In 1932, Zeiss Ikon unveiled the Contax 35mm camera -- six years after the introduction of the Leica.
The original Contax
was boxy and spartan with its
black-enamel finish. The early cameras didn't have any slow speeds
and used one viewfinder for focusing and a second for composing. However,
with its wide-base rangefinder and a small selection of
sharp Carl Zeiss Jena lenses,
Zeiss Ikon finally had a camera that could compete with
the Leica.
There were several versions of the original Contax, now often informally referred to as the Contax I, as Zeiss Ikon added features, such as a wider range of shutter speeds. My early version, for example, lacks slow speeds.
Photographers still had to load their own film into special brass cassettes, and the camera's ergonomics weren't great. Witness the knob on the front of the camera that doubled as both the film advance and the shutter-speed selector. With the tiny finders, the emphasis is on tiny.
Rewinding the film was accomplished by turning the knob that is simply too short to allow the user to get a firm grip.
Still, the boxy little camera was easy to hold, and focusing was a matter of turning the lens, after you had depressed the infinity lock. Images snapped in and out of focus, and it didn't take a herculean effort to shift your eye. If you were in a rush, you could take the photo right then and guess on the framing.
However, the shutter opens and slams shut with more force than necessary, so a firm grip on this Contax is necessary to ensure a sharp image.
The collapsible standard uncoated Tessar lens allowed the camera to slide easily into the pocket, even though it was bulkier and heavier than the Leica.
Was it a great camera? Certainly not, but it finally gave Zeiss Ikon a competitor to the Leica. And the future held much better things for the Contax.