Pentacon is the company name of a camera manufacturer in Dresden , Germany .
102-543: The name Pentacon is derived from the brand Contax of Zeiss Ikon Kamerawerke in Dresden and Pentagon , as a Pentaprism for Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras was for the first time developed in Dresden. The cross section of this prism has a pentagonal shape. Pentacon is best known for producing the SLR cameras of the Praktica -series as well as the medium format camera Pentacon Six ,
204-439: A Contax SLR camera. As the traditional vertical-run Contax shutter required considerable space both above and below the film gate for the drum rollers, the upper roller takes up the critical space required for the reflex housing mechanism, making it dimensionally impossible to use it for a satisfactory SLR camera. Winzenberg solved the problem by the use of a completely new horizontal-run focal-plane shutter, thus allowing space for
306-469: A Japanese company seized the "Pentax" brand and registered it. Subsequent models were also made wearing both Contax and Pentacon nameplates; the former were meant for markets where Zeiss Ikon Dresden still held the rights to its name. Eventually, the company went on to form the Pentacon VEB conglomerate (which included companies as Meyer-Optik Görlitz, Ihagee Dresden, and KW, among others), which would start
408-472: A brand name. The early cameras were among the finest in the world, typically featuring high quality Zeiss interchangeable lenses . The final products under the Contax name were a line of 35 mm , medium format, and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Japanese multinational Kyocera , and featuring modern Zeiss optics. In 2005, Kyocera announced that it would no longer produce Contax cameras. The rights to
510-407: A brick building on a stone base, which was covered by a sloping roof and a slate roof. However, in the same year, it was decided to use the new construction of concrete skeletons and a simpler façade design. The four-story building is divided into six groups of windows, each of which has three windows. Narrow wall patterns and lightly embedded parapets summarize the three lowest floors. The fourth floor
612-469: A built in rangefinder coupled to the lens focusing mechanism. This model has a separate viewfinder (showing a reduced image) and rangefinder . In 1932, the flange to filmplane was standardised to 28.8mm, first implemented on Leica model C, and the Leica Standard the next year. The Leica III added slow shutter speeds down to 1 second, and the model IIIa added the 1/1000 second shutter speed. The IIIa
714-486: A fast 1/1000 s shutter speed, and various iterations of the III (a,b,c,d,f,&g) series became the flagship models and best sellers into the late 1950s. Further iterations of models I and II were offered but did not sell well. Prior to WWII , Leica and competing Contax cameras from Zeiss Ikon were considered to be the finest 35 mm cameras, but post-WWII the companies had competition from Soviet and Japanese copies. During
816-416: A fixed 28 mm wide-angle lens. A departure from the 35 mm format, the Contax 645 was an autofocus medium format SLR system introduced in 1999, featuring an array of Zeiss lenses and interchangeable film and digital backs. One of its unique features was a 220 film back equipped with the vacuum system originally developed for the 35 mm RTSIII SLR, which was claimed to increase sharpness by keeping
918-731: A full-frame 24×36 mm CCD sensor. The Contax NX was the prosumer 35mm model for advanced-amateur photographers, while the N1 was aimed at professional users. The series was made in Japan by Kyocera . The N-series bodies used new N-mount lenses made by Kyocera , with electronically controlled aperture and autofocus. Nine lenses were produced for the mount, a mixture of primes and zooms. Contax did sell an adapter (NAM-1) allowing lenses from their 645 medium format system to be used on N bodies. Not all Contax flash units are compatible with all cameras. There are essentially three groups of flash guns; those made for
1020-569: A lead ahead of the Leica until the Leica M3 of 1954. Since the Contax was produced at the Dresden works before the war, the new Zeiss Ikon firm in West Germany (Stuttgart) did not have the tools to recommence production. The resultant Contax IIa and IIIa models, while sharing many similarities with the prewar forebears, also showed significant simplification and cost-cutting by using cheaper materials, due to
1122-492: A little later the G2, both fully manual or automatic, featuring the first zoom lens for a rangefinder camera as part of a range of Zeiss-branded lenses from 16 mm to 90 mm. However, by 2002 the company's film camera products were declining in sales, and its newer digital camera products failed to make serious inroads into the digital-photographic market. In 2005, Kyocera discontinued all photographic equipment manufacture, including
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#17328585112291224-411: A loggia-like ninth floor, that later was closed. Due to the urban landscape that characterized the size of the building, the planning of the district government was initially rejected because of a simple and unsatisfactory exterior design. Even so, the building was built in 1938 between the two oldest skyscrapers. In 1950, west of the skyscraper of 1911, a skyscraper of similar construction with nine floors
1326-499: A loss. Liquidation began on October 2, 1990 (one day before official reunification), and production ceased on June 30, 1991. By then it had shed nearly three thousand employees to retain a total of 3331 - the next day all but 232 were laid off. Investor Heinrich Manderman, who had previously been involved in resurrecting lensmaker Schneider Kreuznach , purchased the rights to the Pentacon brands and several portions of its assets, including
1428-560: A new common lens mount, known as Contax/Yashica mount (C/Y) to be used on cameras bearing both marques. The first model, the Contax RTS (short for "Real Time System"), was designed by Prof. Dr. Katsuiko Sugaya, styled by the Porsche Design studio, and manufactured by Yashica as Top Secret Project 130 . Featuring comprehensive use of electronics, it was the beginning of the new Contax line of SLR cameras which brought 13 different models, with
1530-506: A new plant at Stuttgart until 1962. Zeiss Ikon also produced several SLR camera lines starting from the 1950s, including the Contaflex SLR , Contarex , Bessamatic (as Voigtländer , which had been acquired in 1956), and Icarex , but none of these bore the Contax brand. Zeiss Ikon ceased camera production in 1972. With the emergence of the Japanese camera industry, mainly a consequence of
1632-451: A photograph of the Tank Man during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests . Following censorship of the Leica brand on Sina Weibo , Leica revoked the commercial and sought to distance themselves from it, claiming the company did not sanction its production. In September 2022, Leica announced Cine 1, a laser projector, for release in 2023. The model is Leica's return to digital projectors, which
1734-509: A publicly owned company. In 1998, the Leica group was divided into two independent units: Leica Microsystems and Leica Geosystems . On 1 October 2012, Leica Camera AG was delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after Lisa Germany Holding GmbH acquired the remaining minority shares stock resulting in the company being owned privately. On 26 November 2013, Leica Camera AG announced the purchase of Sinar Photography AG , Zurich,
1836-494: A rare 1923 Leica camera for 2.6 million euros ($ 2.8 million) at an auction in Vienna. Notably, Leica cameras with military markings are highly valued; this started a market for refurbished Soviet copies with fake markings. The earliest Leica prototypes were developed by the company Ernst Leitz GmbH during the first years of the 20th century, but marketing did not commence until the mid-1920s. The Leicas were innovative, by orienting
1938-418: A roll-up garage door. This complex shutter became the characteristic of the Contax camera and its Super-Nettel derivative. By contrast, the competitive Leica followed the established design of using rubberized fabric shutter curtains wound around rollers, moving horizontally. The Contax design allowed a higher maximum shutter speed: the top speed was 1 ⁄ 1000 s, then increased to 1 ⁄ 1250 s in
2040-565: A series of Leica lenses, and the name of the second appeared in the SummaREX. In 1930, the Leica I Schraubgewinde was first produced. It had an exchangeable lens system based on a 39mm diameter screw thread, often referred to as the Leica Thread Mount or LTM . In addition to the 50 mm normal lens , a 35 mm wide angle and a 135 mm telephoto lens were initially available. During
2142-553: A titanium body. The T and T2 have a fixed 38 mm wide-angle Sonnar lens (5 elements in 4 groups), while the T3 uses a redesigned 35mm Sonnar lens (6 elements in 5 groups). The T-VS and T-VS II use a 28–56 mm Vario-Sonnar lens (where the "VS" in T-VS comes from), while the T-VS III has a 30–60 mm Vario-Sonnar lens. All analog T and T-VS cameras use 35 mm film . The Tix uses APS film and has
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#17328585112292244-591: A workhorse. The vertical shutter had both variations in speed, slit and a brake at the end of travel that was again a Zeiss first. After the Second World War, a few Contax cameras were produced at the original Dresden factory, and some were assembled at the Carl Zeiss optical works at Jena , before production was transferred to Kyiv in Ukraine . During the war years, the chief designer, Hubert Nerwin, tried to convert
2346-561: Is a German company that manufactures cameras , optical lenses , photographic lenses , binoculars , and rifle scopes . The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 ( Ernst Leitz Wetzlar ), in Wetzlar , Germany . The name Leica is derived from the first three letters of the founder's surname (Leitz) and the first two of the word camera: lei-ca (LEItz CAmera). In 1986, the Leitz company changed its name to Leica and moved its factory from Wetzlar to
2448-619: Is considered by many to be the finest camera ever made. As with the II and III, the IIa was the base camera, and the IIIa had an added exposure meter attached on top of the camera. The shutter curtains were changed to duraluminium, lighter and faster to start and stop; however, they were thicker, too. The old Biogon did not fit, so a new one was designed together with the new Biogon 21 mm f 4, gave new perspectives to wide angle photographing. Two basic variations of
2550-478: Is the last model made before Barnack's death, and therefore the last model for which he was wholly responsible. Leitz continued to refine the original design through to 1957. The final version, the IIIg, includes a large viewfinder with several framelines. These models all have a functional combination of circular dials and square windows. Early Leica cameras bear the initials D.R.P., which stands for Deutsches Reichspatent,
2652-443: Is visually separated from the lower part of the building by a very distant cornice. On either side of the central building there was a hip roof with high ceilings. The mansard's floor expanded as production and workers also increased. Only a few years later, Leitz again demanded the construction of a tall building. After the planning of Jean Schmidt, contractor Robert Schneider built a four-story building in 1911. The basement building
2754-513: The 1 ⁄ 50 s marking on the shutter speed dial was painted chromate yellow, while the speeds of T, B, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 25 were black, and 100, 250, 500, and 1250 red. The Contax IIa/IIIa ceased production in 1960 and was removed from the company catalog in 1961, replaced by the Contarex SLR. Ed Shoenecker, the longtime owner of a Zeiss dealer in Portland, Oregon , Hollywood Camera, described
2856-718: The Micro Four Thirds mount, including the 12 mm f /1.4 Summilux, 15 mm f /1.7 Summilux and 25 mm f /1.4 Summilux prime lenses, and zooms including a 12–60 mm f /2.8–4 and 100–400 mm f /4–6.3 . Leica and Minolta signed a technical cooperation agreement in June 1972. In 2020, Leica entered a strategic partnership with Insta360 to help produce the ONE R 1-Inch Edition. Since then, ONE R has been recognised as one of TIME magazine's best inventions of 2020. Since 2016, Leica has established partnership with
2958-652: The "Zeiss-Opton" marking. The original series of lenses for Contax were mainly new designs by Ludwig Bertele, under the Sonnar name which was previously used by Contessa-Nettel. These lenses were mainly advanced Unar/Protar derivatives of markedly asymmetrical designs, for the purpose of maintaining maximum image contrast by reducing lens flare before the era of anti-reflective surface coating, many of them also offering large maximum apertures as well. Apart from these, some existing designs were also adapted for use too. Leica Camera Leica Camera AG ( / ˈ l aɪ k ə / )
3060-494: The 1950s Japanese quality and innovation, along with low pricing, devastated the European camera industry. Leica became an expensive type of camera bought largely by professional or serious photographers. However, the advent of reflex camera technology made rangefinders somewhat obsolete, leaving Leica the main product of a diminishing market segment. Leica has remained a notable tradename into the 21st Century. The original producer of
3162-490: The 1970s and 1980s used West German Zeiss-designed wide-angle lenses for their own cameras. The 15 mm Hologon was the first super-wide lens on a Leica, and the Leica reflex had access to the 15 mm Distagon lens as part of the Leitz supplied range. Kyocera acquired Yashica in 1983 and continued to manufacture products under the Yashica and Contax brands. In the mid-90s came their Contax G1 with outstanding lenses and
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3264-596: The 200 mm f /4.5 Telyt Lens. This date is significant because it places Leica among the 35 mm SLR pioneers. Until the 1964 introduction of the Leicaflex, the PLOOT and Visoflex were Leica's only SLR offerings. A redesigned PLOOT was introduced by Leica in 1951 as the Visoflex I. This was followed by a much more compact Visoflex II in 1960 (which was the only Visoflex version available in both LTM screwmount and M-bayonet), and
3366-533: The 24x36 mm format needed a lens designed specially for it. The first Leica lens was a 50 mm f /3.5 design based on the Cooke triplet of 1893, adapted by Max Berek at Leitz. The lens has five elements in three groups—the third group being three cemented elements—and was initially named the Leitz Anastigmat. Unlike other triplets, the Leitz Anastigmat has the diaphragm between the first and second elements. When
3468-605: The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei , and Leica cameras will be co-engineered into Huawei smartphones , including the P series and Mate series . The first smartphone to be co-engineered with a Leica camera was the Huawei P9 . The partnership ended with the Huawei P50 series in 2021. In 2021, Leica has established technology partnership with Sharp Corporation , and Leica cameras will be co-engineered into Sharp smartphones for
3570-477: The Contax 645 system: The following lenses were designed by Carl Zeiss for the Contax 645: The Contax N series was an autofocus 35 mm SLR system, based around an entirely new electronic bayonet mount that was not compatible with previous Contax C/Y mount lenses. Three models were made: the N1, the NX and the N Digital , the first full-frame digital SLR . The N Digital was one of the first digital cameras to feature
3672-672: The Contax II. The fact that the shutter ran across the shorter dimension of the format area was a significant factor for achieving this technical feat. The interlocking slats were aligned by specially woven silk ribbons, which were very strong but subject to wear. Replacing these ribbons was difficult but, contrary to modern cameras, made for a 400,000-cycle life. Zeiss also invented the System Camera, with all sorts of near-photo, wide-angle, mirror-house, long-focal-length lenses for specific situations. However Zeiss called it Universalkamera. One of
3774-514: The Contax IIa/IIIa was synched at 1 ⁄ 50 s and all slower speeds. Further, with the adjustment on the 1365 flash cable used with the Black Dial camera, the user could tune the flash to the individual shutter, and synch strobe to the 1 ⁄ 100 s! At the time, this sort of shutter speed with a strobe was unheard of, and was a major technological feat. On the later color dial cameras,
3876-474: The Contax brand in 2005, thus, for now, bringing the Contax story to a close. In contrast to the contemporary Leica which was evolved from its original concept into a photographic system, the Contax was designed as the heart of a photographic system from the start. A heavily engineered machine of tremendous complexity, it was Zeiss Ikon's showcase of the technology it possessed. The Contax I had six identifiable variants, but fundamentally identical; every aspect
3978-405: The Contax into a single-lens reflex camera but was hindered by the presence of the upper roller of the vertical focal-plane shutter. The postwar design chief Wilhelm Winzenberg started with a clean slate, which became the Contax S (Spiegelreflex, literally "Mirror reflex"), even though the "S" was not marked on the camera. The Contax S can be said to be the camera that defined the configuration of
4080-512: The Focorapid and Televit, that could replace certain lenses' helicoid mounts for sports and natural-life telephotography. In 1986, the Leitz company changed its name to Leica (LEItz CAmera), due to the fame of the Leica tradename. At this time, Leica relocated its factory from Wetzlar (Germany) to the nearby town of Solms (Germany). In 1996, Leica Camera separated from the Leica Group and became
4182-406: The G system, those made for the early (Yashica made) SLRs and those for the later (Kyocera made) SLRs. Flash units available included (GNs stated at ISO 100): Metz SCA adapters: Originally designed to be a system camera, many lenses were made for the original Contax, and this tradition carried on for all models with interchangeable lenses. Traditionally, lens makers like to mark the location of
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4284-541: The IIa/IIIa were made: the so-called "black dial" and "color dial" cameras. The black dial cameras used a special flash synch cord for either flash bulbs (1361) or strobe flash (1366). On the color dial cameras the ability to use the flash bulbs was eliminated; a P/C connector was added, and strobe synchronization was the only option. Where the Leicas of the day had only electronic flash synch at 1 ⁄ 25 s second shutter speed,
4386-568: The Japanese market only. The first smartphone to be co-engineered with a Leica camera was the AQUOS R6 with 1-inch-sensor camera. Then Leica with the SoftBank introduced the smartphone Leitz Phone 1 which have same specifications as AQUOS R6 but different design. In 2022, Leica entered a strategic partnership with Xiaomi to jointly develop Leica cameras to be used in Xiaomi flagship smartphones, succeeding
4488-512: The L-mount platform. The three companies would form a strategic and technical alliance, yet remain independent. Leica-branded lenses, such as some Nocticron , Elmarit and Summilux lenses, have been used on many Panasonic (Matsushita) digital cameras ( Lumix ) and video recorders since 1995. Panasonic/Leica models were the first to incorporate optical image stabilization in their digital cameras. Several Panasonic/Leica lenses have been produced for
4590-575: The Leica was first vended, this lens was renamed the ELMAX, for E Leitz and Max Berek. By 1925, the Leitz laboratories had produced glasses with improved optical properties, and Professor Berek designed an improved version of the ELMAX named the ELMAR that had four elements in three groups. The third group was simplified to two cemented elements, which was easier and cheaper to make. Professor Berek had two dogs, Hektor and Rex. The first of these, Hektor, gave his name to
4692-648: The Loglux brand. Pentacon also produces scanner cameras . The latest model, the Scan 7000, was introduced at the photokina 2010 in Cologne, Germany. The Scan 7000 is operated with SilverFast and has a resolution of 20.000 × 20.000 pixels. Contax Contax (stylised as CONTAX in the Kyocera era) began as a German camera model in the Zeiss Ikon line in 1932, and later became
4794-503: The Pentacon Super and various cameras of the Exa series. Pentacon also produced slide projectors . In 1959 several Dresden camera manufacturers, among them VEB Kamerawerke Freital, were joined to create Volkseigener Betrieb Kamera- und Kinowerke Dresden, which was renamed in 1964 to VEB Pentacon Dresden. In 1968, VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz was integrated into VEB Pentacon. Accordingly,
4896-648: The Rangefinder Leicas and the SLR Leicas was the Leica Visoflex System , a mirror reflex box that attached to the lens mount of Leica rangefinders (separate versions were made for the screwmount and M series bodies) and accepted lenses made especially for the Visoflex System. Rather than using the camera's rangefinder, focusing was via a groundglass screen. A coupling released both mirror and shutter to make
4998-458: The Swiss manufacturer of view cameras. In May 2014, Leica Camera AG finished building a new factory at Leitz Park 1 in the new industrial part of Wetzlar and relocated back to the city where it started. In April 2019, a television commercial for Leica titled " The Hunt " was released online. The commercial depicts photojournalists in war-torn and politically unstable environments; one of whom takes
5100-623: The US pressure on West Germany's Zeiss to cease collaboration with the East German Zeiss, and also the lack of raw materials the former was enduring, it was in a way forced to form an alliance with a Japanese maker. Asahi, maker of the Pentax , was engaged first; and it went as far as Zeiss designing a common bayonet lens mount, which constituted a detour from Pentax's adoption of the East German M42 mount;
5202-473: The Visoflex III with instant-return mirror in 1964. Leica lenses for the Visoflex system included focal lengths of 65, 180 (rare), 200, 280, 400, 560, and 800mm. In addition, the optical groups of many rangefinder lenses could be removed and attached to the Visoflex via a system of adapters. The Visoflex system was discontinued in 1984. The leica M6, the top model in the company's M 35mm rangefinder camera line at
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#17328585112295304-456: The abrupt change: "We could not keep the Contax bodies and lenses on the shelf, people were buying all they could afford, and putting things they couldn't afford on lay-away. Then the new catalog came out, and the Contax was gone. No explanation at all. We were in shock. The camera that replaced it (the Contarex SLR) was a fine camera, but it cost so much more money, it never made the inroads into
5406-577: The architect presented a completely revised plan. The plan was now made up of eight floors for Leica production. The building was built with a concrete construction modeled from the production halls of Opel in Rüsselsheim , Zeiss in Jena and Wernerwerk in Berlin . It was possible to access all the floors through two stairs. The government of the city and the district finally approved a construction of eight floors with
5508-625: The borders were closed in September 1939. The extent of what came to be known as the " Leica Freedom Train " only became public after his death, well after the war. After the war, Leitz continued to produce the late versions of the Leica II and the Leica III through the 1950s. However, in 1954, Leitz introduced the Leica M3 , with the new Leica M mount , a bayonet-like lens mount . The new camera also combined
5610-424: The brand are currently part of Carl Zeiss AG, but no Contax cameras are currently in production, and the brand is considered dormant. While the firm of Ernst Leitz of Wetzlar established the 24 mm × 36 mm negative format on perforated 35 mm movie film as a viable photographic system, Zeiss Ikon of Dresden decided to produce a competitor designed to be superior in every way. The name Contax
5712-461: The camera have high quality lenses that could create well-defined negatives. Barnack tried a Zeiss Tessar on his early prototype camera, but because the Tessar was designed for the 18×24 mm cine format, it inadequately covered the Leica's 24×36mm negative. Barnack resorted to a Leitz Mikro-Summar 1:4.5/42 mm lens for the prototype, but to achieve resolution necessary for satisfactory enlargement,
5814-417: The camera. It was an immediate success when introduced at the 1925 Leipzig Spring Fair as the Leica I (for Leitz camera ). The focal plane shutter has a range from 1/20 to 1/500 second, in addition to a Z for Zeit (time) position. Barnack conceived the Leica as a small camera that produced a small negative. To make large photos by enlargement, (the "small negative, large picture" concept) requires that
5916-426: The cameras, Ernst Leitz GmbH , is now three independent companies: Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems GmbH, which manufacture cameras, geo survey equipment, and microscopes , respectively. Leica Microsystems GmbH owns the Leica brand and licenses its use to the other two companies. During the 2018 Photokina in Cologne, Leica announced that Sigma and Panasonic had become licensed for
6018-408: The combined eyepiece for both viewfinder and rangefinder, the shutter speed and film wind knob placed on the top plate, fastest shutter speed at 1 ⁄ 1250 s. and finished in chrome plating. They became very popular among professional photographers, such as Robert Capa and Phil Stern , especially photojournalists who demanded high-performance, large-aperture lenses for available-light work and
6120-429: The company conspicuously on their lenses. Therefore, from the beginning of lens manufacture up to the end of the Second World War, all Zeiss lenses were marked "Carl Zeiss Jena". Since the new Oberkochen -based Carl Zeiss Optical company is not in Jena, its products are simply marked "Carl Zeiss", while the original factory carried on using the "Carl Zeiss Jena" marking. For the first few years Carl Zeiss of Oberkochen used
6222-620: The company produced under the Pradovit brand. Leica cameras are particularly associated with street photography , especially in the latter twentieth century; they were used by photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Sebastião Salgado . Leica cameras, lenses, accessories and sales literature are collectible. There are dozens of Leica books and collector's guides, notably the three-volume Leica, an Illustrated History by James L. Lager. Early or rare cameras and accessories can sell for very high prices. For instance, an anonymous buyer bought
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#17328585112296324-471: The earlier G1. Another improvement over the G1 was its full parallax correction viewfinder. A limited edition run of black G2 bodies and lenses were produced, differing from the standard titanium finish found on the original G1 and G2. The lenses used optical formulae not often used by Zeiss, which had specialized in SLR photographic lenses for many decades prior to the G Series. (These formulae appear to be repeated in
6426-466: The early 1930s. Once again, it was Jean Schmidt, who prepared the plans for a first seven-story skyscraper. The still existing façade drawings show the columns with arches on the ground floor and that are fitted between a long strip of windows with excessive pilasters. The general design shows a mixture of very graphic elements and remains of curved Modernist forms that recall the buildings by Joseph Maria Olbrich at Mathildenhöhe of Darmstadt. In 1936,
6528-478: The exception of the S2 and S2b (named as a spiritual successor to the original Dresden-built camera) being fully mechanical. The following is a brief rundown of the major models: Some special models were also made, for example Some additional information The G series was a unique 35 mm autofocus rangefinder system with interchangeable lenses. Rather than displaying a typical rangefinder focusing patch and brightlines,
6630-469: The exposure. Camera rangefinders are inherently limited in their ability to accurately focus long focal-length lenses; the mirror reflex box permitted much longer length lenses. Throughout its history, Leitz has been responsible for numerous optical innovations, such as aspherical production lenses, multicoated lenses, and rare earth lenses. The earliest Leica reflex housing was the PLOOT (Leitz's five letter code for its products), announced in 1935, along with
6732-411: The factory was moved to the city of Solms . The Wetzlar factory was located on the opposite side of the administrative building of 1957 and formed a special urban architecture; it is upstream from the slope of Kalsmunt and forms a structurally attractive graduation from the skyscrapers to the ruins of Kalsmunt Castle. In the last decades of the 19th century, Ernst Leitz moved its production facilities to
6834-454: The film horizontally, extending the frame size to 24×36mm with a 2:3 aspect ratio , instead of the 18×24 mm of cinema cameras, which transport the film vertically. The Leica had several model iterations, and in 1923, Barnack convinced his boss, Ernst Leitz II , to make a preproduction series of 31 cameras for the factory and outside photographers to test. Though the prototypes received mixed reception, Ernst Leitz decided in 1924 to produce
6936-443: The film perfectly flat in the plane of focus. By using the adaptor 'MAM-1' produced by Contax, Hasselblad V-series lenses including C, CF, CFE, CFI, F and FE can be mounted on Contax 645 as well. In addition to 120 and 220 medium format backs with film inserts for quick loading, including the previously mentioned vacuum back, as well as a Polaroid/instant film back, many manufacturers offer a variety of interchangeable digital backs for
7038-667: The firm became known, was gradually under pressure from the new Zeiss Ikon AG in the US zone , so the original Zeiss Ikon and Contax names and trademarks gradually disappeared and were replaced by the new name of Pentacon , which never really caught on. Finally, this camera line was abandoned. Meanwhile, in the US zone, the three main Zeiss concerns – Carl Zeiss Stiftung ( Carl Zeiss Foundation ), Carl Zeiss optical, and Zeiss Ikon – were reestablished. With Hubert Nerwin in charge as design chief, Zeiss Ikon produced heavily revised Contax IIa and IIIa cameras at
7140-445: The first G1 had a zooming viewfinder with a focus confirmation light activated by the autofocus system if manual focus was required. The actual AF system, unlike AF for SLR cameras, used a twin-window rangefinder, but the alignment determination was electronic. The G2 was the second camera body in the series, and displayed manual focus distance directly on a viewfinder LCD. The G2 was generally considered more rugged and controllable than
7242-537: The former Meyer-Optik Görlitz lenses were now renamed to ”Pentacon“ . After German reunification in 1990 Pentacon, as with most East German companies, came to be possessed by the Treuhandanstalt (the federal board concerned with the privatisation of East German companies) and was selected for closure instead of sale. It was deemed that company was grossly inefficient, employing six thousand staff when it could have sufficed with one thousand, and selling its cameras at
7344-543: The former military production building in Dresden. The company was re-established as Pentacon GmbH, a member of the Jos. Schneider group. Production of cameras and lenses continues, but is now outsourced to South Korea. Other parts of the former Pentacon company was sold to Noble and today belong to Kamera Werk Dresden, which, among other products, manufacture panoramic cameras under the Noblex brand, and cameras for industrial use under
7446-605: The front of the camera body, and black-enamelled finish. The young lens designer Ludwig Bertele , formerly of Ernemann, was charged with the responsibility of designing the lenses, including the Biogon and Sonnar . The greatest advantage of the Zeiss lenses was the reduced number of air-to-glass surfaces in Bertele's designs. In the years before lens coating was generally practiced, this had advantages for contrast and resistance to lens flare. Zeiss also pioneered glass coating, and before
7548-408: The image frame sideways for the 35 mm film as opposed to the cine-camera tradition of across the film strip. The cameras were compact with collapsible lenses, for hiking and biking. The rangefinder feature was added to the Leica II in 1932, and that year both rangefinder and viewfinder cameras became available with interchangeable lenses. In 1933 the Leica III offered slow-speed shutter controls and
7650-924: The initials DBP, standing for Deutsches Bundespatent (Federal German Patent), instead of the DRP (Deutsches Reich patent) found on pre-war models. A number of camera companies have built models based on the Leica rangefinder design. These include the Leotax , Nicca and early Canon models in Japan , the Kardon in USA , the Reid in England and the FED and Zorki in the USSR . In the 1970s, Walter Mandler introduced computer aided design in optical engineering. Until at least
7752-416: The key design features was a coupled rangefinder with a very long baseline, with its own eyepiece next to that of the viewfinder. To enhance accuracy, a novel rotating wedge system was employed instead of the common swinging mirror mechanism. Other main features included focusing drive built into the camera body for use with standard lens, removable back, shutter-speed knob integral with film-wind knob placed at
7854-428: The lack of resources. However, these simplifications were also largely responsible for making them somewhat more reliable. Designed to retain backward compatibility, the IIa and IIIa (introduced in 1950 and 1951 respectively) used the same lens mount as the prewar models, but due to the smaller dark chamber inside the lens throat, the pre-war Biogon 35/2.8 wide-angle lens could not be fitted. The Zeiss Ikon Model 563/24
7956-488: The later Zeiss Ikon M-mount rangefinder cameras.) The G series also boasted the only true zoom available for a rangefinder system, made possible by the mechanical coupling of the camera's viewfinder and the lens. Kyocera introduced a series of highly successful T-series compact cameras, offering Zeiss-designed lenses which appealed to photographers desiring high quality optics in a compact form. They were introduced between 1984 and 2002, have Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* lenses and
8058-557: The long line of Praktica cameras, high quality but affordable, in accordance with the Communist ideal. In all, 22 Contax/Pentacon models were built in Dresden. The Contax name was revived in 1975 (officially it was styled 'CONTAX' by Yashica / Kyocera , instead of 'Contax') after the production of the Contax rangefinder cameras ended in Stuttgart more than a decade before. Like the first attempt at forging an alliance with Pentax, Zeiss designed
8160-461: The market the Contax did. Then, we had to stop carrying the Contarex because they were just too much money." There is a demand for good working examples of the IIa/IIIa by collectors and users alike. As user cameras, they are highly versatile, compact, easy to handle, and give many years of trouble-free service. The range of lenses made over the very long period of time the lens mount was in use, adds to
8262-450: The mid-1930s, a legendary soft-focus lens, the Thambar 90 mm f /2.2 was designed, and made in small numbers between 1935 and 1949, no more than 3000 units. It is now a rare collector's item. In 2017, a new version was produced, costing $ 6,495. A lens from the original series can fetch between $ 3,000 and $ 8,000, depending on condition. The Leica II was first produced in 1932, with
8364-653: The mid-1950s, Leitz offered factory upgrades of earlier Leica cameras to the current model's specifications. The upgraded cameras retained their original serial number. From 1964, Leica produced a series of single-lens reflex cameras, beginning with the Leicaflex , followed by the Leicaflex SL, the Leicaflex SL2 , and then the R series from R3 to R7, made in collaboration with the Minolta Corporation . The Leica R8
8466-493: The modern 35mm SLR camera. Not only did it introduce the M42 lens mount which became an industry standard, but it was also equipped with a horizontal focal-plane shutter, and also removed a major objection against the reflex camera by offering an unreversed, eye-level viewing image by employing a pentaprism . Introduced in 1949, the S was followed by numerous models including D, E, F, FB, FM and FBM. During that period, VEB Zeiss Ikon , as
8568-701: The name for German patents before May 1945. This is probably a reference to German patent No. 384071 "Rollfilmkamera" granted to Ernst Leitz, Optische Werke in Wetzlar, on November 3, 1923. The company had always had progressive labor policies which encouraged the retention of skilled workers, many of whom were Jewish. Ernst Leitz II , who began managing the company in 1920, responded to the election of Hitler in 1933 by helping Jews to leave Germany, by "assigning" hundreds (even if they were not actually employees) to overseas sales offices where they were helped to find jobs. The effort intensified after Kristallnacht in 1938, until
8670-468: The nearby town of Solms . Leica Camera AG is 55% owned by Austrian investment firm ACM Projektentwicklung GmbH and 45% owned by The Blackstone Group which licenses the Leica brand name from the Danaher Corporation -owned Leica Microsystems GmbH. From the year 1907 to the 1950s, the buildings that formed Leica factory were built on Ernst Leitz Street in Wetzlar , and remained until 1986, when
8772-633: The new (West German) Zeiss Ikon company in Stuttgart induced (East German) Zeiss Ikon in Dresden to progressively abandon the use of the established trademark and names. The following model, known as "Contax D", first appeared with a little "D" marked under the Zeiss Ikon logo to signify its source as Dresden, but that was not good enough: in some markets it was sold as "Pentacon", a name contrived from "Pentaprism" and "Contax". The name "Pentax" had been considered before but, following Germany's capitulation in 1945, all German patents and trademarks were declared void;
8874-643: The new bayonet mount was named for many years as the "Pentax Mount" to avoid any accreditation to the Eastern Bloc, and later became known as the Pentax K-mount after the two firms parted company. An alliance was then formed with Yashica , and a new line of CONTAX single-lens reflex cameras was born, starting with the RTS of 1975. Numerous models followed, which also included autofocus rangefinders, compacts, medium-format reflex cameras, and digital cameras. Rival Leica in
8976-526: The partnership between Huawei and Leica. The first flagship smartphones under this new partnership were the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 , launched in July and August 2022, respectively. In 2014, to commemorate Leica camera's 100th anniversary, they partnered with Swiss watch manufacture Valbray to develop a limited edition chronograph wristwatch with Valbray's signature Leica aperture inspired dial. Leica
9078-579: The rangefinder and viewfinder into one large, bright viewfinder with a brighter double image in the center. This system also introduced a system of parallax compensation and a new rubberized, reliable, focal-plane shutter. Leica continues to refine this model (the latest versions being the MP and MA, both of which have framelines for 28, 35, 50, 75, 90, and 135 mm lenses, which show automatically upon mounting). In 1952, Günther Leitz decided to establish Ernst Leitz Canada at Midland, Ontario . Post-war models bear
9180-531: The reflex housing. While the first 35 mm SLR camera, the Kine Exakta , had already appeared in 1936, before the war, its waist-level finder which gave a laterally reversed image, taking away the immediacy between the photographer and their subject. In the Contax reflex, which would be called the Contax S , a pentaprism was positioned directly above the focusing screen, which offered an eye-level, unreversed view of
9282-517: The slopes of Kalsmunt with sufficient residential buildings and workshops on the Laufdorfer Weg. At the turn of the century, the production of optical devices expanded so much that it originated the first skyscrapers in the city of Wetzlar. The oldest part of this row of tall buildings is now hidden by a new building at the Schützenstraße. The first plans of the architect Jean Schmidt in 1907 show
9384-652: The time, served as the model for this one. Leica offered a wide range of accessories. For instance, LTM (screwmount) lenses could be used on M cameras via an adapter. Similarly, Visoflex lenses could be used on the Leicaflex and R cameras with an adapter. Furthermore, certain LTM and M rangefinder lenses featured removable optical groups that could mount via adapters on the Visoflex system, thus making them usable as rangefinder or SLR lenses for Visoflex-equipped Screwmount and M rangefinder cameras, as well as being usable on Leicaflex and R cameras. Leica also offered focusing systems, such as
9486-496: The usefulness of this design. The loss of the Contax production tools at the Dresden factories turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it forced the East German part of the company to design a camera without relying on the older design. The new design chief Wilhelm Winzenberg was not involved in the camera side of Zeiss-Ikon, this also allowed a brand-new Contax design to be developed, to follow Hubert Nerwin's wartime plan to make
9588-434: The viewfinder. This major technical advantage was critical in establishing the 35 mm SLR as the definitive camera type for the decades that followed. Since a larger lens mount would be desirable, the Contax S adopted a threaded lens mount of M42×1mm specification , which was to become the de facto industry standard. When introduced in 1949, the Contax S was not marked as such, only "Contax", but increasing pressure from
9690-456: The war coated lenses were offered. After lens coating became universal post WW2, designers were given more freedom in using extra air-to-glass surfaces in correcting lens aberrations, without fear of the ill effects of surface reflections. In 1936 the Contax II and III models were introduced; the only difference between them was the integral exposure meter on the latter model. They introduced
9792-443: Was a complete redesign of the previous II/III cameras, and was sold by Zeiss Ikon (West Germany) from 1950 to 1961. Gone were the troublesome silk shutter straps; in their place were straps made of nylon; a flash synch was added; and the body's size and weight were reduced. Shutters were still guaranteed for 400,000 cycles. The same internal/external bayonet mount was kept. This line was an engineering and manufacturing tour de force, and
9894-477: Was added. The first 35 mm film Leica prototypes were built by Oskar Barnack at Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar , in 1913. Some say the original Leica was intended as a compact camera for landscape photography , particularly during mountain hikes, but other sources indicate the camera was intended for test exposures with 35mm motion picture film. The Leica was the first practical 35 mm camera that used standard cinema 35 mm film . The Leica transports
9996-529: Was chosen after a poll among Zeiss employees. Dr. Ing. Heinz Küppenbender was its chief designer. Made between 1932 and 1936, the original Contax , known as Contax I after later models were introduced, was markedly different from the corresponding Leica . Using a die-cast alloy body it housed a vertically travelling metal focal-plane shutter reminiscent of the one used in Contessa-Nettel cameras, made out of interlocking blackened brass slats somewhat like
10098-418: Was designed to be better than the Leica. For instance, the removable back was for faster loading and reloading, the bayonet lens mount was designed for rapid lens interchangeability, the long-base rangefinder was for more accurate focusing with large aperture lenses, and the vertical metal shutter not only gave a faster maximum speed but also banished the problem of shutter blinds burning. However, its operation
10200-558: Was entirely designed and manufactured by Leica. The final model was the Leica R9 , which could be fitted with the Digital Module back. Leica was slow to produce an auto-exposure model, and never made a Leica R model that included auto-focusing. In 2009 the R-series was discontinued, citing new camera developments that had caused a massive loss of Leica sales. Conceptually intermediate between
10302-449: Was made of reinforced concrete with brick stairs. Again, the original plan, which provided a horizontal structure of the building through the cornucopia, was abandoned in favor of a simpler façade design. In the ten-axis building, similar to the oldest skyscraper, the lower levels are grouped by pilasters. The space between the two skyscrapers (which originally had been provided with subsequent buildings) had to be closed by another building in
10404-439: Was something of an acquired taste, which explains the more conventional successors, the Contax II and III models. Not only was the combined shutter speed dial and film advance knob placed at the more conventional position, but it became much easier and quicker to operate. The combined viewfinder and rangefinder was not the first one on the market, but it was the first on a system camera which offered significant operational advantage,
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