Contessa 35
Zeiss Ikon Contessa
Contessa was the name given to a family of cameras produced by [Zeiss Ikon] in Stuttgart between 1950-1955 and 1960-1971.
Folding Contessa
Contessa 35, a folder |
Produced between 1950-1955 it was a high end 35mm folding camera with catalog number 533/24. Fitted with a 45mm/2.8 Tessar lens, which performs great even by today standards. The first Folding Contessa was produced between 1950-53 and had a Compur Rapid shutter and the second version 1953-55 a Synchro-Compur (1-500+B)
Zeiss Nbr | Model | Years | Lens | Shutter | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
533/24 | 35 | 1950-1953 | f2.8 45mm Tessar | Compur Rapid | X synch, folding |
533/24 | 35 | 1953-1955 | f2.8 45mm Tessar | Synchro Compur | MX synch, folding |
The non-folding Contessas
Between 1960-1970 the name was used again for a family of 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
Zeiss Ikon Contessamatic (one of the non-folding contessas) |
At the end of the life of the Zeiss Ikon company, two veyr innovative cameras branding he name contessa came to life, S310 and S312. These cameras were developed by [Voigtlander] and after the merger of the two companies came to the market under the Contessa S-31x and the Voigtlander VF-101 name simultaneously
Zeiss Nbr | Model | Years | Lens | Shutter | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
533/24 | 35 | 1960-1961 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Prontor | range finder |
10.0639 | LBE | 1965-1967 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Prontor 500 LK | range finder |
10.0637 | LK | 1963-1965 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Prontor 500 LK | view finder |
10.0638 | LKE | 1963-1965 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Prontor 500 LK | similar to LK but with range finder |
Contessamatic | 1960-1961 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Prontor SLK | viewfinder | |
10.0645 | Contessamatic E | 1960-1963 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | Pr SLK Spezial | range finder |
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 |
Contessamat | 1964-1965 | f2.8 45mm Color Pantar | Prontormatic | viewfinder | |
10.0652 | Contessamat SBE | 1963-1967 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | P-matic 500SL | rangefinder |
10.0654 | Contessamat SE | 1963-1965 | f2.8 45mm Color Pantar | Prontormatic 500 | rangefinder |
Contessamat STE | 1965 | f2.8 50mm Tessar | P-matic 500SL | rangefinder |
References
link Stephen Gandy's Notes on the Contessa 35
link Model List of all Zeiss Ikon 35mm cameras by Clayton Rye