If you lust to put your Zeiss lenses on a DSLR though, you’re out of luck, at least on a Contax body. For those with Contax RTS35mm cameras and lenses, if you’re happy working with film then you have a fantastic system that is unlikely to ever be bested. I owned a Contax RTS IIIfor a while in the ’80s and found it to be an exquisitely built camera with excellent ergonomics.īut all of that is history, because there are likely not to be any further film-based SLRs from anyof the major camera makers, with the Nikon F6being in all likelihood a last hurrah for the genre. Their film cameras were once highly regarded, for their use of Zeiss lenses as much as for their remarkable build quality and excellent handling. Other than this model, and its associated Zeiss lens line, the Contax brand has been at a dead-end for several years. The main concern that photographers have is with the 645 system. There are other historical resources, but these two will get you up to speed. Rather than write a rehash of the history of the Contax brand, I’ll simply point to two on-line references – The History of Contax, and Zeiss Ikon Contaxīodies, Lenses and Photography. August, 2004Ĭontax 645 with Kodak DCS Proback 645C and 120mm Zeiss f/4 Apo-Makro Planar Their definitive announcement is of particular interest to two groups – students of the history of photography, but more particularly those that currently own Contax 645 camera systems.

This followed a couple of months during which Kyocera badly bungled its press and distributor relations, allowing rumours and speculation to run rampant.

A translation of that press announcement can be found here. On April 12, 2005, Kyocera Corporationannounced that it would be ceasing production of all CONTAX brand cameras, including the Contax 645 system, by the end of the year.

Contax 645 35mm bh