Diax IIb
John Wade looks at this extremely versatile 35mm rangefinder
LAUNCHED 1956
PRICE AT LAUNCH Approximately £27
GUIDE PRICE NOW £50-70
UK IMPORT restrictions made German Diax cameras difficult to buy in the 1950s, but if you want a classic 35mm rangefinder camera today and can’t afford a Leica, consider the Diax IIb.
The first Diax in 1947 was a simple viewfinder camera. Among those that followed some had fixed lenses and rangefinders, others had interchangeable lenses and no rangefinders, some had knob film wind, others had lever wind. It all culminated in the Diax IIb, which had the lot: rangefinder, interchangeable lenses and lever wind.
There’s a choice of six lenses, which conveniently all use the same size filter thread but fit to the body in an unusual way. The body has a male thread and the lens has a female thread. They are placed together and a ring around the lens is turned to secure the connection. The camera has two viewfinders built in, for 50mm and 85-90mm lenses, but a range of accessory viewfinders is also available to slot into the accessory shoe.
For close-up work, the camera can be equipped with a proximeter containing two lenses. A circular close-up lens fits to the camera lens and, attached above this, another rectangular lens stands in front of the rangefinder windows. This deflects light, converting the rangefinder for close-focusing while correcting parallax.
Other accessories, made by Diax and independent manufacturers, include a lens hood, filters, viewfinders, measuring tape for close-ups, copying stand and a bellows attachment incorporating a mirror system that converts the camera into a close-focusing single lens reflex.
What’s good Solid German workmanship, compact size and comprehensive range of easy-to-find accessory lenses.
What’s bad Rather small built-in viewfinders and unexpectedly heavy for its size.