Diopter Lens for Contax IIa or IIIa

[aoresteen]

Last Feb I took my Contax IIa to San Juan for a vacation. I had a bit of trouble looking through the finder as I need a +2 diopter to see and I don't like using my glasses. Since I have diopter lenses for my Leica M camersa that screw in, I thought that an adapter would work. I sent my IIa to SK Grimes with a Leica diopter and asked them to make an adapter.

I got my IIa back from SK Grimes and they were able to make a nice adapter so I can now use Leica M diopter lenses on my Contax IIa. I can SEE again!!!!!!!! Cheers to the lads at SK Grimes!

Here's the IIa eyepiece:

Here are the adapter and the Leica diopter M 1.5:

Here's the adapter in place:

Here's the diopter mounted on the IIa:

A side view of the adapter:

The cost was a very resonable $65 from SK Grimes.

www.skgrimes.com

Leica M diopters are $100 new from B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/30071-REG/Leica_14353_2_0_M_Diopter.html

They pop up on eBay once in a while.

Overal this is a great mod if you need diopter correction for your IIa or IIIa cameras. I can really see clearly now!

 

[BokehBurgher]

Hello, thanks for sharing. Do you know if its possible to order an adjustable diopter for the IIIa? I would like to do that and install it myself. I would also like to know if there is an enlarger that can be attached to the back of the camera, over the viewfinder, so that the image can be enlarged. Coming from the SLR world where they viewfinder image sometimes seems to be the size of an IMAX screen when compared to a rangefinder.

 

[aoresteen]

I have no idea where one would get an adjustable diopter. If you can find one for another camera you might be able to adapt it.

 

[elekm]

That's a great accessory for a reasonable price, considering that it's a one-off.

 

[thuggins]

SK Grimes does great work and I would highly recommend them.

As I have an astigmatism, a diopter won't do the trick. For my OM's I got an eyecup and cut a piece to fit from an old eyeglass lens, using a dremel tool. It works great without the inconveniece of wearing glasses to look thru the viewfinder.

 

[Frank53]

If anyone is still interested:
I’m using a diopter lens on most camera’s I use (olympus om-4, hasselblad), but never found anything for my Contax camera’s, which made focussing a bit difficult, it works, but takes some time.
On ebay I saw cosina diopter lenses for some Bessa rangefinders. I knew they were too large, but thought there might be some solution, so I ordered one in my strength. This is the solution I found: I glued a metal ring over the finder opening and on that I glued the diopter lens. It fits perfectly and the rangefinder spot is sharp as it should be.
Regards,
Frank