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82-416: While the firm of Ernst Leitz of Wetzlar established the 24 mm × 36 mm negative format on perforated 35 mm movie film as a viable photographic system, Zeiss Ikon of Dresden decided to produce a competitor designed to be superior in every way. The name Contax was chosen after a poll among Zeiss employees. Dr. Ing. Heinz Küppenbender was its chief designer. Made between 1932 and 1936,

164-404: A flange focal distance greater than that of M42, most notably Nikon, three options are available. A simple mechanical adapter allows the lens to be mounted, but the effect is similar to the introduction of an extension tube, reducing the minimum focus distance at the expense of losing infinity focus. Alternatively, an adapter with an optical element can be used to retain the original focus range of

246-439: A Contax SLR camera. As the traditional vertical-run Contax shutter required considerable space both above and below the film gate for the drum rollers, the upper roller takes up the critical space required for the reflex housing mechanism, making it dimensionally impossible to use it for a satisfactory SLR camera. Winzenberg solved the problem by the use of a completely new horizontal-run focal-plane shutter, thus allowing space for

328-475: A Japanese company seized the "Pentax" brand and registered it. Subsequent models were also made wearing both Contax and Pentacon nameplates; the former were meant for markets where Zeiss Ikon Dresden still held the rights to its name. Eventually, the company went on to form the Pentacon VEB conglomerate (which included companies as Meyer-Optik Görlitz, Ihagee Dresden, and KW, among others), which would start

410-530: A digital SLR with a sensor smaller than 35 mm film results in FOV crop . Canon: All DSLRs need full manual control. With certain adapters, metering and focus confirmation is available. Nikon: All DSLRs need full manual control. Focus confirmation is available, focus to infinity is only possible with adapter with additional lens. Four Thirds: All DSLRs need full manual control. Image stabilisation works. With certain adapters, metering and focus confirmation

492-468: A fixed 28 mm wide-angle lens. A departure from the 35 mm format, the Contax 645 was an autofocus medium format SLR system introduced in 1999, featuring an array of Zeiss lenses and interchangeable film and digital backs. One of its unique features was a 220 film back equipped with the vacuum system originally developed for the 35 mm RTSIII SLR, which was claimed to increase sharpness by keeping

574-737: A full-frame 24×36 mm CCD sensor. The Contax NX was the prosumer 35mm model for advanced-amateur photographers, while the N1 was aimed at professional users. The series was made in Japan by Kyocera . The N-series bodies used new N-mount lenses made by Kyocera , with electronically controlled aperture and autofocus. Nine lenses were produced for the mount, a mixture of primes and zooms. Contax did sell an adapter (NAM-1) allowing lenses from their 645 medium format system to be used on N bodies. Not all Contax flash units are compatible with all cameras. There are essentially three groups of flash guns; those made for

656-639: A lead ahead of the Leica until the Leica M3 of 1954. Since the Contax was produced at the Dresden works before the war, the new Zeiss Ikon firm in West Germany (Stuttgart) did not have the tools to recommence production. The resultant Contax IIa and IIIa models, while sharing many similarities with the prewar forebears, also showed significant simplification and cost-cutting by using cheaper materials, due to

738-495: A little later the G2, both fully manual or automatic, featuring the first zoom lens for a rangefinder camera as part of a range of Zeiss-branded lenses from 16 mm to 90 mm. However, by 2002 the company's film camera products were declining in sales, and its newer digital camera products failed to make serious inroads into the digital-photographic market. In 2005, Kyocera discontinued all photographic equipment manufacture, including

820-572: A new common lens mount, known as Contax/Yashica mount (C/Y) to be used on cameras bearing both marques. The first model, the Contax RTS (short for "Real Time System"), was designed by Prof. Dr. Katsuiko Sugaya, styled by the Porsche Design studio, and manufactured by Yashica as Top Secret Project 130 . Featuring comprehensive use of electronics, it was the beginning of the new Contax line of SLR cameras which brought 13 different models, with

902-518: A new plant at Stuttgart until 1962. Zeiss Ikon also produced several SLR camera lines starting from the 1950s, including the Contaflex SLR , Contarex , Bessamatic (as Voigtländer , which had been acquired in 1956), and Icarex , but none of these bore the Contax brand. Zeiss Ikon ceased camera production in 1972. With the emergence of the Japanese camera industry, mainly a consequence of

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984-465: A pin can interlock with the slotted screwheads affixing the mount, which then impedes lens removal. One method to remove the lens from the mount is to use a feeler gauge between the lens and the mount, which should depress the pin and therefore allow the lens to be removed. To prevent the lens from becoming stuck in the future, or to prevent it in the first place, one or more of the screws on the camera lens mount should be either loosened or tightened to such

1066-540: A position that the slot in the screw is aligned with the mount. This will allow for the aperture pin to pass inside the screw slot, and not fall into it, becoming stuck. M42 mount cameras fell out of general production during the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the exception of the Russian Zenit range. Pentax moved to the Pentax K mount from 1975 onwards, while Praktica adopted the electronic B-Mount in 1979. It

1148-565: A titanium body. The T and T2 have a fixed 38 mm wide-angle Sonnar lens (5 elements in 4 groups), while the T3 uses a redesigned 35mm Sonnar lens (6 elements in 5 groups). The T-VS and T-VS II use a 28–56 mm Vario-Sonnar lens (where the "VS" in T-VS comes from), while the T-VS III has a 30–60 mm Vario-Sonnar lens. All analog T and T-VS cameras use 35 mm film . The Tix uses APS film and has

1230-499: A variable resistance value to the camera's metering circuit. Asahi Pentax developed an additional lever on the lens which operated a variable resistor in the camera mount. These mechanisms spurred the use of electronic shutters linked to the metering circuit, allowing for automated shutter speed selection by the camera ( aperture priority ). M42 cameras with wide open metering facility include: or automated selection of aperture ( shutter priority ) for Forward and backward compatibility

1312-610: A workhorse. The vertical shutter had both variations in speed, slit and a brake at the end of travel that was again a Zeiss first. After the Second World War, a few Contax cameras were produced at the original Dresden factory, and some were assembled at the Carl Zeiss optical works at Jena , before production was transferred to Kyiv in Ukraine . During the war years, the chief designer, Hubert Nerwin, tried to convert

1394-678: Is available. Pentax: All DSLRs allow aperture-priority with focus confirmation and infinity focus. Image stabilisation works. With grounding one contact on the camera with foil, focus-trap is also available (on Models which have it). Minolta/Sony A-mount: All DSLRs need full manual control. Metering works and lens can focus on infinity. With chipped adapters focus confirmation and image stabilisation are also available. Some SLTs are reported to work fine in aperture-priority mode (A65 confirmed). Sigma: SD9 allows auto exposure with aperture-priority mode, infinity focus and focus confirmation. User needs to calibrate camera for each change of aperture on

1476-628: Is considered by many to be the finest camera ever made. 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 curtains were changed to duraluminium, lighter and faster to start and stop; however, they were thicker, too. The old Biogon did not fit, so a new one was designed together with the new Biogon 21 mm f 4, gave new perspectives to wide angle photographing. Two basic variations of

1558-635: Is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch . (The M42 lens mount should not be confused with the T-mount , which shares the 42 mm throat diameter, but differs by having a 0.75 mm thread pitch.) It was first used by the East German brands VEB Zeiss Ikon in the Contax S of 1949, and KW in

1640-471: Is released. The first cameras, such as the Praktica Nova range, used physical finger pressure on the shutter button to operate the bar and close the aperture, allowing a stopped-down preview of the depth of field before the shutter fired. However, this function was removed in later Praktica models because some users found it was possible, with longer exposure times, to release the shutter button and open

1722-524: The 1 ⁄ 50 s 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 Shoenecker, the longtime owner of a Zeiss dealer in Portland, Oregon , Hollywood Camera, described

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1804-618: The Micro Four Thirds system. This allows the lens to be physically mounted the correct distance from the film or sensor, retaining the original focus range of the lens without the use of correction optics. Some M42 lenses extend too far into the camera body, causing interference between the mirror mechanism of the camera, and rear element or aperture pin of the lens. This issue is most commonly encountered with certain Takumar lenses adapted to Canon full frame cameras. On bodies with

1886-636: The Praktica of the same year. VEB Zeiss Ikon and KW were merged into the Pentacon brand in 1959, along with several other East German camera makers. M42 thread mount cameras first became well known under the Praktica brand, and thus the M42 mount is known as the Praktica thread mount . Since there were no proprietary elements to the M42 mount, many other manufacturers used it; this has led to it being called

1968-607: The Universal thread mount or Universal screw mount by many. The M42 mount was also used by Pentax ; thus, it is also commonly known as the Pentax thread mount , despite the fact that Pentax did not originate it. The M42 mount was first developed by Carl Zeiss at their Jena plant in 1938 at the request of the KW camera company for their Praktica line, which had previously used M40 (40 mm by 1 mm DIN). The first lenses were plain stop-down design, but many manufacturers extended

2050-629: The "Zeiss-Opton" marking. The original series of lenses for Contax were mainly new designs by Ludwig Bertele, under the Sonnar name which was previously used by Contessa-Nettel. These lenses were mainly advanced Unar/Protar derivatives of markedly asymmetrical designs, for the purpose of maintaining maximum image contrast by reducing lens flare before the era of anti-reflective surface coating, many of them also offering large maximum apertures as well. Apart from these, some existing designs were also adapted for use too. Ernst Leitz Ernst Leitz GmbH

2132-547: The 1970s and 1980s used West German Zeiss-designed wide-angle lenses for their own cameras. The 15 mm Hologon was the first super-wide lens on a Leica, and the Leica reflex had access to the 15 mm Distagon lens as part of the Leitz supplied range. Kyocera acquired Yashica in 1983 and continued to manufacture products under the Yashica and Contax brands. In the mid-90s came their Contax G1 with outstanding lenses and

2214-474: The 20,000th, and in 1899, the 50,000th was completed. Bacteriologist Robert Koch was given the company's 100,000th microscope in 1907. Paul Ehrlich , inventor of chemotherapy, received the 150,000th one, and Nobel laureate Gerhard Domagk , discoverer of sulfonamides , the 400,000th Leica instrument. By the end of the 19th century, the company had a worldwide reputation. Its product range by this point included several optical instruments besides microscopes. At

2296-534: The CE Memotron (1974), CE-II Memotron and CE-3 Memotron bodies. A similar system was used in the Cosina Hi-Lite EC. These cameras retained the facility of closing the aperture with finger pressure on the release button so that the image could be framed and focused normally with the lens wide open. As the shutter button was depressed the lens would firstly be stopped down to the selected aperture, then

2378-480: The Contax 645 system: The following lenses were designed by Carl Zeiss for the Contax 645: The Contax N series was an autofocus 35 mm SLR system, based around an entirely new electronic bayonet mount that was not compatible with previous Contax C/Y mount lenses. Three models were made: the N1, the NX and the N Digital , the first full-frame digital SLR . The N Digital was one of the first digital cameras to feature

2460-527: The Contax IIa/IIIa was synched at 1 ⁄ 50 s and all slower speeds. Further, with the adjustment on the 1365 flash cable used with the Black Dial camera, the user could tune the flash to the individual shutter, and synch strobe to the 1 ⁄ 100 s! At the time, this sort of shutter speed with a strobe was unheard of, and was a major technological feat. On the later color dial cameras,

2542-474: The Contax brand in 2005, thus, for now, bringing the Contax story to a close. In contrast to the contemporary Leica which was evolved from its original concept into a photographic system, the Contax was designed as the heart of a photographic system from the start. A heavily engineered machine of tremendous complexity, it was Zeiss Ikon's showcase of the technology it possessed. The Contax I had six identifiable variants, but fundamentally identical; every aspect

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2624-479: The Contax camera and its Super-Nettel derivative. By contrast, the competitive Leica followed the established design of using rubberized fabric shutter curtains wound around rollers, moving horizontally. The Contax design allowed a higher maximum shutter speed: the top speed was 1 ⁄ 1000 s, then increased to 1 ⁄ 1250 s in the Contax II. The fact that the shutter ran across the shorter dimension of

2706-405: The Contax into a single-lens reflex camera but was hindered by the presence of the upper roller of the vertical focal-plane shutter. The postwar design chief Wilhelm Winzenberg started with a clean slate, which became the Contax S (Spiegelreflex, literally "Mirror reflex"), even though the "S" was not marked on the camera. The Contax S can be said to be the camera that defined the configuration of

2788-406: The G system, those made for the early (Yashica made) SLRs and those for the later (Kyocera made) SLRs. Flash units available included (GNs stated at ISO 100): Metz SCA adapters: Originally designed to be a system camera, many lenses were made for the original Contax, and this tradition carried on for all models with interchangeable lenses. Traditionally, lens makers like to mark the location of

2870-550: 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 (1361) or strobe flash (1366). 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 s second shutter speed,

2952-418: The M42 lens mount to provide extra features. The first innovation was the pre-select type, which allowed an aperture value to be pre-selected without actually closing the aperture, with a separate ring to close down the aperture quickly to the chosen value. This gave the user the benefit of comfortable framing and focusing with a bright viewfinder and clear focus separation, and then closing the aperture without

3034-593: The US pressure on West Germany's Zeiss to cease collaboration with the East German Zeiss, and also the lack of raw materials the former was enduring, it was in a way forced to form an alliance with a Japanese maker. Asahi, maker of the Pentax , was engaged first; and it went as far as Zeiss designing a common bayonet lens mount, which constituted a detour from Pentax's adoption of the East German M42 mount;

3116-462: The abrupt change: "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

3198-422: The aperture before the shutter had closed. The bar on Pentax Spotmatic cameras is operated by spring pressure with timing linked to the shutter, but these cameras also had a separate switch for the light meter circuit which closed the aperture and gave the depth of field preview in this way. To allow auto lenses to be used on earlier cameras without the bar, many lenses were provided with a switch or button to put

3280-464: The basis of the original Leica camera, as presented at the spring fair 1925 in Leipzig . The success of that camera was enormous and well beyond expectations. In 1925, the first polarising microscope was made, and in 1931 the first comparative macroscope for criminological applications. In 1932, Leitz pioneered a fluorescent microscope , and three years later a photometer developed by Max Berek . In

3362-596: The beginning of the new century, Leitz introduced eight-hour days and founded a health insurance society for employees. In 1913, it introduced a first fully functional binocular microscope . After the First World War, the economic situation of Leitz was dire. Ernst Leitz died in July 1920, and the leadership of the company passed to his son, Ernst Leitz II . Around 1920, Leitz employed around 1400 people, and by 1956, 6000. In 1924 Ernst Leitz II decided that in spite of

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3444-833: The camera and the lens, making it possible to mate an M42 lens to a body with a different lens mount. M42 adapters work best on bodies with a flange depth less than or equal to the M42's flange depth, which includes the popular Canon EF -mount, the Pentax K-mount , the Minolta/Konica Minolta/Sony A-mount , the Sony E-mount , the Samsung NX-mount , the Fujifilm X-mount and the Four Thirds System including

3526-408: The combined eyepiece for both viewfinder and rangefinder, the shutter speed and film wind knob placed on the top plate, fastest shutter speed at 1 ⁄ 1250 s. and finished in chrome plating. They became very popular among professional photographers, such as Robert Capa and Phil Stern , especially photojournalists who demanded high-performance, large-aperture lenses for available-light work and

3608-480: The company conspicuously on their lenses. Therefore, from the beginning of lens manufacture up to the end of the Second World War, all Zeiss lenses were marked "Carl Zeiss Jena". Since the new Oberkochen -based Carl Zeiss Optical company is not in Jena, its products are simply marked "Carl Zeiss", while the original factory carried on using the "Carl Zeiss Jena" marking. For the first few years Carl Zeiss of Oberkochen used

3690-523: The earlier G1. Another improvement over the G1 was its full parallax correction viewfinder. A limited edition run of black G2 bodies and lenses were produced, differing from the standard titanium finish found on the original G1 and G2. The lenses used optical formulae not often used by Zeiss, which had specialized in SLR photographic lenses for many decades prior to the G Series. (These formulae appear to be repeated in

3772-481: The exception of the S2 and S2b (named as a spiritual successor to the original Dresden-built camera) being fully mechanical. The following is a brief rundown of the major models: Some special models were also made, for example Some additional information The G series was a unique 35 mm autofocus rangefinder system with interchangeable lenses. Rather than displaying a typical rangefinder focusing patch and brightlines,

3854-443: The film perfectly flat in the plane of focus. By using the adaptor 'MAM-1' produced by Contax, Hasselblad V-series lenses including C, CF, CFE, CFI, F and FE can be mounted on Contax 645 as well. In addition to 120 and 220 medium format backs with film inserts for quick loading, including the previously mentioned vacuum back, as well as a Polaroid/instant film back, many manufacturers offer a variety of interchangeable digital backs for

3936-674: The firm became known, was gradually under pressure from the new Zeiss Ikon AG in the US zone , so the original Zeiss Ikon and Contax names and trademarks gradually disappeared and were replaced by the new name of Pentacon , which never really caught on. Finally, this camera line was abandoned. Meanwhile, in the US zone, the three main Zeiss concerns – Carl Zeiss Stiftung ( Carl Zeiss Foundation ), Carl Zeiss optical, and Zeiss Ikon – were reestablished. With Hubert Nerwin in charge as design chief, Zeiss Ikon produced heavily revised Contax IIa and IIIa cameras at

4018-445: The first G1 had a zooming viewfinder with a focus confirmation light activated by the autofocus system if manual focus was required. The actual AF system, unlike AF for SLR cameras, used a twin-window rangefinder, but the alignment determination was electronic. The G2 was the second camera body in the series, and displayed manual focus distance directly on a viewfinder LCD. The G2 was generally considered more rugged and controllable than

4100-550: The format area was a significant factor for achieving this technical feat. The interlocking slats were aligned by specially woven silk ribbons, which were very strong but subject to wear. Replacing these ribbons was difficult but, contrary to modern cameras, made for a 400,000-cycle life. Zeiss also invented the System Camera, with all sorts of near-photo, wide-angle, mirror-house, long-focal-length lenses for specific situations. However Zeiss called it Universalkamera. One of

4182-614: The front of the camera body, and black-enamelled finish. The young lens designer Ludwig Bertele , formerly of Ernemann, was charged with the responsibility of designing the lenses, including the Biogon and Sonnar . The greatest advantage of the Zeiss lenses was the reduced number of air-to-glass surfaces in Bertele's designs. In the years before lens coating was generally practiced, this had advantages for contrast and resistance to lens flare. Zeiss also pioneered glass coating, and before

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4264-416: The key design features was a coupled rangefinder with a very long baseline, with its own eyepiece next to that of the viewfinder. To enhance accuracy, a novel rotating wedge system was employed instead of the common swinging mirror mechanism. Other main features included focusing drive built into the camera body for use with standard lens, removable back, shutter-speed knob integral with film-wind knob placed at

4346-428: The lack of resources. However, these simplifications were also largely responsible for making them somewhat more reliable. Designed to retain backward compatibility, the IIa and IIIa (introduced in 1950 and 1951 respectively) used the same lens mount as the prewar models, but due to the smaller dark chamber inside the lens throat, the pre-war Biogon 35/2.8 wide-angle lens could not be fitted. The Zeiss Ikon Model 563/24

4428-466: The late 1930s, Ernst Leitz II assisted a number of Jewish employees in fleeing Germany. In 1942, Ernst Leitz GmbH employed a total of 195 foreign citizens. By January 1945, there were 989 forced laborers, 643 of them " Ostarbeiter ", predominantly from Ukraine, and 316 " Westarbeiter " from France and the Benelux. Besides cameras and microscopes, Leitz developed further optical products that would define

4510-488: The later Zeiss Ikon M-mount rangefinder cameras.) The G series also boasted the only true zoom available for a rangefinder system, made possible by the mechanical coupling of the camera's viewfinder and the lens. Kyocera introduced a series of highly successful T-series compact cameras, offering Zeiss-designed lenses which appealed to photographers desiring high quality optics in a compact form. They were introduced between 1984 and 2002, have Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* lenses and

4592-461: The lens into stop-down mode, commonly referred to as the Auto-Manual or A/M switch. The last development of M42 lenses was the introduction of a link between camera and lens to transmit the lens aperture setting, which allowed light metering with the aperture remaining wide open. The means of doing this was not standardised, Praktica's method was to use an electrical connection which transmitted

4674-478: The lens, at the expense of some image quality. Finally, it is possible to replace the M42 mount on some lenses with the desired camera mount, or to perform the reverse change on a camera body. The level of functionality available from a modern body when an M42 lens is mounted may vary. Some bodies may be operated in aperture-priority mode, others will only allow full manual control in this circumstance. Focus confirmation may not be available. Mounting an M42 lens on

4756-567: The long line of Praktica cameras, high quality but affordable, in accordance with the Communist ideal. In all, 22 Contax/Pentacon models were built in Dresden. The Contax name was revived in 1975 (officially it was styled 'CONTAX' by Yashica / Kyocera , instead of 'Contax') after the production of the Contax rangefinder cameras ended in Stuttgart more than a decade before. Like the first attempt at forging an alliance with Pentax, Zeiss designed

4838-466: The market the Contax did. Then, we had to stop carrying the Contarex because they were just too much money." There is a demand for good working examples of the IIa/IIIa 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

4920-403: The meter would be switched on and a reading taken. Chinon used a then-modern Silicon (Si) metering cell with fast reaction time compared to the then-standard CdS cells, which made it possible to close the aperture, meter the light and set the shutter speed automatically in one full press of the button. While this method did not offer the same sensitivity advantage of true open-aperture metering, it

5002-411: The microscopes to their needs. The microscopes were produced for biomedical as well as industrial purposes, including mineralogy. Leitz microscopes improved on other models of their day in several ways, including lighting and optics, particularly with orthoscopic eyepieces . By 1880, the company had reached an annual production numbering 500. In 1887, the 10,000th microscope was shipped, four years later

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5084-498: The mid-20th century, such as slide projectors of the "Prado" series, Leitz episcopes that were frequently used in schools and the Trinovid binoculars series. One by one, the three sons (Ludwig, Ernst and Günther) of Ernst Leitz II began work at the company. Having remained intact through World War II, the production facilities could be restarted immediately after the war ended. In 1948, a separate development lab for optical glass

5166-448: The modern 35mm SLR camera. Not only did it introduce the M42 lens mount which became an industry standard, but it was also equipped with a horizontal focal-plane shutter, and also removed a major objection against the reflex camera by offering an unreversed, eye-level viewing image by employing a pentaprism . Introduced in 1949, the S was followed by numerous models including D, E, F, FB, FM and FBM. During that period, VEB Zeiss Ikon , as

5248-400: The need to remove the eye from the eyepiece. A further development followed with "auto" lenses, which have a pin in the mount which closes the aperture against a spring to the chosen setting when it is pushed. This was adopted as a common standard by virtually all lens manufacturers. Cameras designed for these lenses have a bar in the bottom of the mount which depresses the pin when the shutter

5330-639: The new (West German) Zeiss Ikon company in Stuttgart induced (East German) Zeiss Ikon in Dresden to progressively abandon the use of the established trademark and names. The following model, known as "Contax D", first appeared with a little "D" marked under the Zeiss Ikon logo to signify its source as Dresden, but that was not good enough: in some markets it was sold as "Pentacon", a name contrived from "Pentaprism" and "Contax". The name "Pentax" had been considered before but, following Germany's capitulation in 1945, all German patents and trademarks were declared void;

5412-596: The new bayonet mount was named for many years as the "Pentax Mount" to avoid any accreditation to the Eastern Bloc, and later became known as the Pentax K-mount after the two firms parted company. An alliance was then formed with Yashica , and a new line of CONTAX single-lens reflex cameras was born, starting with the RTS of 1975. Numerous models followed, which also included autofocus rangefinders, compacts, medium-format reflex cameras, and digital cameras. Rival Leica in

5494-480: The original Contax , known as Contax I after later models were introduced, was markedly different from the corresponding Leica . Using a die-cast alloy body it housed a vertically travelling metal focal-plane shutter reminiscent of the one used in Contessa-Nettel cameras, made out of interlocking blackened brass slats somewhat like a roll-up garage door. This complex shutter became the characteristic of

5576-489: The reflex housing. While the first 35 mm SLR camera, the Kine Exakta , had already appeared in 1936, before the war, its waist-level finder which gave a laterally reversed image, taking away the immediacy between the photographer and their subject. In the Contax reflex, which would be called the Contax S , a pentaprism was positioned directly above the focusing screen, which offered an eye-level, unreversed view of

5658-442: The usefulness of this design. The loss of the Contax production tools at the Dresden factories turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it forced the East German part of the company to design a camera without relying on the older design. The new design chief Wilhelm Winzenberg was not involved in the camera side of Zeiss-Ikon, this also allowed a brand-new Contax design to be developed, to follow Hubert Nerwin's wartime plan to make

5740-434: The viewfinder. This major technical advantage was critical in establishing the 35 mm SLR as the definitive camera type for the decades that followed. Since a larger lens mount would be desirable, the Contax S adopted a threaded lens mount of M42×1mm specification , which was to become the de facto industry standard. When introduced in 1949, the Contax S was not marked as such, only "Contax", but increasing pressure from

5822-461: The war coated lenses were offered. After lens coating became universal post WW2, designers were given more freedom in using extra air-to-glass surfaces in correcting lens aberrations, without fear of the ill effects of surface reflections. In 1936 the Contax II and III models were introduced; the only difference between them was the integral exposure meter on the latter model. They introduced

5904-400: The weak economy, the apparatus designed by his employee Oskar Barnack should enter serial production. As part of working on cinematic gear, Barnack had customized 35mm film for use in photographic cameras. Since he felt a ratio of 2:3 to be aesthetic, the resulting format was 24mm in height and 36mm wide. Around this, he constructed a camera designed for casual snapshots. This design formed

5986-503: Was a German corporation based in Wetzlar , a German centre for optics as well as an important location for the precision engineering industry. Carl Kellner , mechanic and self-taught mathematician, published his treatise Das orthoskopische Ocular, eine neu erfundene achromatische Linsencombination ( The orthoscopic ocular, a newly invented achromatic lens combination ) in 1849, describing a new optical formula he had developed. The ocular

6068-443: Was a complete redesign of the previous II/III cameras, and was sold by Zeiss Ikon (West Germany) 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 were still guaranteed for 400,000 cycles. The same internal/external bayonet mount was kept. This line was an engineering and manufacturing tour de force, and

6150-439: Was added, and from 1953, the design of microscope optics was computer-assisted. Upon the death of their father in 1956, the three sons jointly assumed leadership of the company. In the late 20th century the company was divided into four independent companies: M42 lens mount The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras , primarily single-lens reflex models. It

6232-573: Was briefly revived with the Cosina -made Voigtländer Bessaflex TM launched in 2003 but this was discontinued in 2007. M42 lenses are still in production at KMZ and at Cosina (under the Voigtländer brand and the ZS line for Carl Zeiss). Due to the simplicity of the M42 lens mount and the large selection of lenses, M42 adapters exist for all current and many obsolete lens mounts. The adapter fits between

6314-478: Was capable of rendering an image with the correct perspective, free of the distortions typical of other microscopes at that time. Following his early death on 13 May 1855, his widow continued the business he had left behind, the "Optisches Institut" (optical institute). The fine mechanic Ernst Leitz I (1843–1920) from Baden arrived at Wetzlar in 1864 and entered service at the Optisches Institut. He

6396-418: Was designed to be better than the Leica. For instance, the removable back was for faster loading and reloading, the bayonet lens mount was designed for rapid lens interchangeability, the long-base rangefinder was for more accurate focusing with large aperture lenses, and the vertical metal shutter not only gave a faster maximum speed but also banished the problem of shutter blinds burning. However, its operation

6478-457: Was maintained in most cases so that the newer lenses could be used on older cameras, and old standard lenses could be used on the newer cameras, but of course without the advanced automation. However, Olympus FTL lenses and Fujica screw mount lenses had a projecting cam which means that they cannot be fully screwed down on a regular screw mount body. Chinon used a different system to provide aperture priority mode with standard Auto-M42 lenses with

6560-430: Was much more versatile as it did not require specially-equipped proprietary lenses. Both Cosina and Chinon sold their cameras to various other companies for rebranding , which increased the number of almost identical cameras considerably. Compatibility problems have been experienced when mounting lenses with aperture transmission levers (e.g., SMC Takumars) on older bodies such as Zenit-E or Mamiya DTL. The aperture lug or

6642-439: Was something of an acquired taste, which explains the more conventional successors, the Contax II and III models. Not only was the combined shutter speed dial and film advance knob placed at the more conventional position, but it became much easier and quicker to operate. The combined viewfinder and rangefinder was not the first one on the market, but it was the first on a system camera which offered significant operational advantage,

6724-465: Was trained as an instrument maker for physical and chemical apparatus and had several years' experience making watches in Switzerland. Initially, Leitz was a part shareholder of the business (in 1865), but took over as sole owner in 1869, and continued it under his own name. Leitz introduced serial production, raising sales volume rapidly after 1871. Consulting with his clients, he continued to refine

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