By Brian
In 1953 Zeiss Ikon introduced the Contaflex, a 35mm single-lens reflex camera aimed at the serious amateur photographer. The camera featured a fixed 45mm/f 2.8 Tessar lens and a between the lens Synchro-Compur leaf shutter (range from 1 to 500 second). After the camera was wound, the shutter and diaphragm opened fully, allowing full aperture focusing. Firing the shutter closed the diaphragm, raised the mirror and triggered the shutter at the set shutter speed. The shutter on the camera stayed closed after the exposure until the winding of the camera lowered the mirror back into place.
The Contaflex was a superb picture taker, with the Tessar lens producing excellent results. The Contaflex had no SLR competitors for three or four years, ands so proved very popular with consumers. The Contaflex was produced in various configurations until 1972. Later models offered a 50mm/f 2.8 Tessar lens which had an interchangeable front element, which permitted a range of lenses to replace that from element. These Pro-Tessar lenses allowed 35mm, 85mm and 115 mm lenses to be attached.
Illustrating this article is a Contaflex II of 1954. This model was essentially the same as the earlier model but incorporated a built-in selenium exposure meter (ASA range from 5 to 320). Also shown below are some of the elegant accessories for the camera, including close-up lenses and filters.
The California Museum of Photography produced a booklet on Zeiss Ikon cameras in 1988, titled “Products of Vision”.
Two quotes from that publication:
“Most Zeiss Ikon cameras are characterized by a high degree of mechanical quality”
“Zeiss … stood for a kind of excellence which is hardly seen nowadays, and was rare even at the time.”
Earlier Blog: The Zeiss Contaflex Super BC
Comentarios