Zeiss Ikon III1936

History

Zeiss Ikon introduced the Contax II and III in 1936, representing a near-total redesign of the Contax I line. The Contax I, produced from 1932, had been technically ambitious but mechanically troubled — its shutter and rangefinder mechanism were complex and prone to reliability issues. By 1936, Zeiss Ikon's engineering team had rebuilt the camera from the ground up: the dual viewfinder-rangefinder eyepieces of the Contax I were merged into a single combined window, the shutter mechanism was substantially revised, and the top speed was raised to 1/1250s.

The Contax III was the premium offering in the revised line, distinguishing itself from the Contax II solely by the addition of the selenium meter cell on the top plate. The meter was a genuine innovation in 1936 — very few cameras of any format incorporated metering at the time — and Zeiss Ikon marketed the III accordingly to professionals and serious amateurs who valued exposure precision.

Production of the Contax III continued until it was interrupted by World War II. Post-war, Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart's redesigned Contax IIIa (1950) continued the line with improved construction and flash synchronisation, while the Kiev 4 in the Soviet Union was a near-copy built from the tooling shipped east after the war.

Why It Matters

The Contax III is notable on two counts: as part of the 1936 redesign that represented the apex of Zeiss Ikon's prewar rangefinder engineering, and as an early commercial integration of exposure metering into a 35mm camera body. The selenium meter, even uncoupled, placed the Contax III ahead of nearly all 35mm contemporaries in terms of exposure convenience.

The camera also carries the optical legacy that defines the Contax system: the Contax RF bayonet was designed specifically to allow Zeiss to produce lens designs — particularly the deep-rear-element Sonnar configuration — that were not possible with Leica's screwmount register. The Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 available for the Contax system in the late 1930s was the fastest standard lens available on any system of the era, and the Biogon 35mm f/2.8 was a landmark wide-angle design.

For collectors, the Contax III represents the pre-war Contax line at its most complete specification: the refined shutter and rangefinder of the 1936 redesign, plus the meter that the Contax II lacks.

Lenses & Accessories

The Contax III uses the same internal Contax RF bayonet mount as the Contax I and II. Key lenses from the prewar era include:

• Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 - fast standard, defining optic of the system
• Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 50mm f/2 - slightly smaller and lighter standard option
• Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 - economical standard
• Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 85mm f/2 - portrait telephoto
• Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm f/4 - telephoto
• Carl Zeiss Jena Biogon 35mm f/2.8 - wide-angle

Prewar Contax lenses are broadly compatible with the postwar Contax IIa and IIIa bayonet, but subtle differences in the bayonet implementation across generations mean compatibility should be verified for specific lens-body combinations.

Soviet Jupiter lenses on the Kiev/Contax mount are functional substitutes at lower cost, though manufactured to varying standards.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

Professional European photographers of the late 1930s used the Contax II and III as serious tools alongside the Leica, particularly for scientific, medical, and press work where the superior shutter speed range (1/1250s vs Leica's 1/500s) and longer rangefinder base were practical advantages. Specific attribution to the Contax III is difficult to document in photographic literature.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Contax III - variant documentation and technical specifications
• Wikipedia: Zeiss Ikon Contax - brand history and lineage overview