Vintage Camera Identification Need Help Please

[Chris99460]

Hi,

I recently purchased this Zeiss Ikon camera for $10 at an estate sale. The woman that owned it was from Germany who recently passed. The camera says made in Stuttgart Germany. The serial on the top is S 21794. The camera seems to function great. The lens is a Carl Zeiss Jema Nr. 2877011 Sonnar 1.5 f=5cm.

The model on front say Contax.

Can anyone please tell me what I have, what year is it, and anything else that may be of importance.

What is a value of this camera?


Pictures:
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080372.jpg
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080379.jpg
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080382.jpg
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080380.jpg
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080370.jpg
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd497/Chris99460/P1080376.jpg

Thanks,

Chris

 

[BlairWright]

Contax is the brand not the model, that looks like a IIIa. If it's a 3A, in that condition (pending ono fungus in the lens or major issues and solely based on your pictures) it's worth around 300 dollars so you made a pretty wise decision. In excellent shape they sell for around 700.

 

[BlairWright]

ooh, one more thing.. The "Carl Zeiss Jena" on the lens means it's pre 1945. Jena is the name of the city (in Germany) the lens was produced.

Back in the day, Contax was direct competition to Leica; they had a pretty good rivalry but lost in the end.

 

[Chris99460]

Hi Blair,

Thanks for your response. Is there a way to verify if it is a 3a or a 2 or 2a? Do you know where I could cross reference the serial to get an exact identity? Thanks!

 

[Chris99460]

Ok, I found this information on the net:


Contax IIa, mechanical sync (DOES MECHANICAL SYNC REFER TO THE SERIAL ON THE UPPER TOP WHERE STUGGART GERMANY IS WRITTEN?)

Letter, Serial Number, Production date
P, 97,001-100,000, 11/1949 to 6/1950
S, 20,001-28,000, 7/1950 to 4/1951
T, 5,001-9,000, 3/1951 to 7/1951
T, 28,001-35,000, 8/1951 to 12/1951
U, 1-5,000, 1/1952 to 5/1952
V, 15,001-20,000, 7/1952 to 8/1952
X, 1-3,000, 9/1952 to 10/1952
Y, 57,001-62,001, 11/1952 to 3/1953
A, 43,001-46,001, 4/1953 to 10/1953


Since my camera's serial is S 21794, does that make it a 2a from 1950? Thanks for verification anyone.

 

[wiensud]

Hi there. You have Contax IIa from 1950/51 as you correctly found out.

The lens seems to be a very late war production Sonnar 1.5/50 from approx. 1942 (does it have red "T" sign on the front?). Your camera model is so called "black dial" Contax as oppose to "color dial" which has classic pc sync connection. Yours has mechanical PC sync socket and requires an additional cable in order to be used with flash.

Pretty nice find BTW, the CLA will cost you another $150-200 probably but still it was a good deal no doubt.

And depending on condition of the body and lens it's worth anywhere from $200 to $400 I guess.

Ok, I found this information on the net:


Contax IIa, mechanical sync (DOES MECHANICAL SYNC REFER TO THE SERIAL ON THE UPPER TOP WHERE STUGGART GERMANY IS WRITTEN?)

Letter, Serial Number, Production date
P, 97,001-100,000, 11/1949 to 6/1950
S, 20,001-28,000, 7/1950 to 4/1951
T, 5,001-9,000, 3/1951 to 7/1951
T, 28,001-35,000, 8/1951 to 12/1951
U, 1-5,000, 1/1952 to 5/1952
V, 15,001-20,000, 7/1952 to 8/1952
X, 1-3,000, 9/1952 to 10/1952
Y, 57,001-62,001, 11/1952 to 3/1953
A, 43,001-46,001, 4/1953 to 10/1953


Since my camera's serial is S 21794, does that make it a 2a from 1950? Thanks for verification anyone.