Leica IIIf vs Contax IIa

Bill

 

I use my Contax regularly. It's for use, not for admiration! The lenses are superb, and the camera has been completely reliable. It would be a shame to buy it for display and fondling.

Jimi, I agree with you completely about the Rollei 35. I bought a Rollei 35T within days of my arrival in Germany in 1979. I bought it with no preconceptions, and I found the camera extremely easy to use. I think I figured out how to operat it within minutes and never found it to be cumbersome.

 

I probably took about 50 or 60 rolls by the time it was lost in 1993.

 

One of the nicest cameras I've ever owned.<div></div>

Lynn, no offense taken! I had to re-read your post to figure what the insult would have been. :)

 

The advice to own both a Leica and a Contax is good. Just have to find a telephone booth and switch into my bankrobbing gear first... ;)

Thankyou all for your thoughtful and knowledgeable replys. The thought of buying a camera nearly as old as me is intimidating: the cost of repairs, finding parts when repairs are needed, frequent CLA's. I have a Nikkormat that I have been using for more than three decades and it has suffered the knocks and dings of adversity including a trip to the bottom of a rushing stream after the canoe it was riding in was capsized by my wife, with never a CLA in its long and useful life. It would probably make sense to follow the suggestion made in one of the replys and buy a Bessa R and 35mm; a real bargain to be sure. But there is just something about these old rangefinders; they have that special je ne sai quoi that is unobtainable in today's modern cameras except, perhaps, the Leica MP which cost a great deal more than I could ever justify spending on a camera. In short, they are simply drop-dead beautiful and we will never see their likes again. Maybe the new Zeiss-Ikon?.....Best, John

If you are leaning toward a Leica, also consider a Soviet FED or Zorki. There are numerous models. Zorkis certainly have their fans, but I happen to like FED 3s and 5s due to improvements over the Leica II/III series such as lever wind, removeable backs (no leader trimming), geometric shutter speeds 1-1/500+B and integrated viewfinder/rangefinder. The FED3 is quite aesthetically pleasing in its own right, if no Leica clone. The FED5 is unquestionably uglier but adds a hot shoe, rewind crank and sometimes an uncoupled selenium meter.

 

The Industar I-61 is usually an excellent normal lens, and its L/D variant is incrementally better. If you want something pocketable, bid on a collapsable Industar-10 or -22 which are Elmar clones.

 

Of course Soviet quality control had its good and bad days. The trick is to buy from a reliable dealer over there who tests, CLAs and guarantees, some of whom charge standard EBay prices, probably around $50 with shipping. Visit the Russian camera forum at www.beststuff.com for suggestions on good and bad dealers. With only a little luck you will end up with an excellent camera (if not quite a Leica) that you won't hesitate to take anywhere and everywhere.

The problem of guess-focusing with the Rollei 35 is that the distance markings are so obscure. It's only okay outside with the lens stopped down and lots of DOF.

I have a Contax II and Leica IIIc

I find that my Leica IIIc rangefcinder is much better than Contax II rangefinder, Leica IIIc rangefinder has brighter double image hence easier to use, Contax II

rangefiner double image is not bright enough

Rollei 35 is that the distance markings are so obscure. It's only okay outside with the lens stopped down and lots of DOF.

 

I don't agree, but you do have to be sure all the controls are set accurately (see A Boy and his Rollei 35). The white-on-black letters of the black model are easier.

 

The real problem these days is not which was theoretically best when it was new, but which ones will continue to function properly.

 

I prefer my Contax IIa to the Leica, but my camera's shutter went south.....

 

FEDs and Kievs have really proved more durable, if cruder and rougher, in my experience than their German originals.

I have the German ones too

I have them both, and considet the IIa the most beautiful camera ever made. Feature by feature it outperforms the Leica, and yet I prefer the IIIf when it comes down to actually photographing. I think that Zeiss cameras were designed by committee, whereas the Leicas were designed by potographers. Unfortunately, they're both severely dated and are far better as playtoys for admiration and fondling than for street use. If you're really going to buy one, then the repair situation of the Leica makes it the run-away choice.

"Play toys"? I have for four decades used a 3f for street use as well as an M-3. Both are excellent street shooters and not at all "play toys".

I favor Leica IIIf over Contax IIa, but love and admire both. Leica more reliable with age. Simpler mechanically.

As for complexity of repair on Contax IIa, which is of a different design than that in Contax and Contax II, the original manual for IIa simply advises any skilled repairman (not a Zeiss repairman).

I have Leica C, Leica F, and Contax IIa. Cutting tongue for loading Leicas not a problem. This is why God invented the Swiss Army knife. Contax uses the seperable camera bottom as in Nikon. That can also be an annoyance.

Leitz lenses were no match compared to Zeiss lenses during the period when these cameras were made. And of course Contax was much, much more expensive.

Both cameras have their charm, and I use both.

I have used both and found the CONTAX IIIa a bit harder to become accustomed to ergonomically while my 3F feels and is better handling especially for fast shooting. I loved my CONTAX however sold it in favor of my 3F.

At one point I owned both a Leica IIIf and Contax IIa. The IIIf is long gone, but the IIa and I have been partners for over three decades now. I get my LTM jollies out of a couple of canon bodies these days. Both have far superior rangefinder/viewfinder arrangements than the Leica had.

". Contax uses the separable camera bottom as in Nikon. That can also be an annoyance."

 

.. Umm I think Nikon got it from Contax :) I find both the Leica drop in and Contax drop the back, both cumbersome . I've loved the Leica size but frooled after the Contax... Will take either thank you :)