I first heard of the Contaflex from Woody Schwartz, whom I quoted earlier.  He owned a Contaflex I, and said it had a “dandy lens.” When I first saw it, I found it outright ugly.  However, it had the density I like, and its beautiful chrome commanded respect.  So I went out and found a Contaflex II for forty dollars.

This II is about the size of a Voigtlander Vito:  you can grip it firmly in one hand.  As with the Vito, you focus it by turning a ring at the very front of the lens; the focus-throw is short.  However, it is an SLR, so the viewfinder image is dimmer and the release is louder. A lot louder.  Imagine fifty people flipping open big metal cigarette lighters all at once:  crrrrrriiiinnnnchnk!  As with some of the earliest SLRs, there is no instant mirror return, a convenience I had always taken for granted. When you trip the shutter, the mirror goes up to stay and night falls in the viewfinder.  You don’t get the mirror back until you cock the shutter.  This isn’t altogether bad:  you can tell at a glance if the camera is cocked.  What I do dislike about this camera is that, for whatever reason, the cocking mechanism is stiff.  You accomplish the combined cocking/film advance by twisting a knob in the usual film-advance place.  The knob is knurled and hard to twist:  after you have advanced several frames, your fingers are skinned.  In at least one of the Contaflex owner manuals, this problem is acknowledged.  The Zeiss people recommend holding the knob firmly while twisting your arms.  This is supposed to get the stress off your finger pads, but it feels like wringing out clothes.  

The reasons for using the Contaflex are sturdiness, compactness, and a Tessar lens.  The last of the Contaflexes had a more advanced formulation of the Tessar, but it’s hard to imagine anything significantly bettering the original.  From what I hear, the late Tessar is more like contemporary lenses:  it is made with rare-earth glass and designed for maximum sharpness.   

My Contaflex II lasted fifteen years.  Then the shutter jammed—a common problem with Contaflexes, alas—and I knew the repair price would hurt.  So a few years later, I picked up a Contaflex IV.  This is the same camera as the II and has the same reliable meter and Tessar lens.  However, the IV is heavier, and uses the fiddly EV exposure scale.  Saddest of all, it is stiff to focus.  Zeiss moved the focusing ring farther back, and you need two grips to work it.  Yes, they are knurled also.  The focus throw is long, and the stiffness slows you even more, so you are not going to shoot quickly with this machine.  The IV is better looking than the II, but don’t be deceived by a pretty face.  If you have a choice, get the homely one!