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Kamerastore Digital Database

Contax II - Camera

Contax II - Camera

Manual focus Contax/Kiev mount 35mm rangefinder released by Zeiss Ikon in 1936. This version has no light meter. Metal body made in silver.

  • Shutter: Vertical metal focal plane, 1/2s - 1/1250s + B
  • Minimum focus distance: 1m (using internal focus helicoid)
  • Size: 139 x 86 x 45 mm
  • Weight: 602g
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Contax/Kiev

After Leica’s success with their 35mm rangefinder cameras, optical manufacturer Carl Zeiss wanted a piece of the pie. They introduced their Contax rangefinder in 1932, immediately making themselves the leaders in photographic technology in Germany.

The Contax rangefinders featured a combined rangefinder/viewfinder decades before Leica competitors, and also featured a vertical metal focal plane shutter decades before this would become standard. Contax rangefinders also feature a dual bayonet lens system with an internal and external bayonet for different focal lengths.

After World War II, the Soviet Union seized the Zeiss Ikon plants in Dresden as well as Leica factories. They began to produce their own versions of the popular Leica and Contax rangefinders with looser machining tolerances. The Contax rangefinders were replicated in Kiev, Ukraine.

Because of this, there are many Soviet lenses available for the system on top of offerings from German companies like Carl Zeiss, Hugo Meyer, Schneider-Kreuznach, and Voigtländer.


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Contax II - Camera Availability & Price History
Date Sold SKU Quality Control Price Image
09 Feb 2024 T61961 € 282 Contax II - Camera Image
05 Jan 2024 T60000 € 51 Contax II - Camera Image
05 Jan 2024 T60002 € 55 Contax II - Camera Image
05 Jan 2024 T60001 € 59 Contax II - Camera Image
14 Nov 2023 E19710 € 75 Contax II - Camera Image
03 Oct 2023 T53505 € 50 Contax II - Camera Image
20 Apr 2023 T41158 € 77 Contax II - Camera Image
24 Jan 2023 T36154 € 55 Contax II - Camera Image
19 Mar 2022 T13220 € 55 Contax II - Camera Image