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First Rangefinder

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

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

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.
 

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.
 
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