Contarex
Encyclopedia
Zeiss Ikon was the result of several German lens and camera manufacturers joining forces in 1926 to survive the depression in Germany during the 1920s. ZI made extremely fine and expensive cameras during the 1930s, some also with an interchangeable lens, culminating in 1935 with the 35mm Twin-Lens Reflex (TLR)
Contaflex camera that has an oversized reflex finder in order to make it suitable for the small 35mm cine film format. In 1932, ZI had launched the well made and complex 35mm rangefinder (RF) Contax, both useful only for a limited range of focal length lenses, neither solving the design problems using the small 35mm film format. Nor was the new Ihagee
Kine Exakta
, launched in 1936, that employed the single lens reflex (SLR)
concept perfect; its waist-level finder image was reversed. The solution that the opticians at ZI eventually devised for this inconvenience was a complex finder prism (pentaprism
) placed just above the focusing screen
that provided a right way round magnified eyelevel finder image.
However, it was first in 1949 that the East German ZI 35mm SLR
Contax S
from Dresden was shown with a pentaprism finder. This was a novel design, but quite poorly executed due to lack of quality in work and materials. In the mean time, ZI had relocated itself to Stuttgart, West Germany, starting from scratch. From here appeared in 1953 the 35mm Contaflex SLR
employing a fixed lens set in a Synchro-Compur reflex leaf shutter
. At the time very few amateur photographers even considered buying a second lens and ZI felt assured that the reliable and easily manufactured, yet complex, leaf shuttered reflex camera would become a popular concept that could be realised quickly. But in order to provide a professional 35mm SLR camera work on a much more ambitious project had begun, the Contarex.
camera first shown in 1958. It was Zeiss Ikon's contribution to the professional photographer, designed to handle any photographic task what so ever. It is extremely heavy and beautifully made, but it weighs almost net 1.2 kg, and the build is so complicated that it requires a skilled person even for the simplest repair. Even the simplest function is designed seemingly with a maximum of component parts. The mechanism involved rewinding the film into its cassette has two gear trains and three axles in order to avoid the internal meter movement. Still, the gear is subject to wear due to insufficient axle support.
The ZI, closely associated with the renowned Carl Zeiss
lenses, was once the world's largest camera maker. Despite the fact that the Contarex cameras never sold in any appreciable quantity, a huge selection of lenses and accessories were made available, including the Contarex Special and the fixed wide-angle lens Contarex Hologon cameras. However, just a little more than ten years after the its introduction, both the camera and the manufacturer were history.
The first Contarex was generally available in 1959, the same year as the Nikon F
and Canon Canonflex
35mm SLR cameras appeared. However, the Contarex came with a built-in external exposure meter, and it was coupled both to the aperture wheel by means of an aperture simulator, as well as to the shutter and film speed settings. In just a few years 35mm SLR Through-The-Lens (TTL)
full aperture metering was introduced on the Topcon RE-Super
and the race was on.
is set using the aperture wheel to the right on the front and read off a scale on top of the camera in front of the accessory shoe. There is no aperture ring on the Contarex lenses. The shutter speed dial is at the hub of the wind-on lever. The wind lever is short, and the load increases noticeably for the last third of the 180° travel, from the point the mirror and lens iris joins the cocking operation. The shutter release at the top of it, is rough and difficult to press smoothly. It is surrounded by a rotating frame-counter dial. A serrated black index ring must be turned to the red mark on the dial when film is loaded, or to the frame number shown on the film magazine frame-counter if that is loaded. The rewind knob is at the left-hand camera top. The rewind release is engaged by turning the right-hand camera-back lock-key at the base a bit. It is marked "R". The dial surrounding the rewind knob is a film reminder with three film-type indexes, one of these are set against tiny numbers on the edge of the rewind knob, assisted by a tiny stud at the dial. The large serrated outer knob is for easier camera grip. It does not rotate. On the front of the camera is on the left-hand side the sync. contact and the lens release button. On the right-hand side is a small self-timer
lever. It is released by the shutter release.
The shutter speed dial has speeds engraved in thin numbers from 1 through 1000 and a green B on the rim of the serrated chrome dial. The speed is set against a protruding black triangle on the edge of the wind lever. Flash synchronisation is automatic, provided the correct speed is set. The speeds on the shutter speed dial is colour coded for correct synchronisation:
The dial is difficult to read if no bright surface is reflected in it to contrast the numbers, and the colour coding is hardly visible for anyone not having acute vision.
The removable back door is replaceable with an accessory film magazine back with dark slide, enabling mid-film change. The camera back is released by turning the two keys at each side at the bottom and pulled off downwards. Each magazine has its own frame counter. Using the magazine requires the proper procedure and it is best explained reading the user manual.
cell is in the Bullseye, at the front of the finder housing. It has a wide acceptance angle corresponding approximately to the standard lens. The meter movement is visible in an aperture to the right in the viewfinder, and also in a small window on top of the camera. All exposure parameters are couplet to the meter, even the lens aperture. This is accomplished using an aperture simulator. It is an iris replicating the lens aperture setting, placed in front of the selenium meter cell, and operated by the aperture wheel. To set correct exposure
, an appropriate shutter speed is selected, and the aperture wheel turned until the meter needle is centred at the meter index mark. If no needle is visible, a different shutter speed might help, or possibly too little light is available.
The film speed dial is coaxial with the shutter speed dial. The shutter speed dial is lifted to set the film speed. The thin serrated ring under it is rotated until the correct number appears opposite a black triangle at the edge next to the number "2" on the shutter speed dial. Note that setting the film-speed to anything else than the green mark at the beginning of the ASA scale will limit the range of speeds available. In consequence, shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1/15 sec. are available for the 100ASA setting. In low light, a second meter range is available by removing the light-baffle in front of the meter and using the Yellow index mark instead of the black triangle, in which case 1/1000 to 1 sec. is available for a 100ASA film.
The Contarex camera -1959:http://basepath.com/Photography/Contarex.php
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
Contaflex camera that has an oversized reflex finder in order to make it suitable for the small 35mm cine film format. In 1932, ZI had launched the well made and complex 35mm rangefinder (RF) Contax, both useful only for a limited range of focal length lenses, neither solving the design problems using the small 35mm film format. Nor was the new Ihagee
Ihagee
Ihagee was a camera manufacturer based in Dresden, Germany. Its best-known product was the Exakta single-lens reflex camera.-History:Johan Steenbergen, a Dutchman, founded a camera company called Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft in Dresden in 1912. The name was shortened to Ihagee...
Kine Exakta
Kine Exakta
The Kine Exakta was the first 35mm SLR still camera. It was presented by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen GmbH, Dresden at the Leipziger Frühjarmesse in March 1936. The Exakta name was already used by Ihagee on a roll film SLR camera line since 1933, among these the Vest Pocket Exakt Model B from...
, launched in 1936, that employed the single lens reflex (SLR)
Single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
concept perfect; its waist-level finder image was reversed. The solution that the opticians at ZI eventually devised for this inconvenience was a complex finder prism (pentaprism
Pentaprism
A pentaprism is a five-sided reflecting prism used to deviate a beam of light by 90°. The beam reflects inside the prism twice, allowing the transmission of an image through a right angle without inverting it as an ordinary right-angle prism or mirror would.The reflections inside the prism are not...
) placed just above the focusing screen
Focusing screen
A focusing screen is a flat translucent material, usually ground glass, found in a system camera that allows the user of the camera to preview the framed image in a viewfinder. Often, focusing screens are available in variants with different etched markings for various purposes...
that provided a right way round magnified eyelevel finder image.
However, it was first in 1949 that the East German ZI 35mm SLR
Contax S
Single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
from Dresden was shown with a pentaprism finder. This was a novel design, but quite poorly executed due to lack of quality in work and materials. In the mean time, ZI had relocated itself to Stuttgart, West Germany, starting from scratch. From here appeared in 1953 the 35mm Contaflex SLR
Contaflex SLR
The Contaflex series is a family of 35mm leaf-shuttered SLR cameras, produced by Zeiss Ikon in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was first used in 1935 on a 35mm Twin Lens Reflex camera, the Contaflex TLR also by ZI....
employing a fixed lens set in a Synchro-Compur reflex leaf shutter
Shutter (photography)
In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene...
. At the time very few amateur photographers even considered buying a second lens and ZI felt assured that the reliable and easily manufactured, yet complex, leaf shuttered reflex camera would become a popular concept that could be realised quickly. But in order to provide a professional 35mm SLR camera work on a much more ambitious project had begun, the Contarex.
The Contarex
The first Contarex, among collectors known as the Contarex Bullseye or the Cyclops, is a 35mm SLRSingle-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
camera first shown in 1958. It was Zeiss Ikon's contribution to the professional photographer, designed to handle any photographic task what so ever. It is extremely heavy and beautifully made, but it weighs almost net 1.2 kg, and the build is so complicated that it requires a skilled person even for the simplest repair. Even the simplest function is designed seemingly with a maximum of component parts. The mechanism involved rewinding the film into its cassette has two gear trains and three axles in order to avoid the internal meter movement. Still, the gear is subject to wear due to insufficient axle support.
The ZI, closely associated with the renowned Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...
lenses, was once the world's largest camera maker. Despite the fact that the Contarex cameras never sold in any appreciable quantity, a huge selection of lenses and accessories were made available, including the Contarex Special and the fixed wide-angle lens Contarex Hologon cameras. However, just a little more than ten years after the its introduction, both the camera and the manufacturer were history.
The first Contarex was generally available in 1959, the same year as the Nikon F
Nikon F
The Nikon F camera, introduced in 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although most of its concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was the first camera to combine them all in one camera. It was produced until October 1973 and was...
and Canon Canonflex
Canon Canonflex
The Canonflex is a Canon 35 mm film single-lens reflex camera introduced in May 1959. Its standard lens is the Canon Camera Co. Super-Canomatic R 50mm lens 1.8. The camera was in production for one year before it was replaced by the Canonflex R2000, adding a 1/2000 sec...
35mm SLR cameras appeared. However, the Contarex came with a built-in external exposure meter, and it was coupled both to the aperture wheel by means of an aperture simulator, as well as to the shutter and film speed settings. In just a few years 35mm SLR Through-The-Lens (TTL)
Through-the-lens metering
Through-the-lens metering is a photographic term describing a feature of cameras capable of measuring light levels in a scene through their taking lenses, as opposed to a separate metering window...
full aperture metering was introduced on the Topcon RE-Super
Topcon RE-Super
Tokyo Kogaku KK launched their first 35mm SLR camera in 1957, about two years before the Nikon F and the Canonflex. This was the Topcon R that acquired the bayonet lens mount from the Exakta Varex camera from Ihagee in Dresden, successor to the Kine Exakta of 1936...
and the race was on.
Camera description
The 'camera body is clutter free and quite easy to use, once it is realised that the lens apertureAperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
is set using the aperture wheel to the right on the front and read off a scale on top of the camera in front of the accessory shoe. There is no aperture ring on the Contarex lenses. The shutter speed dial is at the hub of the wind-on lever. The wind lever is short, and the load increases noticeably for the last third of the 180° travel, from the point the mirror and lens iris joins the cocking operation. The shutter release at the top of it, is rough and difficult to press smoothly. It is surrounded by a rotating frame-counter dial. A serrated black index ring must be turned to the red mark on the dial when film is loaded, or to the frame number shown on the film magazine frame-counter if that is loaded. The rewind knob is at the left-hand camera top. The rewind release is engaged by turning the right-hand camera-back lock-key at the base a bit. It is marked "R". The dial surrounding the rewind knob is a film reminder with three film-type indexes, one of these are set against tiny numbers on the edge of the rewind knob, assisted by a tiny stud at the dial. The large serrated outer knob is for easier camera grip. It does not rotate. On the front of the camera is on the left-hand side the sync. contact and the lens release button. On the right-hand side is a small self-timer
Self timer
A self timer is a device on a camera that gives a delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter's firing. It is most commonly used to let photographers to take a photo of themselves , hence the name....
lever. It is released by the shutter release.
The shutter speed dial has speeds engraved in thin numbers from 1 through 1000 and a green B on the rim of the serrated chrome dial. The speed is set against a protruding black triangle on the edge of the wind lever. Flash synchronisation is automatic, provided the correct speed is set. The speeds on the shutter speed dial is colour coded for correct synchronisation:
- Black 1 - 1/30 sec. and B for fast M-bulbs.
- Yellow 1/60 sec. for electronic flash.
- Red 1/125 - 1/1000 sec. for slow FP bulbs.
The dial is difficult to read if no bright surface is reflected in it to contrast the numbers, and the colour coding is hardly visible for anyone not having acute vision.
The removable back door is replaceable with an accessory film magazine back with dark slide, enabling mid-film change. The camera back is released by turning the two keys at each side at the bottom and pulled off downwards. Each magazine has its own frame counter. Using the magazine requires the proper procedure and it is best explained reading the user manual.
The exposure meter
The selenium meterSelenium meter
A selenium meter is a light-measuring instrument based on the photoelectric properties of selenium. The most common use of such light meters is measuring the exposure value for photography...
cell is in the Bullseye, at the front of the finder housing. It has a wide acceptance angle corresponding approximately to the standard lens. The meter movement is visible in an aperture to the right in the viewfinder, and also in a small window on top of the camera. All exposure parameters are couplet to the meter, even the lens aperture. This is accomplished using an aperture simulator. It is an iris replicating the lens aperture setting, placed in front of the selenium meter cell, and operated by the aperture wheel. To set correct exposure
Exposure (photography)
In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area.In photographic jargon, an exposure...
, an appropriate shutter speed is selected, and the aperture wheel turned until the meter needle is centred at the meter index mark. If no needle is visible, a different shutter speed might help, or possibly too little light is available.
The film speed dial is coaxial with the shutter speed dial. The shutter speed dial is lifted to set the film speed. The thin serrated ring under it is rotated until the correct number appears opposite a black triangle at the edge next to the number "2" on the shutter speed dial. Note that setting the film-speed to anything else than the green mark at the beginning of the ASA scale will limit the range of speeds available. In consequence, shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1/15 sec. are available for the 100ASA setting. In low light, a second meter range is available by removing the light-baffle in front of the meter and using the Yellow index mark instead of the black triangle, in which case 1/1000 to 1 sec. is available for a 100ASA film.
The viewfinder
The finder is extremely bright and clear with a split image rangefinder in the centre, surrounded by a very fine micro prism collar. The rest of the area has fine Fresnel rings. To the right is the meter index window, but the pointer is only visible when settings are quite close to correct exposure. There is no way to tell which side the pointer is without trying other settings. When the camera is wound, the lens is wide open, while after exposure it is closed to the preset aperture. The finder is very bright so even when the lens is closed down to F22, the screen is just as bright as many contemporary low cost SLR camera finders at full aperture. There is actually no way to make believe this, but to experience it.The lens
The standard lens is the Carl Zeiss Planar 1:2 f=50mm in bright aluminium finish with a chrome 49mm thread filter ring and an outer bayonet for ZI filters. The lens focuses to 30 cm, which is closer than usual 50 cm. The focusing helical is remarkably smooth and precise. There is no aperture ring on the Contarex lens itself. It is set on the camera aperture wheel. The Contarex lensmount takes only Contarex lenses and accessories.External links
The Contarex lenses:http://www.photomoritz.com/contarex/crex_lenses.htmlThe Contarex camera -1959:http://basepath.com/Photography/Contarex.php