Difference between revisions of "Contessa 35"

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The Contessas were fitted with the 45mm/2.8 Zeiss-Opton[[Tessar]], with a 10 blade diaphragm closing to f/22.  [[Tessar]] lenses are great performers even by today's standards, especially those marked Opton T* lenses which were coated.  Uncoated lenses work best with a lens shade. These lenses are marked Zeiss-Opton because the West German part of the business couldn't use the name Carl Zeiss.
 
The Contessas were fitted with the 45mm/2.8 Zeiss-Opton[[Tessar]], with a 10 blade diaphragm closing to f/22.  [[Tessar]] lenses are great performers even by today's standards, especially those marked Opton T* lenses which were coated.  Uncoated lenses work best with a lens shade. These lenses are marked Zeiss-Opton because the West German part of the business couldn't use the name Carl Zeiss.
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Rangefinder is coupled and has a base of 42mm, giving good precision for shooting at f/2.8 but better at f/8.  Zeiss used a prism instead of a mirror, which has made them very long lasting.
 
Rangefinder is coupled and has a base of 42mm, giving good precision for shooting at f/2.8 but better at f/8.  Zeiss used a prism instead of a mirror, which has made them very long lasting.
 +
 
Lightmeter is an uncoupled [[selenium meter]] placed on the corner of the camera, that covered a relatively wide range of [[Exposure value| EV]]s (7-13 @ISO 100).  These lightmeters are simple, and rarely fail.
 
Lightmeter is an uncoupled [[selenium meter]] placed on the corner of the camera, that covered a relatively wide range of [[Exposure value| EV]]s (7-13 @ISO 100).  These lightmeters are simple, and rarely fail.
  
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Shutters were either a Compur Rapid or a Synchro Compur, depending on the year of production, and the shutter must be cocked manually.  A double exposure prevention is present, driven by the film sprocket cogs inside the camera.  Film wind and rewind is done via wheels at the bottom of the camera, the film counter must be set manually to S when loading.
  
 
There were 2 iterations of this camera:
 
There were 2 iterations of this camera:

Revision as of 15:20, 12 March 2022

Contessa was the name given to a family of 35mm film cameras produced by Zeiss Ikon in Stuttgart between 1950-1955 (folding) and 1960-1971 (non-folding). These were mid to high-end rangefinder/viewfinder cameras with fixed lens. The lens was generally a Tessar lens which produced very good pictures for the time.

The original name for the Contessa's camera design was 522/24 Ikonta 35 which was then changed to 533/24, with the old desingation going to the Contina for the lower-end cameras in 1954.

Folding Contessa

The Contessa 35 was designed by Hubert Nerwin, as part of the effort to rebuild the Zeiss Ikon name after WWII. Initially designed as a folding rangefinder, these variants were similar to the Super Ikonta's concept since they had that characteristic extra lens for the coupled rangefinder. Produced between 1950-1955 it was a high end 35mm folding rangefinder camera with catalog number 533/24. Zeiss Ikon took every detail into account for design and built, highly over-engineered by today's standard, inside and outside of the camera. It is not only the outside appearance, with lots of chrome used, very eye-pleasing design, a small foot that keeps the camera levelled when placed on a table, and a solid feel, but also the image quality, and the balance of the camera in the hands.

The Contessas were fitted with the 45mm/2.8 Zeiss-OptonTessar, with a 10 blade diaphragm closing to f/22. Tessar lenses are great performers even by today's standards, especially those marked Opton T* lenses which were coated. Uncoated lenses work best with a lens shade. These lenses are marked Zeiss-Opton because the West German part of the business couldn't use the name Carl Zeiss.

Rangefinder is coupled and has a base of 42mm, giving good precision for shooting at f/2.8 but better at f/8. Zeiss used a prism instead of a mirror, which has made them very long lasting.

Lightmeter is an uncoupled selenium meter placed on the corner of the camera, that covered a relatively wide range of EVs (7-13 @ISO 100). These lightmeters are simple, and rarely fail.

Shutters were either a Compur Rapid or a Synchro Compur, depending on the year of production, and the shutter must be cocked manually. A double exposure prevention is present, driven by the film sprocket cogs inside the camera. Film wind and rewind is done via wheels at the bottom of the camera, the film counter must be set manually to S when loading.

There were 2 iterations of this camera:

Folding Contessa cameras
Zeiss Nbr Model Years Lens Shutter Notes
533/24 35 1950-1953 f2.8 45mm Tessar Compur Rapid
B-1-2-5-10-25-50-100-250-500
X synch
533/24 35 1953-1955 f2.8 45mm Tessar Synchro Compur
B-1-2-5-10-25-50-100-250-500
MX synch, selftimer
2nd version Contessa 35 (533/24)
by Süleyman Demir


The non-folding Contessas

Between 1960-1970 the name was used again for a family of fixed lens non-folding cameras that included Contessa, Contessamatic and Contessamat. Initially the same name and catalog number was used, but later it was changed to a new catalog number. The letter E (entfernungsmesser) was added to the name of the cameras to indicate the presence of a rangefinder. Initially, they came with a Tessar 50/2.8 lens and lightmeter coupled with the shutter which is of the Prontor family.

In the mid-60s the Contessamat line came in production, these cameras had a speed priority system that allowed for an AUTO operation. The viewfinder showed the aperture and red marks for over/under exposure. The lens was a Color-Pantar 45/2.8 or a Tessar 50/2.8


List of Non-Folding Contessa cameras
Zeiss Nbr Model Years Lens Shutter Notes
533/24 35 1960-1961 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontor range finder
10.0632 Contessa 1960-1961 f2.8 50mm Tessar Pronto view finder, low budget model[1]
10.0637 LK 1963-1965 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontor 500 LK (B,15-500) view finder
10.0638 LKE 1963-1965 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontor 500 LK (B,15-500) similar to LK but with range finder
10.0639 LBE 1965-1967 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontor 500 LK range finder and flash aperture settings
hot shoe for flash
10.0634 Contessamatic 1960-1961 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontor SLK (B,15-500) or Pr SLK Spezial (B,1-500) viewfinder
10.0645 Contessamatic E 1960-1963 f2.8 50mm Tessar Pr SLK Spezial (B,1-500) range finder
lightmeter reading in viewfinder
Contessamat 1964-1965 f2.8 45mm Color Pantar Prontormatic viewfinder
10.0652 Contessamat SBE 1963-1967 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontormatic 500SL (B,15-500) rangefinder
10.0654 Contessamat SE 1963-1965 f2.8 45mm Color Pantar Prontormatic 500 rangefinder
10.0656 Contessamat STE 1965 f2.8 50mm Tessar Prontormatic 500SL rangefinder
10.0351 S-310 1971 f2.8 40mm Tessar Prontor 500 S viewfinder
10.0354 S-312 1971 f2.8 40mm Tessar Prontor 500 S similar to S-310 but with range finder

At the end of the life of the West German Zeiss Ikon company, two very innovative cameras branding the name Contessa came to life, S310 and S312. These cameras were developed by Voigtländer and after the merger of the two companies came to the market under the Contessa S-31x and the Voigtländer VF 101 name simultaneously. Auto exposure control made them ideal for the new point-and-shoot market in the 1970s.


References

Notes

Links

at www.collection-appareils.com by Sylvain Halgand (in French)

other