The Contarex by Zeiss Ikon:

....the lenses for the Zeiss Ikon Contarex system

Zeiss Ikon engaged Carl Zeiss Oberkochen to develop the best lenses available for a 35mm camera system.The result was the complete line of the Contarex lenses as shown below. Carl Zeiss did not develop a completely new line of optics from scratch but used instead design elements from the Contax line especially for the medium to long tele lenses. Because of the very special lens mount and diaphragm transfer mechanism the Contarex lenses are incompatible to any other camera system!
The quality of the lenses was probably one of the main reasons for many customers to buy a Contarex camera. The 50mm f2 Planar for example, is probably one of the best standardlens ever made!

Lens	Year	focal length	Angle	min. focus	pcs.	comments
Distagon	1972	15mm f3.5	110°	0.16m	2 (!!)	-
F-Distagon	1973	16mm f2.8	180°	0.30m	150	-
Distagon	1967-73	18mm f4	100°	0.5m	1'680	rare and $$$$
Biogon	1958-63	21mm f4.5	90°	1m	4'000	separate viewfinder
Distagon	1963-73	25mm f2.8	82°	0.17m	6'630	-
Distagon	1965-73	35mm f2	63°	0.22m	3'160	-
Distagon	1958-73	35mm f4	63°	0.19m	12'300*	-
Blitz Distagon	1966-73	35mm f4	63°	0.19m	*including	"flash automatic"
PA-Curtagon	1966-73	35mm f4	63°	30cm	nA	shifting
Planar	1957-73	50mm f2	47°	0.30m	37'800	-
Tessar	1960-73	50mm f2.8	47°	0.35m	5'980	-
S-Planar	1963-66	50mm f4.0	47°	24-73cm	400	rare and $$$$
Planar	1965-73	55mm f1.4	43°	0.45m	8'275	-
Sonnar	1974	85mm f1.4	28°	1.0m	400	rare!
Sonnar	1958-73	85mm f2	28°	0.8m	7'585	very nice bokeh!
Tessar	1962-73	115mm f3.5	21°	1:1-inf.	1'550	with bellow only
Sonnar	1964-73	135mm f2.8	18°	1.2m	7'895	Olympia Sonnar
Sonnar	1958-73	135mm f4	18°	1.2m	15'365	-
Sonnar	1966-73	180mm f2.8	14°	1.8m	965	Olympia Sonnar
Sonnar	1959-63	250mm f4	10°	2.0m		2 versions!
Tele-Tessar	1970-73	400mm f5.6	6°	4m	366	rare and $$$$
Mirotar	1963-73	500mm f4.5	5°	4m	200	mirror, very rare!
Mirotar	1964-70	1000mm f5.6	2.5°	12m	23	mirror, very rare!
Vario-Sonnar	1971-73	40-120mm f2.8	56°-20°	2.5m	1'000	very rare!
Vario-Sonnar	1970-73	85-250mm f2.8	28°-10°	4m	581	very rare!
Luminar	-	several	-	-	-	16,25,40,63,100mm
Monocular	-	8x30	-	-	-	Telephoto

Distagon 15mm f3.5

Introduced in 1972, only a few experimental pieces with Contarex mount. The lens was instead produced for the Rolleiflex SL35 and later for Contax RTS starting in 1974. Retrofocal design, 13 lenses in 13 groups, some filters where integrated. This lens was also constructed under license with Leica Reflex mount, named Super Elmar R.

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F-Distagon 16mm f2.8

A typical Fisheye (F) lens, 8 lenses in 7 groups, weighs around one pound, some filters where integrated. Was available later in Rollei and Contax mount.

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Distagon 18mm f4

Introduced in 1967. 10 lenses in 9 groups, weighs approx. 350 gramms, closes down to f22 with nearest focus of 50cm. Produced in chrome and black with chrome focus ring. Uses 67mm thread instead of B56 Contarex bayonet. A second thread is provided for mounting an adapter for filters with 96mm bayonet (the same used for the Vario Sonnar lenses). With this adapter a special grade filter used for compensation of vignetting in the corners can be mounted. Because of the high costs of this lens less than 1650 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Biogon 21mm f4.5

Introduced in 1958. 8 lenses in 5 groups, closes down to f22, nearest focus 1m, B56 filter bayonet, produced in chrome. Production stopped in 1962. Same optical formula as the one for Contax. No automatic transfer of diaphragm preselection. To mount this lens, the mirror of the Contarex body must be locked in the upper position. The reflex viewfinder is therefore not useable anymore. Because of this, a separate viewfinder (which had to be mounted on the flash shoe) was delivered together with this lens. The manual preselection of the diaphragm does not interfere with the light meter of the Contarex Bullseye camera (which is located above the lens) but this lens can not be mounted on cameras with TTL measurement like the Contarex Super or Super Electronic. Approx. 4000 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured.

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Distagon 25mm f2.8

Introduced in 1963 as successor of the Biogon 21mm. 8 lenses in 7 groups, closes down to f22, nearest focus of 17cm and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in chrome and black with chrome focus ring. More than 6000 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured.

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Distagon 35mm f2.0

Introduced in 1965 as an alternative to the Distagon 35mm f4. 9 lenses in 8 groups, nearest focus of 22cm and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in black only with chrome focus ring. Approx. 3000 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured.

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Distagon 35mm f4.0

Introduced in 1958 together with the Contarex Bullseye. 7 lenses in 4 groups, closes down to f22, nearest focus of 19cm and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in chrome and black with chrome focus ring. Despite of the introduction of the Distagon 35mm f2.0, this lens was produced till 1973. Approx. 12000 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured. Has also been produced in a flash corrected version called Blitz-Distagon.

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Blitz-Distagon 35mm f4.0

With "Flash Automatic". The guide number of the flash could be set and by changeing the focal distance, the appropriate diaphragm was automatically adjusted. The downside of this lens is the closest possible focal distance of approx. 38cm (19cm with the 35mm f4 Distagon).

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PA-Curtagon

Shiftable (horizontal and vertical) lens for architectural photography. The only Contarex lens that was not constructed by Zeiss, this is a lens from Schneider Kreuznach and was available until 1967, also with mounts for other cameras.

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Planar 50mm f2.0

Introduced in 1958 together with - and as THE standard lens for the Contarex Bullseye. 6 lenses in 4 groups, closes down to f22, nearest focus of 30cm and B56 filter bayonet as well as an 49mm thread. Produced in chrome and later, with the introduction of the Contarex Professional in black (as all lenses previously manufactured in chrome only) with chrome focus ring. In 1965 a second version the Blitz-Planar has been added. The most common lens for Contarex, approx. 38000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Tessar 50mm f2.8

Introduced in 1960 together with the Contarex Spezial as a economical alternative to the Planar 50mm, but also as a re-edition of the classical Tessar lens which represented THE top design of Carl Zeiss for several decades! 4 lenses in 3 groups, closes down to f22, nearest focus of 35cm and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in chrome and later, after production stop of the Contarex Spezial in black with chrome focus ring. In 1969 the production of this lens stopped. Approx. 6000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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S-Planar f4

Manufactured between 1963 and 1966. "S" stands for "Sonder" (special). The lens is especially corrected for very short distances used for reproduction. The scale shows the reproduction factors rangeing from 1:13 to 1:2.8. The lens can be mounted directly onto the camera body or, for larger scales, to the bellow. Only 400 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured, they where available in black and chrome. The lens was removed from sales because it was commercially not successfull!

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Planar 55mm f1.4

Introduced in 1961 and designed to satisfy the demand of faster lenses. 7 lenses in 5 groups, closes down to f16 and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in chrome and black with chrome focus ring. There are also some very rare pieces completely in black for delivery with black Contarex Super and Super Electronic bodies. Approx. 8000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Sonnar 85mm f1.4

This lens was introduced after the production stop of the Contarex camera line. 6 lenses in 5 groups, only 400 pcs. Became part of the lensline for the Rolleiflex 35SL and Contax.

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Sonnar 85mm f2

Introduced in 1958, Contax design. 7 lenses in 3 groups, closes down to f22 and B56 filter bayonet. Produced in chrome and black with chrome focus ring. Approx. 7000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Tessar 115mm f3.5

Introduced in 1962, Contax design. For close-up and macro photography with bellow. Cannot be mounted directly on a camera body, bellow or extension tubes must be used. No automatic diaphragm transfer (double cable release), B56 filter bayonet. Produced in black with chrome focus ring. Approx. 1500 pcs. have been manufactured between 1962 and 1972.

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Sonnar 135mm f2.8

Introduced in 1964 as a faster version of the Sonnar 135mm f4.0. Nearest focus 120cm, B56 filter bayonet, 4 lenses but different design compared to the older one. Produced in black with chrome focus ring. Approx. 8000 pcs. have been manufactured between 1962 and 1972.

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Sonnar 135mm f4.0

Introduced in 1958 together with the Contarex Bullseye. The classical medium sized tele lens with its design roots in the Contax camp. Nearest focus 120cm, B56 filter bayonet, 4 lenses in 3 groups, closes down to f22. Produced in chrome and in black with chrome focus ring. Because this lens was very popular, it remained in production for 15 years. Approx. 15000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Sonnar 180mm f2.8

Introduced in 1966 with, for this time, exceptional speed. Nearest focus 180cm, weighs around 1kg, 67mm filter thread, 4 lenses, but different design from the Contax one. Produced in black. Special version Olympia Sonnar comes with separate grip and an lateral wheel for faster focussing. Less than 1000 pcs. have been manufactured.

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Sonnar 250mm f4.0

Introduced together with the Contarex System. Nearest focus 200cm, 4 lenses with the same scheme as the 300mm lens for Contax. Produced in black. No automatic diaphragm transfer. In 1963, after approx. 2000 pcs. have been produced, the outfit of this lens, but not the optical design, have been changed. The lens was renamed to Olympia Sonnar was equipped with a fast focussing mechanism and approx. 2500 pcs. of this version have been manufactured.

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Tele Tessar 400mm f5.6

Introduced in 1970. Nearest focus 400cm, 4 lenses with 77mm filter thread. Produced in black. The lens was equipped with the same fast focussing mechanism used on the Olympia Sonnar. Approx. 400 pcs. of this lens have been manufactured.

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Mirotar 500mm f4.5 and 1000mm f5.6

Only a few pieces of these impressive mirror tele lenses have been manufactured. These lenses were not Contarex exclusive, that means that they could be mounted on other camera systems like Rollei SL66 and later also on 35mm systems. The 500mm lens weighs about 4kg, the 1000mm over 16kg!!

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Vario Sonnar 40-120mm f2.8

This was the second CZ zoom lens and introduced in 1971. 13 lenses, weighs 2kg, nearest focus 250 cm. Approx. 1000 pcs. manufactured!

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Vario Sonnar 85-250mm f4.0

This was the first CZ zoom lens and presented in 1966 at the Photokina. Produced with black finish, 96mm filter thread, 15 lenses, weighs approx. 4kg, nearest focus 400 cm. Less than 600 pcs. manufactured!

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Luminar

These very special lenses have been constructed for macro photography with high magnifications (more than 1:1). The following focal lenghts were available: 16mm f2.5, 25mm f3.5, 40mm f4.5, 63mm f4.5 and 100mm f6.3. These lenses were not available for generic photograpy but for use in laboratories only. Special adapters are necessary to mount these lenses!

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Monocular 8x30

For telephoto purposes. Was mounted on the front of the standard lens with a special adapterring

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