#Arkive: CK's Lens Post: Zeiss Ikon Contaflex's Pro-Tessar 1:1 Macro Lens

Ching-Kuang Shene · Jul 22, 2017

The first modern SLR appeared in East Germany, the Zeiss Ikon Contax S, around 1949. This is the camera that started the M42x1 lens thread. Note that even though M42 is frequently referred to as Pentax screw mount, M42 is not the work of Pentax. In fact, Asahiflex appeared in 1952, which is Japan's first SLR; however, it did not use pentaprism and its thread size was M37x1.

Contax S: The first modern SLR that started the M42 lens thread mount

Zeiss Ikon in West Germany started making SLR in 1953. This is the Contaflex series of cameras. All cameras in this series used fixed lens (i.e., non-interchangeable). The first two in this series, Contaflex I and Contaflex II, accepted a front-mounting teleconverter. However, started with Contaflex III and Contaflex IV in 1956, all subsequent cameras in the series used a convertable design. If you played with large format lenses, you perhaps know what a convertable lens is.

The following is a Contaflex III of 1953.

Contaflex III (1956)

From Contaflex III and on, all cameras used Tessar 50mm 1:2.8 lens. The lever marked with a red dot is used to remove the front end of the Tessar lens.

Push the red dot lever inward followed by a twist to remove the front part of the Tessar. Note from the following image that there is a glass element in front of the aperture mechanism. Therefore, the "removable" component is just a single glass element. This front part is interchangeable.

There are three front lenses available as shown below. Note that the aperture mechanism and the glass element in front of it are fixed. This is the so-called convertable lens concept, because by swapping a portion of a lens we can produce multiple lenses. Note that a real convertable lens may allow both parts to be swapped.

From left to right: Pro-Tessar M 1:1, Pro-Tessar 35mm f/4, Tessar 50mm f/2.8 (on camera lens), and Pro-Tessar 85mm f/4

In his post, I tried the Pro-Tessar M 1:1 as shown in the left of the image below. The Pro-Tessar can reach 1:1 magnification.

Left: Pro-Tessar M 1:1 Right: Tessar 50mm 1:2.8

More than a year ago I bought a Contaflex lens and NEX adapter combo. The following shows the lens and the adapter, but the front end is a Pro-Tessar M 1:1.

Contaflex with Pro-Tessar M 1:1 on a Sony A7II

The maker of this lens and adapter combo was not very careful in choosing the lens, because the surface of the rear part of the lens has some cleaning mark that cannot be removed. By the way, this lens is very likely a lens salvaged from a Contaflex III, Contaflex IV or Contaflex Rapid. That is, this is a lens from the old series rather than a lens from a Super or a later model. The later lenses are supposed to be better.

The following image was taken with Pro-Tessar M 1:1 at nearly the minimum focus distance. It is clear that the vertical direction recorded approximately 22mm, which suggests that the magnification can be slightly higher than 1:1.

Magnification at nearly minimum focus distance

The following has some images. Refer to full size images to examine the quality of Pro-Tessar M 1:1. Note that, except for the first image, I did not use any PP.

Mellon - slightly adjusted using PS Level

Contrast is bit low but easy to correct

Peanut

Light Buld Label

Cherry

The Same Cherry from a Different Angle

I do not have any conclusions yet because it is the very beginning in shooting with these Pro-Tessar lenses. Please do keep in mind that all of these lenses appeared before 1959, the year Canon (Canonflex) and Nikon (Nikon F) released their first SLR professional cameras. Zeiss Ikon also made the Contarex (Bullseye or Cyclops) available, the first Zeiss Ikon interchangeable professional camera.

Canonflex: Canon's First SLR (1959)

Contarex Bullseye/Cyclops with a Contarex 135mm 1:2.8 -- Sorry, this lens is dirty. It is just for my own record.

You input and comments are most welcome.

CK

Tom Caldwell · Jul 22, 2017

What can I say CK?

Your very informative and well prepared posts are excellent and usually cover gear and issues that I know very little about. I have to admire your diverse collection and your knowledge of the items you have collected. I think that what you have been doing is very much appreciated even if the feedback is sparse.

I wish I could comment more. My own collection is based around the semi-convertable DKL lenses and the Yi Neng adapter DKL-M42 which is so well made that once mounted on a lens it even looks "oem". Even the little moving dof makers are present and are aware of the aperture range of the lens that is mounted.

It hardly qualifies as a "convertible" system as only the aperture part was fixed camera body mounted. But there was an earlier version used by Kodak that seems to have used a two part lens system.

Sjak · Jul 22, 2017

Thanks for this little piece of history! Fascinating read, and also intriguing to see how these classic lenses perform today.

Please do keep posting more of this when you have time and mood to do so

Heritage Cameras · Jul 23, 2017

Tom Caldwell said:
Your very informative and well prepared posts are excellent and usually cover gear and issues that I know very little about. I have to admire your diverse collection and your knowledge of the items you have collected. I think that what you have been doing is very much appreciated even if the feedback is sparse.

Seconded, this is fascinating stuff – thank you!

Tom Caldwell said:
I wish I could comment more. My own collection is based around the semi-convertable DKL lenses and the Yi Neng adapter DKL-M42 which is so well made that once mounted on a lens it even looks "oem". Even the little moving dof makers are present and are aware of the aperture range of the lens that is mounted.

It hardly qualifies as a "convertible" system as only the aperture part was fixed camera body mounted. But there was an earlier version used by Kodak that seems to have used a two part lens system.

Yes, the Kodak Retina IIIc (IIIC) and original Retina Reflex used convertible lenses from either Schneider or Rodenstock, and apparently you can't mix-and-match the two. The standard lens components are small, but the wide angle and portrait ones are huge compared to the compact DKL lenses.

I don't believe there are any commercial adapters for these lens components on modern cameras, but a DIY one should be possible. The Rolleiflex SL26 used a similar system and there's a very impressive adapter (also here) for that.

ravduc · Jul 23, 2017

Very interesting information. Actually the Contax S made by Zeiss Ikon Dresden was the first camera produced that used a pentaprism, but not the first slr. Exakta had already developed the slr but with a waist level viewfinder. They later added a pentaprism viewfinder. The M42 screw mount as you say, was developed for the Contas slr cameras and not by Pentax. Pentax actually bought the right to use this lens mount also the name Pentax which is a combination of the first syllable from the word pentaprism and the last from the word contax. Zeiss Ikon actually changed the name of the first Contax slr's to Pentacon (for international legal reasons) for they were prohibited from using the Zeiss name. The Zeiss Ikon cameras that you illustrate were all produced in West Germany, thus the name Zeiss Ikon.

Ching-Kuang Shene · Jul 24, 2017

Thank you for your input.

ravduc said:
Very interesting information. Actually the Contax S made by Zeiss Ikon Dresden was the first camera produced that used a pentaprism, but not the first slr. Exakta had already developed the slr but with a waist level viewfinder. They later added a pentaprism viewfinder.

Yep. I made it very clear that the Contax S was the FIRST MODERN SLR. Without the word MODERN, which I interpreted as a word that every one knows well, we open a flood gate to allow too many SLR to be included. The first 35mm film SLR was the Kine Exakta (1936). The following one is a little later, the so-called square viewfinder model. The first model had a circular viewfinder.

Kine Exakta Square VF Model

If we remove the "35mm" requirement, there was a VP Exakta using the 127 film (65x40mm). It appeared in 1935, which is earlier than the Kine Exakta. The following is a VP (Vest Pocket) Exakta made between 1935 and 1937.

In fact, before the advent of these "small" format SLR's, there were larger format SLR's. For example, the following is a Zeiss Miroflex B folding SLR. This camera was designed before WW1, sold to Nettel Camera Werke, and released right before WW1 appeared. Contessa and Nettel merged into one company, and remade this camera with a new name Contessa-Nettel Miroflex. Then, in 1926, Zeiss convinced the merge of four camera companies, Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz and Ica to become Zeiss Ikon. The camera shown below is the Zeiss Ikon version.

Miroflex B Folding SLR

About the same time in 1936 when Ihagee released Kine Exakta, Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, aka KW, released a 6x6 SLR, the Pilot 6.

Pilot 6 6x6 SLR

Here are a few more SLR's that were released earlier than Kine Exakta:

Mentor Compur Reflex Mod 310 (1929). Yes, this is a SLR.

Bentzin's Primarflex (1935) 6x6 SLR. Does it look like a Hasselblad?

There were several other candidates around the period when Ihagee released VP Exakta. Furthermore, large format SLR's had already been there when the above shown SLR's appeared. In fact, the concept of SLR appeared much earlier. In 1861, Briton Thomas Sutton obtained the first SLR patent. Then, many large format SLRs appeared. The following shows one around the 1920's

Graflex (American) large format SLR in the 1920's.

Therefore, we need the qualifier MODERN in our discussion. As a result, I showed a Contax S rather than Kine Exakta.

ravduc said:
Zeiss Ikon actually changed the name of the first Contax slr's to Pentacon (for international legal reasons) for they were prohibited from using the Zeiss name.

To be exact, the above "Zeiss Ikon" is the ZI in East Germany, because West Germany also had a Zeiss Ikon at the same time. In West Germany, Carl Zeiss board of control on March 3rd, 1948, decided to move the headquarter from Dresden to Stuttgart. April 17th, 1948, Russian occupation headquarter announced to make Zeiss Ikon AG in Dresden government owned property and changed the name to Mechanik Zeiss Ikon VEB Dresden. Then, we had two Zeiss Ikons. Around 1951, the time Zeiss Ikon in East Germany released the Contax small D (see below), both Zeiss companies were in court to gain the use of a few brand names such as Zeiss, Ikon, Contax, Tessar, Sonnar, etc.

Contax small D

VEB Zeiss Ikon lost the right to use Zeiss Ikon, Contax, etc. as a result in the west, but in the east there was no problem. Then, VEB Zeiss Iken registered the name Pentax (PENtaprism conTAX) on May 25th, 1952, and later the name of Pentacon (PENTAprism CONtax). VEB Zeiss Ikon planned to released a SLR with interchangeable pentaprism and focus screen. However, due to the high cost, this project was cancelled, and sold the name Pentax to Asahi Kogaku. Pentacon SLR's appeared in 1953, which is basically a Contax D (see below) for export while Contax D cameras were available in the Soviet bloc. Eventually, Pentacon released a professional SLR, the Pentacon Super, and a set of wonderful lenses in order to compete against Contarex and Japeness cameras; however, Pentacon Super had a poor reputation in terms of quality control and was withdrawn quickly. I could not find images of my Pentacon Super from my recording database as of now, and will post an image of it later.

Contax D

Pentacon. Note the different names (Contax D vs. Pentacon) and the marks (doublet vs. Ernemann Tower).

ravduc said:
The Zeiss Ikon cameras that you illustrate were all produced in West Germany, thus the name Zeiss Ikon.

Yes, I made it very clear that all Contaflex cameras were made in West Germany. However, VEB Zeiss Ikon was still there when Contaflex was released. In fact, VEB Zeiss Ikon had its focus on movie cameras. After Contax E (see below) was released, all subsequent camera development work moved to KW (we saw this name earlier). Thus, the last Contax model, i.e., Contax F (see below), was developed and made by KW. In 1959, VEB Zeiss Ikon, VEB Kamera Werke (i.e., KW), and three more companies merged into VEB Kamera und Kinowerke Dresden (People's Camera and Cinema Factory of Dresden). As a result, the name Zeiss Ikon disappeared from East Germany. By this time, the Contaflex series had shown many models and Contarex was about to appear. In 1964, VEB Kamera und Kinowerke Dresden and VEB DEFA merged to become VEB Pentacon, and in 1968, VEB Pentacon and Feinoptisches Werke Görlitz merged to become Kombinat VEB Pentacon Dresden.

Contax E

Contax F

CK

Ching-Kuang Shene · Jul 24, 2017

Tom Caldwell said:
What can I say CK?

Your very informative and well prepared posts are excellent and usually cover gear and issues that I know very little about. I have to admire your diverse collection and your knowledge of the items you have collected. I think that what you have been doing is very much appreciated even if the feedback is sparse.

I wish I could comment more. My own collection is based around the semi-convertable DKL lenses and the Yi Neng adapter DKL-M42 which is so well made that once mounted on a lens it even looks "oem". Even the little moving dof makers are present and are aware of the aperture range of the lens that is mounted.

It hardly qualifies as a "convertible" system as only the aperture part was fixed camera body mounted. But there was an earlier version used by Kodak that seems to have used a two part lens system.

--
Tom Caldwell

Tom,

Thank you for the nice words. I am a weirdo in many's eyes because I just do not want to play with any popular cameras and lenses. I love odd and exotic stuffs for sure. To tell you the truth, I do not have ant DKL Retina lenses, even though they are very good, perhaps even better than the Contaflex lenses. I have have one Helios 44-2 because it came with a camera body for free. :-D

CK

Ching-Kuang Shene · Jul 24, 2017

Sjak said:
Thanks for this little piece of history! Fascinating read, and also intriguing to see how these classic lenses perform today.

Please do keep posting more of this when you have time and mood to do so

Many years ago, I wrote many articles on cameras and lenses, including their theory and technical issues and historical notes. I did it for fun. This was a very exhausting and time consuming work, and hence I had to cut the frequency of posting these articles to gain more time on my research work. If you are interested, please visit this site. Warning: all articles are in Chinese. However, Google translation is always helpful.

CK

ravduc · Jul 24, 2017

You are very well documented. Thanks for the additional information.

Letsgokoulos · Jul 24, 2017

Hi CK,

Thank you very much for this very informative thread, it is a delight to read. I hope you will go on writing such posts, as they are very-well documented treasures that give us historical background on the lenses and cameras we cherish in this forum !

Have you ever thought of having your chinese articles translated into English for posterity ?

Marc

E Dinkla · Jul 24, 2017

Ching-Kuang Shene said:
The first modern SLR appeared in East Germany, the Zeiss Ikon Contax S, around 1949. This is the camera that started the M42x1 lens thread. Note that even though M42 is frequently referred to as Pentax screw mount, M42 is not the work of Pentax. In fact, Asahiflex appeared in 1952, which is Japan's first SLR; however, it did not use pentaprism and its thread size was M37x1.

Contax S: The first modern SLR that started the M42 lens thread mount

Interesting information on the Contaflex. Shows again that Zeiss is not so strict in using lens branding per design, then and now. Tessar suggests way less complicated designs than shown here in the Pro Tessars.

Above is the Contax with the 5.8cm 2.0 Biotar lens that went into production. An interesting prototype of the Contax S used a Sonnar 57mm 2.0.

https://flic.kr/p/e4JoUE

Only some prototypes of that Sonnar 58mm were made and after that no other standard Sonnar design type appeared for SLRs but the Asahi Takumar 58mm 2.0 which was really produced in quantities.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
750+ inkjet paper white spectral plots: OBA content etc.

spectrumviz_1

Sjak · Jul 24, 2017

Ching-Kuang Shene said:
Sjak said:

Thanks for this little piece of history! Fascinating read, and also intriguing to see how these classic lenses perform today.

Please do keep posting more of this when you have time and mood to do so

Click to expand...

Many years ago, I wrote many articles on cameras and lenses, including their theory and technical issues and historical notes. I did it for fun. This was a very exhausting and time consuming work, and hence I had to cut the frequency of posting these articles to gain more time on my research work. If you are interested, please visit this site. Warning: all articles are in Chinese. However, Google translation is always helpful.

CK

Yes, I fully understand how much time is involved with the writing process (and research also obviously), and also fully aware that you do this (at least here) on a fully voluntary basis. I admire and respect the extent of your knowledge and your willingess to share this with us.

One particular thing that strikes me is your ability to put everything into a wider context, while still staying on focus. This is very difficult to achieve.

I will dive into your link, I have an evening off today so a very welcome distraction, thanks

widgetbox · Jul 24, 2017

Fascinating thread CK. Makes me wonder if one has to become an expert on this "line" before beginning any collection or does the process of collection force one to become an expert

Certainly some fascinating cameras and lenses.

Cheap GAS · Jul 24, 2017

excellent write-up. thanks for the great read!

Sjak · Jul 24, 2017

widgetbox said:
Fascinating thread CK. Makes me wonder if one has to become an expert on this "line" before beginning any collection or does the process of collection force one to become an expert

If someone has a significant collection but no expertise, I would rather call him/her a hoarder, not a collector

Tom Caldwell · Jul 24, 2017

Ching-Kuang Shene said:
Tom Caldwell said:

What can I say CK?

Your very informative and well prepared posts are excellent and usually cover gear and issues that I know very little about. I have to admire your diverse collection and your knowledge of the items you have collected. I think that what you have been doing is very much appreciated even if the feedback is sparse.

I wish I could comment more. My own collection is based around the semi-convertable DKL lenses and the Yi Neng adapter DKL-M42 which is so well made that once mounted on a lens it even looks "oem". Even the little moving dof makers are present and are aware of the aperture range of the lens that is mounted.

It hardly qualifies as a "convertible" system as only the aperture part was fixed camera body mounted. But there was an earlier version used by Kodak that seems to have used a two part lens system.

Click to expand...

Tom Caldwell · Jul 24, 2017

Letsgokoulos said:
Hi CK,

Thank you very much for this very informative thread, it is a delight to read. I hope you will go on writing such posts, as they are very-well documented treasures that give us historical background on the lenses and cameras we cherish in this forum !

Have you ever thought of having your chinese articles translated into English for posterity ?

Marc

I imagine that with CK's devotion to expert documentation and factual research that he would appreciate a volunteer to help with the "donkey work"?

Tom Caldwell · Jul 24, 2017

Sjak said:
widgetbox said:

Fascinating thread CK. Makes me wonder if one has to become an expert on this "line" before beginning any collection or does the process of collection force one to become an expert

Click to expand...

If someone has a significant collection but no expertise, I would rather call him/her a hoarder, not a collector

Sound like me

Letsgokoulos · Jul 24, 2017

Tom Caldwell said:
Letsgokoulos said:

Hi CK,

Thank you very much for this very informative thread, it is a delight to read. I hope you will go on writing such posts, as they are very-well documented treasures that give us historical background on the lenses and cameras we cherish in this forum !

Have you ever thought of having your chinese articles translated into English for posterity ?

Marc

Click to expand...

I imagine that with CK's devotion to expert documentation and factual research that he would appreciate a volunteer to help with the "donkey work"?

Trebor1 · Jul 25, 2017

Ching-Kuang Shene said:
Thank you for your input.

Member said:

Very interesting information. Actually the Contax S made by Zeiss Ikon Dresden was the first camera produced that used a pentaprism, but not the first slr. Exakta had already developed the slr but with a waist level viewfinder. They later added a pentaprism viewfinder.

Click to expand...

Yep. I made it very clear that the Contax S was the FIRST MODERN SLR. Without the word MODERN, which I interpreted as a word that every one knows well, we open a flood gate to allow too many SLR to be included. The first 35mm film SLR was the Kine Exakta (1936). The following one is a little later, the so-called square viewfinder model. The first model had a circular viewfinder.

Kine Exakta Square VF Model

If we remove the "35mm" requirement, there was a VP Exakta using the 127 film (65x40mm). It appeared in 1935, which is earlier than the Kine Exakta. The following is a VP (Vest Pocket) Exakta made between 1935 and 1937.

In fact, before the advent of these "small" format SLR's, there were larger format SLR's. For example, the following is a Zeiss Miroflex B folding SLR. This camera was designed before WW1, sold to Nettel Camera Werke, and released right before WW1 appeared. Contessa and Nettel merged into one company, and remade this camera with a new name Contessa-Nettel Miroflex. Then, in 1926, Zeiss convinced the merge of four camera companies, Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz and Ica to become Zeiss Ikon. The camera shown below is the Zeiss Ikon version.

Miroflex B Folding SLR

About the same time in 1936 when Ihagee released Kine Exakta, Kamera-Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, aka KW, released a 6x6 SLR, the Pilot 6.

Pilot 6 6x6 SLR

Here are a few more SLR's that were released earlier than Kine Exakta:

Mentor Compur Reflex Mod 310 (1929). Yes, this is a SLR.

Bentzin's Primarflex (1935) 6x6 SLR. Does it look like a Hasselblad?

There were several other candidates around the period when Ihagee released VP Exakta. Furthermore, large format SLR's had already been there when the above shown SLR's appeared. In fact, the concept of SLR appeared much earlier. In 1861, Briton Thomas Sutton obtained the first SLR patent. Then, many large format SLRs appeared. The following shows one around the 1920's

Graflex (American) large format SLR in the 1920's.

Therefore, we need the qualifier MODERN in our discussion. As a result, I showed a Contax S rather than Kine Exakta.

Member said:

Zeiss Ikon actually changed the name of the first Contax slr's to Pentacon (for international legal reasons) for they were prohibited from using the Zeiss name.

Click to expand...

To be exact, the above "Zeiss Ikon" is the ZI in East Germany, because West Germany also had a Zeiss Ikon at the same time. In West Germany, Carl Zeiss board of control on March 3rd, 1948, decided to move the headquarter from Dresden to Stuttgart. April 17th, 1948, Russian occupation headquarter announced to make Zeiss Ikon AG in Dresden government owned property and changed the name to Mechanik Zeiss Ikon VEB Dresden. Then, we had two Zeiss Ikons. Around 1951, the time Zeiss Ikon in East Germany released the Contax small D (see below), both Zeiss companies were in court to gain the use of a few brand names such as Zeiss, Ikon, Contax, Tessar, Sonnar, etc.

Contax small D

VEB Zeiss Ikon lost the right to use Zeiss Ikon, Contax, etc. as a result in the west, but in the east there was no problem. Then, VEB Zeiss Iken registered the name Pentax (PENtaprism conTAX) on May 25th, 1952, and later the name of Pentacon (PENTAprism CONtax). VEB Zeiss Ikon planned to released a SLR with interchangeable pentaprism and focus screen. However, due to the high cost, this project was cancelled, and sold the name Pentax to Asahi Kogaku. Pentacon SLR's appeared in 1953, which is basically a Contax D (see below) for export while Contax D cameras were available in the Soviet bloc. Eventually, Pentacon released a professional SLR, the Pentacon Super, and a set of wonderful lenses in order to compete against Contarex and Japeness cameras; however, Pentacon Super had a poor reputation in terms of quality control and was withdrawn quickly. I could not find images of my Pentacon Super from my recording database as of now, and will post an image of it later.

Contax D

Pentacon. Note the different names (Contax D vs. Pentacon) and the marks (doublet vs. Ernemann Tower).

Member said:

The Zeiss Ikon cameras that you illustrate were all produced in West Germany, thus the name Zeiss Ikon.

Click to expand...

Yes, I made it very clear that all Contaflex cameras were made in West Germany. However, VEB Zeiss Ikon was still there when Contaflex was released. In fact, VEB Zeiss Ikon had its focus on movie cameras. After Contax E (see below) was released, all subsequent camera development work moved to KW (we saw this name earlier). Thus, the last Contax model, i.e., Contax F (see below), was developed and made by KW. In 1959, VEB Zeiss Ikon, VEB Kamera Werke (i.e., KW), and three more companies merged into VEB Kamera und Kinowerke Dresden (People's Camera and Cinema Factory of Dresden). As a result, the name Zeiss Ikon disappeared from East Germany. By this time, the Contaflex series had shown many models and Contarex was about to appear. In 1964, VEB Kamera und Kinowerke Dresden and VEB DEFA merged to become VEB Pentacon, and in 1968, VEB Pentacon and Feinoptisches Werke Görlitz merged to become Kombinat VEB Pentacon Dresden.

Contax E

Contax F

CK

The first 35mm SLR with interchangeable lenses and a pentaprism was actually the Italian Rectaflex, beating the Contax S to series production by more than 1 year. It also featured a bayonet lens mount.

Loading…

www.pentax-slr.com

#Arkive: CK's Lens Post: Zeiss Ikon Contaflex's Pro-Tessar 1:1 Macro Lens

Ching-Kuang Shene

Guest

Community Leader

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Ching-Kuang Shene

Guest

Ching-Kuang Shene

Guest

Ching-Kuang Shene

Guest

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Leading Member

Member

Veteran Member

Community Leader

Community Leader

Community Leader

Veteran Member

Forum Enthusiast

Similar threads

Keyboard shortcuts