The Contarex by Zeiss Ikon:

....the SLR camera bodies!

Zeiss Ikon introduced the Contarex Bullseye camera in 1958. At this time the price for a body plus 2.0/50mm Planar already was DM 1300! The nickname Bullseye came from the round lightmeter just above the lens.

The technology of this mechanical camera is very impressive, the quality of the lenses still top! The first lenses available for the Contarex were 21, 35, 50, 85, 135 und 250mm.

Lenses, camera bodies and accessories for this camera can still be found on the used market. Price range is moderate to very high.

Features	Contarex I (Bullseye)	Contarex Special	Contarex Professional	Contarex Super	Contarex Super El.	Contarex Hologon
weight (g)	920	880	830	880	890	1800
Production	1959-1966	1960-1963	1966-1967	1967-1975	1968-1975	1969-1975
Total Units	36'000	5'000	1'500	13'000	3'100	1'400
changeable screen	>1964	y	y	y	y	n/a
Lightmeter	Selen	n	n	TTL (CDS)	TTL (CDS)	n
Battery	n	n	n	1 x PX625	1 x PX 625, 2 x MN9100	n
Speeds	1-1/1000, B	1-1/1000, B	1-1/1000, B	1-1/1000, B	1-1/1000, B	1-1/500, B
Biogon 21mm possible?	y	y	y	-	-	-
chrome/blk	y/y	y/n	y/n	y/y	y/y	n/y
misc.	black <5 pieces.	-	-	-	Telesensor, Motor,spec. Handgrip, Time indicator, electr. control unit	built-in lens

The Contarex I (Bullseye)

There were 5 variations (A/B/D/E/G) of this first model:

The first series with 10'000 units from serial number T 85001 - T 95000 built between 1959 and 1960 is the Contarex A.

Within the serial numbers range mentioned above were some additional series namely 5000 units from Y 6001 to 11000, 5000 units from Z 16001 to 21000 and another 5000 units ranging from Z 46001 to 50404 were added. These were the Contarex B.

Starting from Y 10661 a fix film rewind knob and starting from Z 19101 a noise surpression and a light limiting bolting device were implemented.

Between November 1963 and September 1964 the Contarex D was built. The range of serial numbers was D 20501-21096 and D 21101-23604. In this release the possibility to interchange screens and an inscription mechanism were introduced.

The following Contarex E had internal changes only. Serial numbers were from E 12001 to 15000 and E 92001 to 94500. The second curtain axle was made adjustable.

The Contarex G was delivered between October 1965 and October 1966. The serial numbers range was G 30501 - 35000 but the last delivered was serial number G 33500! This last variation included a switch for the "Blitz" lenses as well as very few black painted bodies made on customer request.

So between September 1959 and October 1966 five different Contarex models (A/B/D/E/G) with a total number of 36004 units were built.

The Contarex special

The Contarex special had an interchangeable viewfinder system instead of the lightmeter. Of course the screens could also be changed. The Contarex special became world famous through US-astronaut Edward H. White. When he left his spaceship 175km away from earth in June 1965 only connected with a cable, he used a Contarex special to take pictures of the skin of the Gemini 4. This happened without the knowledge of the people at Zeiss Ikon. Later they said they didn't know that this camera is able to work under space conditions.

The Contarex special did not have a lightmeter and that was not acceptable for some people. So the Contarex I Model D was an appropriate successor with interchangeable screens and inscription mechanism.

The Contarex professional (P)

The Contarex professional was only built over a short time period and in small quantities. As the Contarex special, this model was delivered without a built-in lightmeter. There were some changes like a new gear unit for a smoother film transport, a knob to flop the mirror between the viewfinder and film advance lever, an improved shutter release mechnism, an improved mirror release mechanism, a bigger viewfinder etc.

The Contarex super (S)

Introduced in 1967. The only difference between the Contarex professional and Contarex super was the built-in TTL meter. The meter cell was a CDS element and the measurement angle approx. 7 degrees of the visible field in the viewfinder. To provide the light meter with the necessary voltage, a Mallory PX 625 type battery was needed. The battery compartment is located under the mirror and to change the battery the mirror must be lifted.

There where 2 versions of the Contarex super that can be distinguished by the location of the battery switch. The "front switch" version had the power switch located on front of the camera, on the right side of the Contarex logo. The "top switch" version (starting 1968) had the power switch under the film advance lever. There were problems with the electrical contacts of the front switch version, which could be eliminated in the top switch version.

The Contarex S electronic (SE)

The Contarex SE was introduced in 1968 and was the last but most advanced camera of the Contarex system. The main difference to its predecessor, the Contarex super, was the electronically controlled shutter. The battery for the lightmeter is located under the mirror, equal to the Contarex super. Additionaly to batteries of Mallory MN9100 type are needed for the electronic shutter. If the shutter batteries failed, it was still possible to use the camera, but only at 1/1000 sec. shutter speed. On the front side there is a plug connector to use the special accessories like Telesensor, Time indicator, electr. control unit etc.

The Contarex Hologon ultrawide

A juwel for ultrawideangle photography! The Hologon lens in this camera is probably one of the most spectacular desings in ultrawideangle photography and its quality is still not surpassed today. It is basicly a three lens construction and after 1972 the Hologon was adapted by Leica for use on their M cameras. The Contarex Hologon has the same body like the Contarex super and incorporates following features:

built-in Carl Zeiss 15mm f8 wideangle lens, not interchangeable
110 degrees angle, no distortions!
no distance and diaphragm adjustment
no selftimer