The "Bullseye" CONTAREX
Whenever I looked at our Back Focus Editor's camera collection it was his Contarex “Bullseye” with its big round meter “eye” staring back at me that always got my attention. “I'd like to get one of those one day” I thought to myself. Just recently, through the generosity of another Society member Dr. Peter Smith, I have at last obtained one. It has a 35mm Distagon lens and came with the original 1960 instruction book. When I started researching details about the camera I found it to be even more interesting than I'd expected. Peter had also kindly included his copy of Zeiss Compendium and I will start with a couple of quotes from that excellent book.*
A prototype Contarex was shown at Photokina in 1958 but cameras were not available until late in 1959 or early 1960. A Zeiss brochure dated October 1959 stated that “Zeiss Ikon engineers had spent over two years generating 2450 drawings with over 25,000 measurements and specifications, that the resulting camera consisted of over 1100 parts and needed almost 4000 tooling operations with an accuracy of 0.001mm.”
“The Contarex system was Zeiss Ikon's first serious entry in the professional 35mm SLR camera market, and its last.”
I couldn't guess what was in the large black ever-ready case in my hand. From the size I thought it must be some type of reflex camera for 120 film. When I opened the case and saw it was a “Bullseye” my first impression was “it's really heavy for a 35mm camera”. In fact it weighs a very solid 1241g. with lens. The next obvious feature is, of course, the prominent selenium meter cell above the lens.
This is the reason it quickly gained the nickname of “Bullseye”, it was also called “Cyclops”. The meter has a range of speed settings in ASA from 10 to 1300. The camera was designed so that all settings – distance, aperture, depth-of-field, shutter speed and exposure indication, could be read from above. It also featured a microprism and split-image focusing screen with an instant return mirror. It was the first focal-plane shutter SLR with a coupled exposure meter. All exposure parameters are coupled to the meter: film speed, shutter speed and aperture. The Contarex lenses (from 35mm to 135mm) are unusual in that they have no aperture adjustment ring or settings on them. Apertures are set using the knurled wheel on the front behind the Contaflex name. This was also geared to an iris diaphragm in the meter and the set aperture could be read on a scale in the meter housing. The meter baffle could be removed for incident readings in low light, giving a four-stop increase in sensitivity.
A yellow dot on the meter window rim was now visible to remind you to re-set the film speed against a yellow dot instead of the normal marker. The shutter speed or aperture was adjusted so that the meter needle was centred in the small oval window on the top plate. It was also visible in the viewfinder, illuminated by the small round window on the front panel. The cloth focal-plane shutter has a speed range of 1 second to 1/1000th and B; speeds are set by a ring around the wind knob. Below this ring are the settings for film speed. The lever wind has a short stroke of about 180º. The camera back is completely removed for easy film loading. There is a removable take-up spool so you can also use cassette to cassette with Zeiss reloadable cassettes, as the film travels in a straight path. Film rewind is by a fold-out crank on top of the rewind knob. One of the locking keys in the base is turned to the R position to unlock the wind sprockets. The back was designed to take film magazines but these were not available at first.
The basic Contarex System originally was the camera, a bellows unit and six lenses. The lenses were the 21mm f4.5 Biogon, 35mm f4 Distagon, 50mm f2 Planar, 85mm f2 Sonnar, 135mm f4 Sonnar and 250mm f4 Sonnar. They attach with a quarter-turn via the large (44mm) bayonet lens mount. A lever below the meter housing transfers the maximum aperture of the lens to the readout window above. The super-wide-angle Biogon had an impressive 90º angle of view. Its rear section extended into the camera body so it had to be mounted with the mirror locked up. First the shutter was cocked then a tab below the mirror was pressed down.
An accessory viewfinder was needed, it was mounted in the accessory shoe. Close focusing was a feature of two of the Zeiss lenses; the 50mm standard lens focused to 12 inches (30cm), the 35mm lens to 8 inches (20cm); better than most other SLR lenses available in 1960. They were even equipped with a cam which increased the effective opening to compensate for the light loss at close distances. Along with ball-bearing races for the iris mechanisms and beautifully smooth focusing, the lenses are a fine example of Zeiss Ikons's high quality standards in engineering and manufacture.
My camera is a first version Bullseye (Zeiss No. 10.2400); the next version, Model D (10.2400D), was released in 1964 and had a few minor changes. The meter baffle was altered to make it more secure and it was unlocked by a small release tab. The ASA range had been extended to 5 to 1600. Interchangeable focusing screens were an added feature. Also in the area near the viewfinder eyepiece there was now a 6mm slot that enabled a plastic data strip to be inserted and the written data recorded on the film. As the Contarex system was also aimed at the technical and scientific user this was another unique sales feature, along with the interchangeable film magazines. Another lens was added to the range at this time, a 50mm f2.8 Tessar; it is almost identical in size to the 35mm Distagon.
After a total of 32,000 Bullseyes were manufactured the newly-designed Contarex Super and Contarex Professional replaced the Bullseye in 1966. It was still being sold in Australia in 1967 priced at AU$490. While its scientific sales appeal was the System with its many lenses and accessories, the new Japanese SLR's were more affordable to the professional and amateur buyer. You could buy a Nikon F for $290, a Minolta SRT for $230, or a Pentax Spotmatic for $210.
There's no doubt the camera was a technical masterpiece, but so complicated you would never find a repairman to tackle it. Several complex assemblies would have to be disassembled before you could even remove the top. There are no visible screws on the top plate, the only external screws are four on the front panel. It has been said that Zeiss were so confident of its dependability that all screws were cemented into place, as repairs would never be needed. Well, I'm very pleased that this one is still working nicely!
* Zeiss Compendium East and West – 1940 – 1972 by Marc James Small and Charles M. Barringer, Hove Collectors Books, 1995.
Text and photographs ©2020 Geoff Harrisson