A line of Zeiss lenses made for Contax film cameras, now prized as vintage glass for their organic, character-rich rendering.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ich schätze an Contax-Zeiss-Objektiven die mikroskopische Schärfe und den charakteristischen Bokeh-Verlauf, der sich deutlich von japanischen Optiken unterscheidet. Das Planar 85mm liefert bei offener Blende eine Plastizität, die moderne Autofokus-Objektive nur schwer erreichen. Für Porträts verwende ich adaptierte Contax-Linsen an digitalen Kameras, um den unverwechselbaren Zeiss-Look zu erhalten.
Ich nutze Contax-Objektive für Referenzaufnahmen, wenn ich mit Zeiss-Kinoobjektiven drehe, da beide die identische optische Charakteristik haben. Die leichte Farbverschiebung ins Grünliche und die harten Lichtreflexe geben meinen Bildern eine kühlere Ästhetik. Besonders bei Thriller-Produktionen verstärkt dieser Look die Atmosphäre deutlich.
Contax-Equipment ist heute eine Investition in Vintage-Technik mit steigenden Preisen – ein Planar 50mm kostet gebraucht zwischen 200-400 Euro. Für die Standbildfotografie rechne ich mit einem halben Tag zusätzlich, da manuelle Objektive mehr Zeit benötigen. Die Wartungskosten sind hoch, da nur wenige Techniker die komplexe Mechanik reparieren können.
1. Was beschreibt „Contax Zeiss" am besten?
2. Zu welchem Department gehört „Contax Zeiss"?
3. Wie viele verschiedene Fachperspektiven bietet dieser Eintrag?
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