A line of Zeiss lenses made for Contax film cameras, now prized as vintage glass for their organic, character-rich rendering.
Technical Details
The classic Contax IIa (1950) operates with a focal-plane shutter from 1/1250s to 12s and a titanium-coated metal focal-plane shutter. The Contax system uses the M42 screw mount (42mm x 1mm) and later its own Contax/Yashica bayonet with a 45mm diameter. Zeiss lenses such as the Planar T* 1.4/50mm or Distagon T* 2.8/25mm achieve a resolution of over 100 line pairs per millimeter at 50% contrast. The T* coating reduces reflections to below 0.5% per surface. The Contax RTS III (1990) offers shutter speeds up to 1/8000s and 92% viewfinder coverage.
History & Development
In 1932, Zeiss Ikon Dresden developed the first Contax as a competitor to Leica. After World War II, Carl Zeiss Oberkochen produced new models from 1950 onwards. In 1975, the cooperation with Yashica began for the Contax RTS series, which lasted until 2005. The Contax G-series (1994-2005) introduced autofocus rangefinder cameras with Zeiss lenses. In 2012, production finally ended after Kyocera ceased its camera business.
Practical Use in Film
Contax cameras documented battlefields of World War II and shaped post-war photography. Robert Capa used a Contax II on D-Day in 1944. Helmut Newton primarily shot his fashion photography with Contax cameras and Zeiss lenses. In film production, Contax cameras are used for stills and production photography, as the Zeiss lenses correspond to cinema lenses. The identical optical design between still and cinema lenses allows for precise image matching between sets and stills.
Comparison & Alternatives
Contax differs from Leica through its single-lens reflex (SLR) technology and wider lens selection, and from Nikon/Canon through its exclusive use of Zeiss optics. Modern Sony α7 cameras can use Contax lenses via adapters but do not achieve the mechanical precision of the original couplings. Zeiss today produces lenses for Canon EF and Sony E-mount under the designations "Zeiss Milvus" and "Zeiss Loxia" with the same optical design as the historical Contax lenses.