Germany 1939 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare.
The Contax II was part of Zeiss Ikon’s strategy to challenge Leica’s supremacy in the 30s.
Produced from 1936 the Contax II brought so much innovation it is said to have taken a 10 years advance on the Leica III. It was the first camera with combined range and view finders built out of one single prism occupying the whole upper part of the camera. In this unique design there were no moving parts to be knocked out of alignment and the entire system was the most accurate, convenient to use and rugged in the world. The shutter system also offered a unique approach with only a single transport mechanism carrying both curtains. This advantage allowed the Contax shutter to operate at the unheard-of top speed of 1/1250 second with perfect reliability.
The Contax II is an incredible machine resulting from the best German engineering. Production had to be stopped at the end of the war when Dresden was destroyed and most of the facilities fell under Russian hands, forcing Zeiss to start again in Stuttgart.
4 Replies to “Zeiss Ikon
Contax II (mod. 1) – 26/99”