1932 年，Carl Zeiss 的相機工廠 Zeiss Ikon 推出了一台可交換鏡頭的測距式 (RF) 相機 Contax I，為 Contax 這個品牌揭開了序幕。後續在 1936 年又推出了 Contax II 和 Contax III (附有測光表的 Contax II 版本)，這一系列的相機提供了超快速的快門 1/1250 秒，100mm 的最長基線，現代相機廣為採用的金屬縱走式簾幕快門 (註: 此一類似鐵捲門的金屬縱走式簾幕快門，在構造上仍類式於傳統雙簾式的橫走式布幕快門，與現代相機採用的多簾式金屬簾幕快門差異甚大。)，方便的單一低速與高速快門旋鈕，合而為一的測距窗與觀景窗，以及 三插刀式的鏡頭快拆接環，使得 Carl Zeiss 在測距式相機技術上的領先當代同業甚多。然 Carl Zeiss 的工程師並不以此為滿足，約莫於1937 年，又開始研發新一代的相機，也就是現代單眼相機的雛型，但是隨著戰事的的逼近，真正的開花結果則要等到二次世界大戰結束之後。
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| Left: Contax IIa, Right: Contax D |
戰後重生
Post-war Resurgence
1945 was a tragic year for Carl Zeiss. The main production facilities for cameras and lenses, Dresden and Jena, were nearly obliterated by Allied bombings. After the war, the division of Germany into East and West following the Soviet-American rift also divided the path to rebirth for Carl Zeiss.
Under Soviet control in East Germany, Carl Zeiss quickly utilized the surviving equipment and parts in Dresden and Jena to produce some versions of the Contax II/III cameras under the Carl Zeiss Jena name. They also trained Soviet technicians, eventually moving the entire production line to the Soviet Union, where the Kiev 2/3/4 cameras and lenses, mimicking the Contax II/III, were manufactured. With this foundation, East Germany's Carl Zeiss had the opportunity to continue researching pre-war SLR cameras and introduced the world to the first reflex SLR camera with a pentaprism viewfinder in 1949, the Contax S. This was a significant milestone in the history of modern cameras. Later, during the Zeiss Ikon VEB and Pentacon periods, they released cameras such as the Contax D (introduced in 1952, further details below), E (Contax D with a light meter), F, FB, FBM, and more.
1945 年，對 Carl Zeiss 而言是悲慘的一年，主要的相機與鏡頭的生產工廠 -- Dresden 與 Jena，因盟軍的轟炸而幾乎蕩然無存。戰後則由於蘇俄與美國的決裂導致德國的分裂，Carl Zeiss 的重生之路也被一分為二。
在蘇俄控制下的東德 Carl Zeiss 很快的利用 Dresden 與 Jena 僅存設備與零件生產了一些 Carl Zeiss Jena 版本的 Contax II/III相機，同時並訓練蘇俄技師，最後讓蘇俄將整個生產線移至蘇俄，開始生產仿 Contax II/III 的 Kiev 2/3/4 相機與鏡頭。就在這樣的基礎下，東德 Carl Zeiss 有機會繼續戰前單眼相機的研究，並在 1949 年向世界介紹了第一台具有五稜鏡觀景窗的反射式單眼相機 Contax S (註: 戰後除了Contax S，還有匈牙利 Duflex、義大利 Rectaflex、瑞士 Alpa Prisma Reflex 都在發展這項技術，其中應該是Duflex最早1947年少量生產。)，打開了現代相機史上的重要一頁。後續更在 Zeiss Ikon VEB 與 Pentacon 時期 推出了 Contax D (1952年發售，下文將介紹的相機)、E(附測光表的Contax D)、F、FB、FBM 等單眼相機。
In West Germany, Carl Zeiss faced more challenges. Engineers and executives, including members of the board, who left the Soviet-occupied zone with the withdrawal of American forces, established the Carl Zeiss company in Stuttgart. With no blueprints, they managed to build the tools for manufacturing cameras and established a complete production line, finally releasing their post-war masterpiece, the Contax IIa, in 1950, followed by the IIIa. While these cameras retained the lens mount and a similar exterior appearance to the Contax II/III, all parts were redesigned and re-manufactured, resulting in improved stability and durability compared to pre-war models.
在西德的 Carl Zeiss 則沒有那麼順利，隨美軍撤離蘇俄佔領區的一批工程師(包含董事會)在 Stuttgart 重新成立了 Carl Zeiss 公司，在連藍圖都沒有的條件下，從生廠相機的工具製作到完整生產線的建立，終於在 1950 年推出了戰後 的大作 Contax IIa (下文將介紹的相機) 和 IIIa，除了與 Contax II、III 有著相同的鏡頭接環與相似的機身外觀外，所有的零件均經過重新設計和生產，穩定性與耐用度均較戰前機型提升許多。
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| 西德 Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart 的商標 |
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| 東德 Zeiss Ikon VEB 的商標 |
鏡頭接環
Lens Mount
Although the Contax IIa was a post-war redesign and production, it retained the lens mount of the pre-war Contax RF series, making almost all pre-war lenses compatible with the Contax IIa (except for the pre-war Biagon 35/2.8). In comparison to the contemporaneous Leica RF cameras with the M39 screw mount, the bayonet mount's convenience is unquestionable. Even the post-war Japanese Nikon S series RF cameras directly adopted the Contax mount. Due to the post-war division of East and West Germany, Contax RF camera lenses came from three sources: West Germany's Zeiss-Opton/Carl Zeiss, East Germany's Carl Zeiss Jena, and the Soviet Union's Kiev series.
The Contax D continued with the M42 screw mount introduced by the Contax S (note: the M42 screw mount originated from Kamerawerke Niedersedlitz's Praktiflex with the original 40.5mm, later changed to 42mm after the war, so it was not first introduced by the Contax S). This mount, due to its ease of production, quickly became the target of imitation in the flourishing post-war Japanese camera industry (SLR), notably by PENTAX (PENtaprism conTAX). In North America, the M42 screw mount is sometimes even referred to as the Pentax screw mount. Thus, apart from the high-quality Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, Contax D had many Japanese lenses to choose from.
Contax IIa 雖是戰後重新設計與生產的相機，但是卻沿用了戰前 Contax RF 系列的鏡頭接環，使得戰前所生產的鏡頭幾乎都可用在 Contax IIa 上 (除了戰前的 Biagon 35/2.8 以外)。相較於同時期 Leica RF 相機的 M39 螺紋接環，插刀式接環的方便性無庸置疑，就連戰後日本 Nikon 研發的 S 系列 RF 相機也是直接採用 Contax 接環。由於戰後東西德的分裂，使得 Contax RF 相機的鏡頭來源分成 3 個地方：西德 Zeiss-Opton/Carl Zeiss、東德 Carl Zeiss Jena 與 蘇聯 Kiev 系列。
Contax D 則是沿用 Contax S 所開創的 M42 螺紋接環 (註:M42螺紋接環是來自於Kamerawerke Niedersedlitz的 Praktiflex原始40.5mm，戰後改為成42mm的螺紋接環，所以並非是Contax S首創)，由於生產技術容易，因此很快的成為戰後蓬勃發戰的日本相機工業 (SLR) 的模仿對象，其中以 PENTAX (PENtaprism conTAX) 最為有名，在北美地區甚至以 Pentax 螺紋接環來稱呼 M42 螺紋接環，因此，Contax D 可使用的鏡頭除品質極佳的 Carl Zeiss Jena 鏡頭外，尚有許多日系鏡頭可供選擇。
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| Contax IIa 插刀式接環 |
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| Contax D 螺紋式M42接環 |
快門結構
Shutter Mechanism
The Contax IIa used a modern vertically-traveling shutter widely adopted in contemporary cameras. Its mechanical structure is similar to the traditional horizontally-traveling cloth shutter, with the shutter curtain's movement direction changed to top-down. The material was switched to aluminum, and the shutter curtain was composed of dozens of thin aluminum strips (somewhat like the design of a rolling shutter), producing a distinctive shutter sound when released.
The Contax D, on the other hand, used a traditional horizontally-traveling fabric shutter mechanism, which remained the mainstream curtain shutter mechanism until the 1970s.
Contax IIa 採用現代相機廣泛使用的縱走式快門，其機械結構與傳統橫走式快門簾幕類似，只是快門簾幕的行徑方向改為由上而下，材質改為鋁金屬，為使其如布幕快門般捲動，快門由數十片條狀鋁片所組成 (有點像鐵捲門的設計)，釋放時有其特有的快門聲響。
Contax D 的快門簾幕則採傳統橫走式移動的布質快門，一直到 70 年代都是簾幕快門機構的主流。
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| Contax IIa 縱走式金屬快門 |
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| Contax D 橫走式簾幕快門 |
速度轉盤
Shutter Speed Dial
The Contax IIa's groundbreaking 1/1250 sec shutter speed, though modest by today's standards, was revolutionary for the 1950s technology. Another seemingly ordinary feature was the ability to choose low-speed and high-speed shutters on the same dial. This differed from contemporary cameras that had separate dials for low and high speeds.
The design of Contax D's shutter speed dial was considerably different from modern cameras. The shutter speed indicator, shutter dial, and shutter speed dial were separate. Rotating the shutter speed dial (the lower arrowed dial) caused the shutter speed dial (distinguishing low and high-speed shutters with red and black numbers) to move to the indicated speed. Behind the camera, there was a switch to select the indicator pointing to slow or high-speed shutters. It was a complex design and a vulnerable part of the Contax D.
Contax IIa 的 1/1250 sec 快門速度算是劃時代的創舉，雖然從現在的標準來看 1/1000 sec 也只能算是最低需求，但是對 50 年代的技術而言，已經算是高不可攀了。另一項看似普通的特點則是在同一轉盤上可選擇低速快門與高速快門，有別於當代其他採用低速轉盤與高速轉盤獨立分開的相機，後者的設計在 Contax D 上仍保有一些痕跡。
Contax D 的快門轉盤設計與現代相機有很大的不同，快門速度指標、快門轉盤與快門旋鈕都是分開的，轉動快門旋鈕 (下方有箭頭的旋鈕)可令快門轉盤 (以紅色和黑色數字區分低速與高速快門) 轉動到速度指標所指向的快門速度，在機身後方則有一個選擇開關，用以切換指標指向慢速快門或高速快門，是一項很複雜的設計，也是 Contax D 很容易壞的部分。
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| Contax IIa 整合式快門與底片計數盤 |
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| Contax D 分離式快門盤與底片計數盤 |
機身規格
Camera Specifications
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標準鏡頭
The Contax IIa is paired with the early post-war version of the West German-made single-layer T-coated Sonnar 50/2 lens. This lens has specifications for both pre-war and post-war versions. The pre-war version further divides into cylindrical and non-cylindrical designs, all manufactured by Carl Zeiss Jena with lenses lacking coatings. After the war, East Germany's Zeiss continued to produce T-coated lenses under the Carl Zeiss Jena brand, and they were marketed alongside Contax IIa and IIIa cameras. West Germany's Zeiss only produced the non-cylindrical version, initially under the Zeiss-Opton trademark, also featuring T-coating. Later, it switched to the Carl Zeiss trademark, making it the top-tier lens for the Contax RF system.
On the other hand, the Contax D is paired with the East German-made Tessar 50/2.8 from Zeiss, featuring T-coating and considered an affordable standard lens of its time. Similar to the Tessar 50/3.5 paired with the first-generation Contax S, both are standard lenses with small apertures. With the development of the M42 mount, automatic aperture versions were also introduced later.
Contax IIa 所搭配的是西德製具單層 T 鍍膜 Sonnar 50/2 戰後初期版。這鏡頭規格有戰前版與戰後版，戰前版又分沉筒式與非沉筒式設計，均為 Carl Zeiss Jena製造，鏡片均無鍍膜﹔戰後東德蔡司仍繼續以 Carl Zeiss Jena 商標製造 T 鍍膜鏡頭，並搭配 Contax IIa、IIIa 行銷。西德蔡司僅生產非沉筒式版本，初期以 Zeiss-Opton 為商標，亦有 T 鍍膜，後期則以 Carl Zeiss 為商標，可說是 Contax RF 系最高級的鏡頭。
Contax D 所搭配的是東德蔡司具T 鍍膜的 Tessar 50/2.8，是當時的平價標準鏡。與第一代 Contax S 所搭配的 Tessar 50/3.5，都是屬於小光圈的標準鏡。後期隨 M42 接環的發展，也出了自動光圈的版本。
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| Left: Zeiss-Opton Sonnar 50/2.0, Right: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50/2.8 |
鏡頭規格
Lenses Secifications
| 詳細鏡頭 規格比較 |  |  |
| 鏡頭 | Zeiss-Opton Sonnar 50/2.0 | Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50/2.8 |
| 生產者 | 西德 Carl Zeiss | 東德 Carl Zeiss Jena |
| 生產年 | 約 1951 年 | 約 1951 年 |
| 接環 | Contax RF 插刀式接環 | Contax M42 螺紋式接環 |
| 鏡組 | 3 群 6 枚 | 3 群 4 枚 |
| 光圈 | 2-2.8-4-5.6-8-11-16-22 | 2.8-4-5.6-8-11-16 |
| 光圈葉片 | 9 片 | 12 片 |
| 對焦距離 | 0.9 m ~ 無限遠 | 0.5 m ~ 無限遠 |
| 濾鏡口徑 | 40.5 mm | 40.5 mm |
| 鏡身外徑 | 46.5 mm | 51 mm |
| 鏡身長度 | 41.5 mm | 45 mm |
| 重量 | 135 g | 115 g |
參考文獻
1. Charles M. Barringer and Marc James Small,
"ZEISS COMPENDIUM East and West -- 1940-1972",
Hove Collectors Books, 1995.
2. Ivor Matanle,
Standard Lenses
"COLLECTING AND USING Classic Cameras",
Thames and Hudson, 1986.
相關網站
1. The Zeiss Historica Society
2. CameraQuest's Classic Camera Profiles
3. The Zeiss Ikon Contax home
4. Mike's Praktica Home
5. The Contax Classic Supply Store WWRepair
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