Contax IIa and IIIa
The Zeiss Ikon Model 563/24 was a complete redesign of the previous II/III cameras, and was sold by Zeiss Ikon from 1950 to 1961. Gone were the troublesome silk shutter straps; in their place were straps made of nylon; a flash synch was added; and the body's size and weight were reduced. Shutters where still garanted for 400 000 cycles. The same internal/external bayonet mount was kept. This line was an engineering and manufacturing tour de force, and is considered by many to be the finest camera ever made (ZeissIkonRolleiRepair.com). As with the II and III, the IIa was the base camera, and the IIIa had an added exposure meter attached on top of the camera. The shutter lammels where changed to duralalumnium, lighter and faster to start and stop. however they where thicker too. The old Biogon did not fit, som a new one was designed togeter with the new Biogon 21mm f 4, same as the famus 38mm i Hasselblad SWC, gave new perspectives to wide angel photograping. The superwide 15mm was build in a special camera body. Two basic variations of the IIa/IIIa were made: the so-called "black dial" and "color dial" cameras. The black dial cameras used a special flash synch cord for either flash bulbs or strobe flash. On the color dial cameras the ability to use the flash bulbs was eliminated; a P/C connector was added, and strobe synchronization was the only option. Where the Leicas of the day had only electronic flash synch at 1/25 second shutter speed, the Contax IIa/IIIa was synched at 1/50 and all slower speeds. On the later color dial cameras, the 1/50 marking on the shutter speed dial was painted chromate yellow, while the speeds of T, B, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 25 were black, and 100, 250, 500, and 1250 red.
The Contax IIa/IIIa ceased production in 1960 and was removed from the company catalog in 1961, replaced by the Contarex SLR. Ed Shoeneker, the owner of Hollywood Camera in Portland, Oregon from 1947 to the present, and a Zeiss dealer, described it thus: "We could not keep the Contax bodies and lenses on the shelf, people were buying all they could afford, and putting things they couldn't afford on lay-away. Then the new catalog came out, and the Contax was gone. No explanation at all. We were in shock. The camera that replaced it (the Contarex SLR) was a fine camera, but it cost so much more money, it never made the inroads into the market the Contax did, then we had to stop carrying the Contarex because they were too much money."
There is a great demand for good working examples of the IIa/IIIa, and they are highly prized by collectors and users alike. As user cameras, they are highly versatile, compact, easy to handle, and give many years of trouble free service. The range of lenses made over the very long period of time the lens mount was in use, adds to the usefulness of this design.
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