an interesting thing for you to put on a shelf" gift, since he'll never shoot film again and I didn't start until last year. The other day, I thought I might actually shoot a roll with it as a surprise present for him, but sadly the shutter doesn't fire. So, a couple of questions:

- I do remember the shutter firing at some point in the past. Is there some quirk of the camera that I might have accidentally tripped that would make it not fire now? All I have at the moment is a click after winding.

- Is it at all feasible to repair this myself? I found a repair manual online that looks suitably complex and intimidating, but it might just be worth giving it a shot.

I figure, since even if it does get fixed its future is likely as a display piece 99% of the time (it's heavy for its size and I don't like shooting 35mm without a built-in meter), it's not even close to worth dropping $200+ on a CLA. So "you might be able to repair it, but you could end up screwing it up" is still a "yes" to me!
 

MattKing

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Others will know better than me, but what you have might be worth several hundreds of dollars if it was in working condition. Do you wish to risk that?
 

Kodachromeguy

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A Contax IIa and three lenses? This IS worth having cleaned and overhauled. It is a superb photographic machine. The lenses may be part of the original purchase, excellent provenance.
 
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cptrios

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MattKing said:
Others will know better than me, but what you have might be worth several hundreds of dollars if it was in working condition. Do you wish to risk that?
Click to expand...
Kodachromeguy said:
A Contax IIa and three lenses? This IS worth having cleaned and overhauled. It is a superb photographic machine. The lenses may be part of the original purchase, excellent provenance.
Click to expand...

I have no intention of selling any of it, since it has emotional value to someone. The lenses are the 35/2.8, which is the only one I've got here in my apartment, and I believe the 50/1.5 and one of the short teles (85 or 135 I'd guess. They're in my parents' house). I do remember the 50 having some haze, so I don't know how useful it is. If I might ask, what makes it such a nice system? I really know nothing about it.
 

GRHazelton

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These folks:
Advance Camera 8124 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy Portland, OR 97225 (503) 292-6996 Repair@advancecamera.com
did a really nice job on my Contax IIa. It wasn't especially cheap, but since my example was in really excellent condition I felt it was worth the expense.
As you have probably noticed the Contax makes contemporary cameras look like c**p in terms of fit and finish. Look up the Contax and its predecessors and you'll find that Contax back in the day was considered the camera for professionals, while the Leica was for amateurs. Contax lenses were among the very best. Many of the best known photos of the D Day landng at Normandy Beach were taken by Robert Capa with a Contax.
Please, don't even think of repairing it yourself! If you want to try camera repair visit a pawn shop and find a junker for a few dollars. The Contax IIa is NOT a beginner's learning project. A botched repair job could render it little more than a paper weight. As others have noted, with three lenses, the turret viewfinder and in good working order it would be a valuable item for display or using. As far as using it, you can a decent exposure meter for a reasonable cost from KEH or Adorama or B&H.
 

pthornto

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From my reading, the postwar Contax rangefinders are not easy to work on at all. The earlier ones can be serviced a bit easier (e.g. shutter ribbon replacement) but still not a straightforward job. The issue is that many critical parts needed to do things like adjust shutter tension etc. are not readily accessible and need quite a bit of disassembly. Definitely invest the money in having a professional service it.
 

reddesert

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Here's a sort of half-assed compromise suggestion: Lenses are actually kind of the expensive part of these systems and you already have them. So rather than try to service it yourself, which is going to be very difficult, since you have some nice lenses, find a body that works ok and takes the lenses.

That means a Kiev rf (can be hard to find one with a working shutter) or a Nikon rf, where your affordable option is the S. Not too hard to find a working Nikon S, as they used a simpler shutter than the Contax. The Nikon rf is slightly different from Contax, so it is said to be slightly off for the tele, but it should be okay for the wide-angle, and the normal lens except at the widest open aperture.

Then if you like the experience you can decide if you want to get the Contax serviced.
 

GRHazelton

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The Kiev will let you use all three Contax lenses. I picked one up in working condition with a 50mm lens and with the -inoperative - built in exposure meter ( I use a separate meter) for less than $100.00. The Nikon S and S2 use the same lens mount as the Contax, BUT the Nikon won't give accurate focus with lenses over 50mm. Have a look at Cameraquest.com for a good explanation. I have a Nikon S2, a really nice shooter. Its viewfinder is, frankly, better than the Contax IIa, bright, full size so you can keep both eyes open. It also has a rapid lever wind film advance and a rewind crank. The Nikon S2 doesn't have the jewel-like fit and finish of the Contax IIa, but it is really nice..
See this site http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?index-body.html.html~mainFrame for a users opinion of the Kiev 4a You'll also find a link to Ms Nakamura's thoughts on the Nikon S2. She notes that before the S2 the Nikon RF cameras exposed an image SMALLER than the "standard" 24 x 36mm. Could make getting prints made a little challenging. What was Nikon thinking??
Back to the Contax IIa. There are two "versions," the black dial and the later color dial. The color dial has several of the shutter speeds marked in color, and it has a conventional PC flash connector. The black dial, like mine, uses two different adaptors for flash, one for bulbs and one for electronic flash.. What a kludge! I did score the adaptor for electronic flash, but just be warned. I fear I may be turning into a camera collector! But, as my main man for used cameras says, "Photography is an expensive hobby. But... it is cheaper than car collecting, and cheaper and FAR safer than having a mistress!"
My suggestion. You mention that the 50mm has some haze. This may or may not have any effect on the image. Send the body and the lenses to a competent shop, spend the $300 or so for a good CLA. You'll have an outfit worth far more than the cost of a CLA. And if the tele is an 85mm f2, FAR, FAR more than the cost of a Cleaning, Lubrication, and Adjustment.
 

btaylor

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Send it out for a quality CLA. If you have the 85mm f2 the set could easily be worth $1500. Gus Lazzari restored my IIa- it took months and about $500 but it is a jewel. Well worth it!
 
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cptrios

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Yeah, looks like repairing it myself is way out of the question. I might go the "pick up a Kiev to try out the lenses" route. Thanks for all of the useful info folks!

Out of curiosity, how are the lenses? The 35/2.8 is probably the one I'd use the most.
 

btaylor

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In their day they were the finest lenses for 35mm you could buy. Excellent even by today’s standards. When I was looking for a 35mm 2.8 for my IIa a few years ago the going rate was about $600.
 

markjwyatt

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btaylor said:
In their day they were the finest lenses for 35mm you could buy. Excellent even by today’s standards. When I was looking for a 35mm 2.8 for my IIa a few years ago the going rate was about $600.
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I have the Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.8 Biogon, I love the rendering. There are three distinct versions for the post war cameras (there are articles but I cannot find a link), There is the Carl Zeiss , then there is a Zeiss Opton, and a third one (maybe also an Opton, but with "T" marking). I do not believe any of the ones marked Carl Zeiss Jena fit the post war camera. I think all the post war 35mm f2.8 Biogons are coated whether marked or not. How is yours marked? Note that all three versions are really the same lens, just different markings based on status of post-war tradermark lawsuits, etc. I think once Carl Zeiss won their trademark suit, they started marking "Carl Zeiss" instead of "Zeiss Opton".
 
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GRHazelton

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The only Zeiss lens I have for my Contax IIa is the 50mm f1.5, it is excellent, even by modern standards. Since I also have the Nikon S2 I bought the Voigtlander/Cosina 35mm f2.5 and the V/C 21mm. Both are excellent optically and beautifully made. Handy that the Nikon and Contax can share lenses shorter that 50mm.
 

Bill Burk

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I repaired my own but did not go below this deck (shutter was basically working but did not always fire.)

It is a very difficult operation and the guys who help you will chastise you for leaving any tool marks. So good tools and technique is important. A Dremel with some polishing tools is good too, because you will need to dress inevitable tool marks.

I lost one screw while polishing it, flew in the air and into the garden. I thought I was clever using a magnet to try to find it, but it was brass.

If you lift the wind knob up as you press the shutter release will it fire? If you use the self-timer will it fire?
 

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cptrios

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Ugh you're all making me start wanting to drop money to repair this thing. Thankfully it looks like most of the reputable service guys have huge backlogs, so it's not an immediate decision! I'm going to have my parents identify the two other lenses, but my 35 is the Carl Zeiss Biogon.

Which Kiev model should I go for? The Kiev-4?
 

GRHazelton

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IIRC the Kiev cameras without the meter - which probably won't work - are the ones with the "A" after the model number. See this for a breakdown: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Kiev_rangefinder#Kiev-2A
The unmetered models may cost more than the metered models. Note that some of the Kievs have proper PC flash connections, unlike my Contax IIa black dial. So the Soviets did make some improvements.
Again, cameraquest.com will give you much info on the various permutations of the Contax. They also offer repair services for the Contax IIa and IIIa. Not cheap!
 

markjwyatt

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Ross Yerkes in California CLA'd my Contax iia in 2018. Good service and fairly quick, not too expensive. I have heard someone say they had issues with him, but I have used him a few times in the last 3 years, and always got good results.
 

Michael Teresko

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If you decide to go the Kiev route, I would stick to domestic sellers like Fedka and Igor's Camera. I went through trying to get a working FSU camera, and have sworn off them. You will pay a premium buying from them, but they stand behind what they sell and the shipping costs are reasonable. I've bought a Kiev, two Zorkis, and a couple of Iskras, mostly on EB, and they all failed in relative short order. Oleg (OKVintage Camera) is reliable and honest and will address cameras he sells that have issues, but the return shipping from the US is ridiculous. My advice would be to save the money and aggravation, and just get the fine camera you have properly serviced.
 

Donald Qualls

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I have two Kiev 4 bodies (both with "working" meters -- which I don't use anyway; if I need a meter I use a hand held one or an app on my phone vs. trusting 50 year old selenium). One has a problem with frame overlaps, the other a slow shutter -- but I've spent less than $100 (not including shipping from Ukraine) on the pair, including a 50mm f/2 Jupiter-8 lens (Sonnar copy) on each. Unfortunately, despite my willingness to pay for a CLA, I haven't found a good-reputation repair shop in the USA that will touch these FSU cameras. The same is not true of your Contax, though good Contax repairs will not be quick or cheap (and the very best has a multi-year waiting list and "if you have to ask" pricing). I'd suggest inquiring with the shops referenced back up the thread -- be prepared to wait months before your camera even gets onto the workbench, though. Good repair technicians have all the work they have room and time for.

Even the Soviet copies of the (pre-War) Zeiss lenses for the Contax mount are very good. The actual Zeiss lenses are at least that good, and post-War ones have the advantage of several years of additional advances in glasses, as well as coatings.
 
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cptrios

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Has anyone bought from the seller "Sovdepia" on eBay? They have a ton of 4As available.
 

Don_ih

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I have a Kiev - it tears film, for some reason. And I mean tears it apart. It fits my Zeiss 50 1.5 perfectly, though, in terms of focus (many complain about FSU cameras and focus with the genuine (Zeiss and Leica) lenses). I fixed the shutter ribbons in my Contax - using pretty specious ribbon. It works..... I would never advise someone to fix such a camera, unless he has a boatload of experience with such things. 5 minutes will turn it to a pile of junk.
 

Donald Qualls

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Don Heisz said:
I have a Kiev - it tears film, for some reason. And I mean tears it apart.
Click to expand...

Yours has the exact opposite problem mine with the good shutter does -- my advance clutch is too loose, allowing the shutter to cock and advance to lock before it has actually advanced eight sprocket holes; yours is so tight that it's tearing up the film when the sprocket locks and the spool keeps pulling.
 

Don_ih

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Yes. I could fix it fairly easily but the shutter is a bit stiff, also. The whole inside of the camera needs to be cleaned and lubricated. It's just worth noting that very few Kiev cameras are likely to work properly straight out of the shipping box.
 
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