That was an absolutely excellent discussion of the history of the Contax camera brand. Thank you so very much.😊

Pentacon was a big name in Eastern Europe. The "Pentacon six" range of medium format SLRs was legendary.

Thank you so much we needed more information on Contax such incredible design and engineering

@allanredford6070

5 ай бұрын

Ziess was losing money on every camera they made, eg warranty rectification costs on the totl contarex. going electronic, yeshiva was ahead in this area and a volume producer and, I believe, one of the few makers of optical glass. a good fit. Kyocera's takeover of yeshiva, brought expert materials handling, electronic component expertise - IX, etc and occasionally, participation of the Porsche design group. its failing was to start trying to parallel Nikon and canon professional/advanced-user segment. its strengths were in niche segments the G and T series occupied. digital epoch didn't help...too thinly spread development and marketing resources spread across three brands -yashicamkyocera contax. in 2004 Kyocera's president announced plans o double camera production)china), in 2005 he announced complete withdrawal from photo industry. they entered/exited the high-end hifi industry in a similar manner, again with some excellent products. as the 2006-9 great financisal crisis occurred, probably a timely move. Ziess must be looking around again, or are they? ) the marketing cost of relaunching the Contax brand in today's world, would be high. Sony brands everything Sony, for this reason.

As a german from "Bad Ems" i really liked that first pic of Oskar Barnack taking a picture in my Hometown on a spot where i go a lot :D

0:42 “I had an interest in the arts and fashion.” is code for “I’ve seen ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ a lot”.

I have 2 Contax IIa and a Contax IIIa (with sticky shutter). I also have a Kiev 4A which is a contax built in USSR often by german engineers, machine and parts. I love shooting with the contax cameras.

@allanredford6070

5 ай бұрын

Ziessyes, not mentioned in this otherwise excellent video, the Russians took the entire factory; tooling etc. to Kiev. used the Pebtacon brand later; post WW2., also Prakzina and Practi ca models, made in east Germany - DDR. my NEW Practica was Junk; ripped film (. Exakta also made in DDR.west-german Ziess developed developed contaflex, contarex models, system accessories of very high quality. both Tiess entities made interchangeable lenses; same quality difference. Kodak's Retinette and Retina reflex models made in stuttgart, w.germany)not sure of Ziess involvement. - the ziesss and Schneider lenses for these leaf shutter cameras used same mount. if separate, may have also produced braun cameras. volume producers until the Japanese post-war strong entrance, with equally excellent QC. later Praktina,Praktica model emerged from East-germany, along with exakta. I had a new praktika slr. it ripped film - poor quality control. opressive/depressing moniker communist environment probably responsible.some of the east-german lenses, like ziess pancolor )good examples)are well thought of.

Aria of Sorrow was my first Castlevania game. I wondered why I never played one I liked as much but I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes it most

6.9k subscribers... nice. Glad to see your channel growing, great video!!

@Overexposed1

9 ай бұрын

Movin’ on up!

Hi, This is a cool video and thanks for making it. However, the Contax RX does not have AutoFocus. It has focus confirmation. The one with In body auto focus is the Contax AX because the C/Y mount lenses were not capable of auto focus. They later released the Contax NX and N1, and the N mount which were autofocus but that was right before they went out of business. One thing to note that Yashica was acquired by Kyocera and which is when they started making Yashica and Contax point and shoot cameras.

That was a great video. Appreciate you putting it together. Like someone else said I had no idea ol Oscar jumped ship. I have a 139 and prior to owning it I struggled to believe all the hype about Zeiss lenses. I don’t now.

One interesting facet in the Contax story was that when the East German Zeiss company lost rights to the Contax name, they had two alternatives ready... the one they chose was 'Pentacon' (that is, 'PENTAprism CONtax'). The other was sold to Asahi... 'Pentax', ie; PENTAprism conTAX. And yes, the West German Zeiss company did have a hand in creating the Pentax K bayonet. The collaboration wasn't easy though, leading to Zeiss partnering with Yashica shortly afterwards.

Bought my Contax 645 in 2008 and the 80mm f/2.0 is one of my top lenses period. I still shoot 1-6 rolls through the Contax each week and even use that 80mm on the Sony a7iii. *fingers crossed someone makes a nikon Contax n mount adapter*

I’ve never heard of Contax and now I’m all ears.

@trippwilsonphoto

9 ай бұрын

are you a photographer?

@PokhrajRoy.

9 ай бұрын

@@trippwilsonphoto No, I like it as a hobby.

@trippwilsonphoto

9 ай бұрын

@@PokhrajRoy. Welcome to a whole new rabit hole

Thanks

Hey man, great episode. I wonder who owned Contax now after Kyocera stop manufacturing camera. Can’t find any record, do you have an idea?

I had to be interested in contax so a new video dropped

@Overexposed1

9 ай бұрын

Only the very best!

@BavarianM

9 ай бұрын

@@Overexposed1 im planning to buy a 167mt for a good deal Currently I own a Fujica AX5

Lots of good info, thanks. I’ve never heard anyone pronounce Leica as “Luka” before, very odd.

Found your video on Peter McKinnon, very amusing. I’ve still not figured him out… So back to this video, where does the Contaflex fit into this, or was that a completely different company? I have my father’s 1955 Contaflex which I’ve had repaired to working order. The shutter as well as aperture we’re not working. I know I spent more on repairs than the cameras worth, it’s a sentimental thing because that camera was purchased by my grandmother for my father to photograph my parents first born child. Am I that old… Subscribed as well

8:12 We all surprise ourselves sometimes 😂

👊👊

@JonniArmani

8 ай бұрын

The Contax G2 is my fav cam ever.)

Why does nobody use the Contax SLRs? You always hear about the rangefinders and point and shoots. I love my Contax 167mt. Also it was the Contax AX that had autofocus with manual lenses. The RX did not. Contax refusing to make a proper AF body for too long had a part in their death. They were a niche brand for the last few decades with very few professionals using them.

@Overexposed1

9 ай бұрын

Exactly my thoughts when I made this. Plus, they look fantastic

@emmettmartin2639

8 ай бұрын

I love my RTS ii

@saschamilenkovic4320

5 ай бұрын

I have a 167MT and an ST. Both great cameras.

Haha Kendall’s picks are a great way to market the concept.

Had no idea Oskar Barnack had anything to do with Zeiss Ikon. I thought would have been high treason!

BUY the Contact G2 it was the best film camera I ever owned and one I still miss after I had my one stolen I should have just replaced it instead I went and brought another medium format Mamiya 645proTL and I really should have purchased another Contax G2.