Pacific Rim Camera
Photographica Pages
An online guide to collectable cameras and related stuff
Zeiss Ikon
Contaflex I, II, III and IV
Contaflex I (left) and Contaflex II (right)
The Contaflex I (861/24)was introduced in 1953. It was an attempt to bring out a reasonably affordable 35mm SLR to the
market, targeting the amateur. It was a big success. It was a Compur leaf shutter with a fixed 45/2.8 Tessar. It was
complimented with the introduction of the Contaflex II (862/24)the following year. This was the identical camera, but
with a selenium meter built into one side.
Contaflex IV
In 1957 Zeiss offered two additional models of Contaflex featuring a 50/2.8 Tessar lens whose front element could be
removed and replaced with a different focal length. These cameras were the Contaflex III (863/24) without the exposure
meter, and the Contaflex IV (864/24) with the selenium meter.