Zeiss Ikon Contina III ?

[Berndt]

Visiting my parents home in Germany for the first time since living in Japan for five years this summer, I found an old Zeiss camera of my grandfather in the attic.

According to the almighty Camerapedia, it should be a Contina III, because it has a Pantar 45mm/2.8 lens and a light meter ... but ... there is no chance for exchanging lenses on it, which suppose to be possible on that model.
camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Contina

The actually weird thing is, that my grandfather obviously owned a tele lens, which would fit to this camera type. It's a Kodak Retina-Tele-Xenar 135 mm f/4 ... in "like new" condition BTW, same as the camera. My grandfather had been crazy about keeping things in good condition as I remember him.

The whole thing keeps me wondering all the time. Is it a Contina III ? Has there been a version of this model without exchangeable lenses ? And why should my grandfather have kept a tele lens for that camera then ?

Any Zeiss experts, having an idea ?


Zeiss Contina by bokuwanihongasuki, on Flickr

[mickeyobe]

berndt,

According to the item below the front element may be removed and replaced with auxiliary lenses. The knurled ring around that element makes it look like it was intended to be removed,
Two different ones were available.

www.amdmacpherson.com/classiccameras/index.html

Mickey

[Berndt]

Thanks Mickey !!!

So, you think, there have been two different models ... or exchangeable front elements ? I actually can't imagine any logical reason, why they should have manufactured a front element like this ( where the lens can't be exchanged ), because customers might want to buy the tele lens later as well ( and my granpa obviously did so too ). Sad, that I can't ask him anymore. He died 20 years ago.

In this construction, the lens can't be removed ... except maybe by removing those two srews and the whole front element, which I didn't try yet.

Or ... doesn't it actually look more like a Contina-matic II ?

[bigdawg]

It should have a bayonet style lens mount that has a button or lever that releases the front lens from the shutter. That is a Contina III.

[nikonbob]

You can find an owners manual here www.butkus.org/chinon/zeiss_ikon/zeiss_ikon_contina_iii/zeiss_ikon_contina_iii.htm . Page 21 shows how to remove the front element if it is a Contina III and it appears to be. If you go to the sites list of Zeiss Ikon owners manuals you can see there are quite a few models of Continas.

Bob

[retina]

This appears to be Contina-matic III if it has an interchangeable Pantar. The Contina-matic, with the coupled meter followed the Contina III, which had an un-coupled meter.

If the lens is not interchangeable, which looks likely, since I don't see the usual lens release tab, then this is a Contina-matic II.


Regards, Chris

[Berndt]

Thanks Chris. And yes, mine has a coupled meter and I couldn't find any way for the releasing the lens.

What remains being a mystery ( most likely forever ), why my grandfather owned an exchangeable tele lens for it. He was a passionated hobby photographer but never a camera or lens collector. According to my mother and my own memory, this has been his only camera besides an older Weltaflex and an even older plate camera, which doesn't exist anymore.

[retina]

G'day Berndt,

That tele lens you mentioned wouldn't have fit a Contina III or Contina-matic III, or any other Zeiss Ikon anyway, it is a lens for a Kodak camera, either a Retina IIIS, Reflex S, Reflex III, Reflex IV, or the Instamatic Reflex.

Regards, Chris

[Berndt]

Really ? Thanks for that information !!! So, I might get one of those some day and use the lens again.

[hansz]

Berndt,
What is the type of the Contina? It's located on the side of the body, pressed in the leatherette.
Then goto holoceen.nl Zeiss Ikon tab and do a search on the number.
If not successful, contact me-
Hans

[Berndt]

Hans, thanks a lot !!! I tried my number ( T 26770 ) ... but nothing happened

[hansz]

Berndt,
On a Zeiss Ikon camera you'll find (mostly, not on all) a couple of numbers.
Your T26770 (which on makes me happy..) is the production number assigned by the master-of-inventory. Ans it is unique for every body Zeiss Ikon ever made.
The number I've been talking about is - from memory, I could be wrong - stamped on the other side and should read as something like 527/24 (that is the Bestellnummer and the /24 meaning a 24x36mm cam). If so, you've got yourself a Contina II.
If found try holoceen.nl again, or else do a searchText on contina and you'll find all variants.

[Berndt]

Mmmmh ... you are right, Hans. There is another number and it is 527/24. So it should be a Contina II ? The thing is just, that my camera does not look like a Contina II at all ( especially not from the top ). My camera does exactly look like a Contina Matic II. Something wrong with this number system then ?

[hansz]

Hi Berndt,
Nothing wrong with the number system, but the name Contina is used for acouple of non-rangefinder cameras. Also some engineering changes were made bothh inside the Contina family (making the Contina I, II and III) as within a Bestellnummer - like your 527/24 - mostly adaptations to the finder.
Someday I'll write an article about it...:-)