OT: Contaflex vs. Bessamatic vs. Retina
RolandRB
to know where people think the Contaflex was positioned in the market
compared to the Bessamatic and Retina Reflex series. I regard the
Bessamatic/Bessamatic Deluxe/Bessametic CS with its set of lenses
(including the wider aperture 50mm Septon) the equivalent of the
Retina Reflex cameras and available lenses. Maybe some would disagree.
But I would like to know how people think the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex
series and its available lenses was positioned in relation to them.
Lower, maybe, but with the Contax positioned higher than Voigtlander's
and Kodak's offering? The Contaflex series looks uglier than the
Bessamatics and the Retina Reflexes but then most Zeiss cameras were
not very aescetic but were rather very functional. Maybe they were
trying to compete for the same market but the camera lacked the style
and finish.
If somebody has prices for that time then this would be of help.
Denny Wong
Retina as well Bessamatic lenses so I can only speak from my limited
knowledge about these systems.
According to "Zeiss Compendium" by Barringer and Small, when Contaflex
was introduced in 1953:
"It was moderately priced in the American market at $169.00, placing
it at about half the cost of an Exakta Varex and less than half the
cost of a Contax IIa or Leica IIIf, and this made it an attractive
choice. There were many cameras clustered at the bottom of the market
limited in entry-fee, but also limited in their features. The
contaflex offered so much more, at not much more cost, that it became
a solid seller and engendered a sucession of leaf-shutter SLR's
through the remainder fo the decade. Some of these, such as the
Agfaflex and Bessamatic, both of 1959, lfet their own imprint on the
photographic world, although others, such as the Retina Reflex of
1957, are perhaps more easily forgetten."
To me these cameras have similar construction (ie leaf shutter SLR
camera) but Bessamatic and Retina series are more useable as they have
truely interchangeable lens system whereas Contaflex is limited by the
fixed lens design. These Voigtlander and Retina/Schneider lenses are
still very respectable by today's standard. In fact, they are all
seriously under value compare to their optical excellence. I was told
at one point, a set of Retina Reflex camera was more expensive than a
Leica camera.
I agree with you to group Retina Reflex and Bessamatic together as
their lens mount is very similar. With a minor modification, their
lenses are interchangeable.
With the Retina Reflex/Bessamatic adapter being available in the
marketplace, classical lenses such as Septon 50/2, Xenon 50/1.9, Arton
85/4, Dynarex 90/3.4, Curtagon 28/4 can be used on modern SLR. By
getting the adapter, I can have Auto exposure and bright focusing
screen from a modern SLR, I am voting with my feet as to which is a
better system.
Denny Wong
Vincent Becker
> I do not use Contaflex but I have used Bessamatic camera and own
> Retina as well Bessamatic lenses so I can only speak from my limited
> knowledge about these systems.
And I have a Contaflerx Super BC so I will add a comment on this camera :-)
> To me these cameras have similar construction (ie leaf shutter SLR
> camera) but Bessamatic and Retina series are more useable as they have
> truely interchangeable lens system whereas Contaflex is limited by the
> fixed lens design.
Well, the Super BC has interchangeable front lens elements, with
available focal lengths of 35, 50 and 115mm, and a very rare 400mm. Not
as good as truly interchangeable lenses, but better than the plain fixed
lens of the early Contaflex.
> These Voigtlander and Retina/Schneider lenses are
> still very respectable by today's standard. In fact, they are all
> seriously under value compare to their optical excellence.
One can not say so about the interchangeable front lens elements of the
Contaflex. Though they're not bad, and even quite good in the center,
the extreme corners of the pictures look strange, a mix between blur and
chromatic aberation. But the Contaflex remains very useable, even by
today's standards.
Here's a page I wrote about it:
http://www.lumieresenboite.com/collection2.php?l=2&c=Zeiss_Ikon_Contaflex_Super_BC
And there is a very exhaustive description of all Contaflex cameras on
Pacific Rim Cameras:
http://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/zeiss/contaflx/contflx.htm
Regards,
--
Vincent Becker
Photographies et appareils anciens - Photography and classic cameras
<URL:http://www.lumieresenboite.com>
RolandRB
Thanks,
Roland