Stripey Badger Posted February 22, 2021 Share #1 Posted February 22, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have a Leica M240 and four lenses I use for colour and a vintage (1958) Contax Rangefinder lla for B&W. The Zeiss Biogon 21mm f4.5 (1954 ) that I need to complete my Contax set keeps turning up on eBay and other sites as 'Leica fit.' Can it be restored to the original lens’s 'Contax RF fit' without too much hassle? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 22, 2021 Posted February 22, 2021 Hi Stripey Badger, Take a look here Leica M and Contax lla. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest JMF Posted February 22, 2021 Share #2 Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Stripey Badger said: I have a Leica M240 and four lenses I use for colour and a vintage (1958) Contax Rangefinder lla for B&W. The Zeiss Biogon 21mm f4.5 (1954 ) that I need to complete my Contax set keeps turning up on eBay and other sites as 'Leica fit.' Can it be restored to the original lens’s 'Contax RF fit' without too much hassle? Cannot answer your question but right now there are some in Contax RF mount available on eBay . Edited February 22, 2021 by JMF Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stripey Badger Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share #3 Posted February 22, 2021 Thanks for the reply. The trouble is the 21 Biogon is very rare (and expensive) in it’s original, 1939 and later 1954 state, for Contax lla. I come across lenses for the Contax G1 and 2 which are not compatible. Nor are the later Zeiss 21 Biogon f2.8s. There was an original going for $895 in the States but they say they don’t ship to the UK. I’m waiting for an answer why. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted February 23, 2021 Share #4 Posted February 23, 2021 If you can’t find an original try the more modern Voigtlander 21mm f4 in Contax/Nikon S mount. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/318274-leica-m-and-contax-lla/?do=findComment&comment=4147194'>More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted February 23, 2021 Share #5 Posted February 23, 2021 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/318274-leica-m-and-contax-lla/?do=findComment&comment=4147199'>More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted February 23, 2021 Share #6 Posted February 23, 2021 If buying the later Voigtlander lenses. I think I am correct that there are two versions, Contax and Nikon ones. Although they will fit on the other camera, the flange focal distance is slightly different so that the RF focus will not be perfect if fitted 'the wrong way round". You would probably get away with it with a lens as slow and wide as the 21/4. See here for explanation from Stephen Gandy. https://www.cameraquest.com/NRF-Contax.htm I have a Poste Restante address set up on eBay and Paypal with my daughter in Baltimore, MD for people like Cameraquest, who will not send to the UK. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted February 23, 2021 Share #7 Posted February 23, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) You may be right about two different versions, though I don’t think it makes any practical difference with a wide angle lens. see some info about those lenses https://cameraquest.com/nrfVClens.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted February 23, 2021 Share #8 Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) I have this same CV Color Skopar 21/4 lens in LTM and this, my second one is a good one. It usually sits on my Ig, as you can just set it to hyperfocal and use the combo as a point and shoot. The first CV21 was so de-centred it was wholly unusable and went straight back to the dealer in exchange for a Zeiss ZM 21 Biogon. A friend persuaded me many years ago to sell the Zeiss to him, as at the time, I had a WATE. I sold the WATE as I could not get on with the Frankenfinder. I now have the excellent 21-35 Vario-Elmar R, which works very well on my M10-R and a TT Artisans 21/1.5 for my film M's. What is a bit surprising is how much larger the Contax version of the 21 Color-Skopar, given that I am sure it uses the same optical cell as the LTM version. Wilson PS Does the CV 21 on the Contax focus the right way round (Leica style) or is it the reverse Contax/Nikon focusing?. My brain is so ossified into Leica RF focusing after 65 years of doing it, that I just cannot get my head round the reverse focusing on my lovely near mint Contax IIa with a 5cm/1.5 Opton Sonnar. My father could not live with it either, which is why the Contax is almost unused . Edited February 23, 2021 by wlaidlaw Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted February 23, 2021 Share #9 Posted February 23, 2021 The Nikon/Contax one focuses the opposite way to Leica. I guess Nikon copied Contax, but did Zeiss focus the opposite way to Leica just to be different or were they using that direction of turning before the Contax came out? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted February 23, 2021 Share #10 Posted February 23, 2021 8 hours ago, wlaidlaw said: 23 minutes ago, Pyrogallol said: The Nikon/Contax one focuses the opposite way to Leica. I guess Nikon copied Contax, but did Zeiss focus the opposite way to Leica just to be different or were they using that direction of turning before the Contax came out? I guess Zeiss could go either way even for Contax. The pre-war 18cm f2.8 Sonnar for the Flektoskop reflex housing focuses in the normal Contax direction. The post-war lenses for Flektoskop and Flektometer reflex housings focus in the Leica direction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted February 23, 2021 Share #11 Posted February 23, 2021 That last response was messed up with embedded quotes. Here is what it should look like. I guess Zeiss could go either way even for Contax. The pre-war 18cm f2.8 Sonnar for the Flektoskop reflex housing focuses in the normal Contax direction. The post-war lenses for Flektoskop and Flektometer reflex housing focus in the Leica direction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted February 23, 2021 Share #12 Posted February 23, 2021 My admittedly very vague memory from over 60 years ago focusing my father's post-war RF coupled Super Ikonta B, was that its focusing was the normal way round and if so, I suspect the Contax focus direction choice made in 1933/34, was arbitrary and not to be different from what they may have regarded as a "Johnny-come-lately" in the camera business, Leica. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.