Zeiss Ikon Contaflex1953

History

In 1953 the SLR market was still dominated by the Exakta, which used a focal-plane shutter and limited flash sync to its X-sync speed. Zeiss Ikon's solution was architecturally different: build the leaf shutter into the lens mount between the front and rear optical groups, enabling full-speed flash sync and a quieter, smoother shutter action. The trade-off was complexity — because the mirror had to retract behind the shutter blades, the lens could not be removed completely (the rear group remained fixed). Instead, only the front optical cells were interchangeable, limiting the focal length range to a small set of Zeiss-designed supplementary cells (35mm, 85mm, 115mm wide-angle and telephoto fronts for later models).

The Contaflex line competed directly with the Voigtländer Bessamatic and Kodak Retina Reflex — all leaf-shutter SLRs built in West Germany in the 1950s–60s. By the late 1960s, the market had shifted decisively to focal-plane SLR systems (Nikon F, Canon F-1, Leicaflex) and the Contaflex line was discontinued around 1972.

Why It Matters

The Contaflex matters as a historical artifact of West German precision optics manufacturing at its peak and as a technically elegant solution to the flash-sync limitation of focal-plane shutters. A Contaflex with a clean Tessar 45/2.8 delivers images of outstanding micro-contrast and resolution — the Tessar formula optimised for 35mm use is among the finest lens designs of its era. For collectors, the Contaflex represents the intersection of Zeiss optics, German mechanical craft, and SLR design innovation.

For shooting, the Contaflex is a slow, deliberate camera: no quick lens changes, a leaf shutter's limited speed range, and a non-TTL selenium meter that must be checked against a reference. Its historical and optical merits are real; its practical shooting merits are for patient, methodical photographers.

Lenses & Accessories

Contaflex front-cell bayonet. The rear group stays in the body; only front cells interchange on models IV and later (Contaflex I has a fixed Tessar and does not support cell interchange). Available front cells: Pro-Tessar 35mm f/3.2, Pro-Tessar 85mm f/4, Pro-Tessar 115mm f/4. Standard lens: Zeiss Tessar 45mm f/2.8 (or f/2.8 Pantar on budget variants). Later Super B and Super variants offered a Zeiss Planar 50/2 as an upgrade. Accessories: bayonet-fit close-up lens, flash sync contacts (X and M), Zeiss accessory shoe finder.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Popular with West German amateur and press photographers in the 1950s–60s for its all-speed flash sync in an SLR.
• Collector interest is high; the Contaflex I (1953) is the founding model of a significant German SLR line.
• Zeiss optics on these bodies still produce excellent image quality by contemporary standards when the lens is clean.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Zeiss Ikon Contaflex
• Wikipedia: Contaflex