First Rangefinder

E. von Hoegh · Jan 4, 2018

btaylor said:
Good point, the Jupiter 12 (35mm) will not fit. I recall now that that was one reason I bought the Kiev-- the later Zeiss 35mm lens alone that fits the Contax IIa/IIIa easily cost 4 to 5 times as much as a nice Kiev with Jupiter 12!

Yes, and the J-12 is no slouch of a lens. I've used both pre- and postwar and prefer the prewar Contax/Kiev for it's rangefinder, reliability, better cold weather performance, and ability to mount all lenses. I know it sounds odd to use "Kiev" and "reliable" in the same sentence, but a good one really is reliable.

blockend · Jan 4, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
the J-12 is no slouch of a lens.

The J-12 renders beautifully, while flaring more than any other lens I've used. It's the only thing that stops it being permanent fixed to my Kiev. Keep it away from the sun and it's a peach.

btaylor · Jan 4, 2018

The earlier Kiev (early '60's) I had serviced was reliable. Really good mechanical and optical performance. The performance of those Russian rangefinders can be amazing for the few dollars they cost for a full kit, cameras and lenses. The Contax IIa service was 2x or more the cost of a nice Kiev, 3 lenses and a service-- and it doesn't take better pictures than a good Kiev!

Ko.Fe. · Jan 4, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
The Jupiter 12 will not fit the postwar Contax IIa and IIIa. The shutter in the postwar Contax is good, as long as it's clean and properly lubricated, it's also the most complicated 35mm shutter I've ever seen; the prewar Contax/Kiev shutter is the second most complicated.

Now I know why this Contax IIa which I was holding in my hands was with 50mm lens.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 5, 2018

Ko.Fe. said:
Now I know why this Contax IIa which I was holding in my hands was with 50mm lens.

50mm was the kit lens - also the least expensive in the f:2 iteration, it's what they came with unless the buyer chose otherwise. All the tooling for the prewar Biogon 35/2.8 went east to Kiev Arsenal and a new 35/2.8 Biogon was designed for the postwar Contax.

smith931 · Jan 18, 2018

I have a Contax G1 and I bought it a few years ago. This is one of my favorite camera, very intuitive to operate. It has acceptable autofocus lens and pretty accurate metering. I think you can try this one.

guangong · Jan 18, 2018

btaylor said:
I don't often agree with Ko.Fe., but the Contax IIa is a joy to hold compared to my Kievs. If the Zeiss lenses are too expensive, the Jupiter FSU lenses can be a terrific and fit perfectly. A downside however are the service costs: there are few who are qualified to work on them and they're expensive.

My original user’s manual that came with my Contax IIa is interesting in that unlike so many others there is no advice to send camera to factory authorized service but only to qualified repairman. Sent my cameras to highly recommended repairman who fixed my Medalist. IIa shutter has a very good reputation for being robust without weakness of aging silk tapes.
Very tough well made cameras accompanied by excellent lenses, and although I like to use mine, they are not as ergonomic as the various Leica III models.

narsuitus · Jan 18, 2018

Here are the four rangefinders I used and liked.

Argus C3 with 50mm f/3.5

Contax G1 with 45mm f/2

Canon Canonet with 40mm f/1.7

Leica M6 with 35mm f/1.4

35mm Rangefinders by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Ko.Fe. · Jan 18, 2018

guangong said:
My original user’s manual that came with my Contax IIa is interesting in that unlike so many others there is no advice to send camera to factory authorized service but only to qualified repairman. Sent my cameras to highly recommended repairman who fixed my Medalist. IIa shutter has a very good reputation for being robust without weakness of aging silk tapes.
Very tough well made cameras accompanied by excellent lenses, and although I like to use mine, they are not as ergonomic as the various Leica III models.

The Contax IIa I was holding in my hands was serviced to make it works again by the owner. I knew about few more IIa and IIIa owners who serviced by themselves. All speeds are working and RF is aligned as well.

BMbikerider · Jan 19, 2018

JADoss23 said:
Been shooting film for awhile now and after hanging out with a friend last night who had a Contax G1 I decided that I wanted to look for a rangefinder. My main camera is a Nikon F3 and have a few point and shoots but thought would be nice to have something in between. Looking for something more budget friendly but also reliable and and great quality. Right now the Bessa R and Contax G1 are leading the race but was curious if there are other cameras I should look at? Any advice on choosing between the Bessa or contax? thanks !

Be careful if you are buying a Contax G1. They had auto focus issues with additional lenses which was corrected with the G2model. I believe it was possible to get the auto focus corrected on the G1, but I doubt if they were all done and it may prove difficult to get it done now. It was something to do with the point of auto focus not being correctly placed in the viewfinder or something similar so the lens was focusing on another point which may not have been in the same plane. If you can find a good one they are very, very good.

First Rangefinder

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