Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa rangefinder camera

[JDMvW]

My point concerned bodies, not lenses.

 

Yes and mine concerned both, NTIM

[john_h_osterholm]

I am new to this section of Photo-Net so please allow me to jump in. I am no stranger to RF cameras - my first were a Leica M4 and a Leica M2R back in 1970, bought at Olden Camera in NYC. I owned a nice Contax IIa several years but let it go. I just recently bought a Kiev 4A, made in 1960, mostly out of curiosity. I unfortunately have to wait to use it as I am having surgery on Monday. I am looking at buying. What do I look for in buying a Contax IIA? There are several from Japanese dealers with prices less than others. Do any of you have a Contax IIA on the market? I hope to sell a Leica R 28mm f2.8 which will help fund something else. This is the Kiev I bought. Thank you for reading. John - Albany, Oregon

[ray .]

There's a great picture of Robert Frank holding a Contax when he was young and good looking, working for whatever ad agency it was. The camera looks cool with him holding it, but when I look at them on ebay they just look kind of clunky to me. I'm probably wrong about that, but don't tell me if I am or explain why, because I don't need any more cameras!

[AJG]

The Contax is certainly a bit clunky in some ways compared to a modern DSLR, but there is a logic to it once you get used to it. The superb lenses make up for the less than swift operation.