How shooting with Zeiss Ikon Contina made me realize I am spoiled...

When I started out on my own in photography it was already the 90s so I really didn’t know how good things were at the time since I got a second hand Yashica SLR that was manual focus, but had Program mode for exposure control.

Once I got that camera it was a whole new world of photography since up to that point I had only owned the little “point and shoot” cameras that you could get for about 40$ at the time. Turns out those simple little cameras were a god send in technology compared to just a couple of decades earlier where we had cameras like the Zeiss Ikon Contina.

The SLR, being semi-automatic in nature, was like giving a driver of racecars his first stick shift car after driving automatics. It was a level of control that was hard to understand at first but soon became something that I looked forward to. This was because the rest of the exposure was being handled by the camera and I could easily confirm focus on the SLR as I was literally looking through the “taking lens” when focusing.

You see, the Zeiss Ikon Contina has none of these things. It doesn’t do anything for you automatically…at all. Here is the operational sequence to take a photo…

1. Find the scene you want to shoot.

2. Meter the light in the scene with the light meter.

3. Set the aperture based on film ISO.

4. Set the shutter speed also based on film ISO.

5. Guess the focus distance and set it on the lens.

6. Second guess yourself on focal distance and do it again…

7. Fire the frame and advance the film.

8. Repeat…at least once since you probably missed focus.

Notice how you have to guess the focus. That is because there is no way to visually confirm it other than looking at the numeric distance numbers on the lens and hoping you are good at range estimation. You literally have to rely on the range focus system and shoot stopped down if you really need the photo to be in focus, that is the only real way of getting it…well that and a tape measure…

Oh and that is a cold shoe on the top, not a coupled hot shoe so you have to use a sync cable that connects to the front of the camera to fire a flash module and I am not sure that is even a thing anymore…

The technology has advanced so much that we are to the point now where the camera has to focus PERFECTLY on the nearest eye of a moving subject…and that subject doesn’t even have to be a human either. On top of that we now expect the CAMERA to follow that subject while it and maybe even ourselves are moving and maintain that perfect focus as well! Isn’t it amazing how far the technology has evolved in less than the period of my mother’s lifetime?

So when I came into possession of the Contina, I was in Winchester England and didn’t know if it worked properly or not so I sent it home with my daughter as she was traveling home sooner. Once back home I proceeded to search out a reputable camera repair shop and sent the machine up to them for a full service. This also took a while so I finally get the camera back and take it out for its maiden voyage with me to shoot a roll and see what the lens could produce. This was also to test for light leaks to make sure it didn’t need light seals either, so in that vain, I shot the first roll then had it developed and scanned so I could check for light leaks. To be honest, I really liked the scans and that is what I used here and in the video as well.

Well, I was impressed to be quite honest about it . To lack any semblance of automation, this little camera came away with a surprisingly high number of keepers in my book. Now, I am not talking about Pulitzer prize winning “keepers” but rather properly focused and exposed photos. I did use my handheld light meter a lot that day, making adjustments to the camera as I went along to keep the exposure where I hoped it would make good photos.

I did have 400 speed Ilford HP5 in the camera so the maxed out shutter speed of 1/300 second was my only real choice when the sun was out fully. I then ran the aperture all the way down to make up for it so the images would be close to correctly exposed. I figured out once I got the camera back from service that it was designed for film from an era where there was no 400 speed film…yet.

Anyway, after spending the day with this camera I learned what it meant to be spoiled by the technology that we have today. It is akin to them getting this camera back then and the people doing wet plate talking about how good the new people have it. LOL. There really isnt anything new under the sun… Well, I still enjoy the little camera and I take it out on occasion for some “me” time where I will be by myself and just immerse myself into the activity of shooting with little camera.

Link to video on YouTube as well.

Reviewing the 58mm f2 Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar M42 mount lens

When Aaron offered to loan me his 58mm, I had no idea that it was a Zeiss and over 60 years old.

Well, it didn’t take long to figure that out and to round up a simple M42 to Leica L mount adapter so I could get this lens on my Leica SL2.

The next thing I did was look the lens over really closely. The usual controls are there of aperture and focus but it has a third ring as well. This ring is spring loaded and is some sort of adjustable stop for the minimum aperture. This is how it works, you pull the ring towards the camera, compressing the spring. While the spring is compressed, you rotate the ring and align a mark on it with the aperture you want it to stop at. Once here, release the spring and it will seat in this position stopping the aperture ring from stopping down past this point. This was for cameras back in the day as you had to meter the scene manually then set the aperture for the meter value. To compose though, you needed all the light you could get so you set the ring for the aperture you plan to shoot the photo at then you would open the aperture all the way to see good and get good focus. Once this was done, you could simply spin the aperture ring to the stop and it was set to the metered value and you didnt even have to come off the camera to do it. Pretty slick if you ask me.

Another item of note is that the aperture ring is ”clickless” or in other words, it simply turns smoothly through the range without any detents to locate it at specific settings.

The next thing I noticed is that the machine work is impeccable…which I have grown to expect no less from the German people. The focus ring is smooth as silk even with its advanced years. Quite the opposite of some of my other lenses to be quite honest.

Something else I noticed is that the lens has incredible close focus with about 330 degrees of focus throw. Of that 330 degrees it devotes probably 250 degrees to close focus. Crazy precise focus for a lens this old. The first 1/4 turn though is the normal use range so it will go from infinity to 2.5 meters in that 1/4 turn and then the rest of the throw is for close range work. Pretty neat how the normal range stuff is in such a short throw so you can get focus fast with it. Just a little practice and you a can get street photos of moving subjects and fairly large apertures in focus. You just learn how to use it with some time.

It is not a bad lens in any way either, just look at the photo of Teresa I got at the local state park one day with it. Razor sharp and great rendition too. This is what makes vintage lenses so cool, they still got it…

It also works great for a general purpose walk around lens too. I liked using it for my photowalks where I would jus grab a photo here and there of things that caught my eye and it would render these scenes really well.

So if you are into the vintage glass “look” then I might suggest grabbing one of these old girls if you can find one and adapting it to your mirrorless camera to see what you can get with it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Modern cameras make photography so easy.

I bought a vintage Zeiss Ikon and it is pure mechanical in design. It has a light meter built into it, but it is a selenium light meter and it is not connected to the camera’s exposure system at all. This is great in that it doesn’t need batteries at all to work but it also doesn’t do ANYTHING automatically at all either.

I bought this camera while on my trip in the UK and when I got back home I sent it to Zack’s Camera for a CLA as the shutter was dragging pretty bad. Once back from Zack’s, (who did a phenomenal job BTW) I loaded it up with some HP5 and grabbed my old Sekonic light meter and hit the streets of Chattanooga to play with my “new” toy.

It didn’t take long to realize that we as photographers in the 21st century are so spoiled with our cameras that have auto…everything. I am currently 54 years old and even when I was younger we already had cameras with automatic focus and exposure and even auto film advance. This machine is the grandfather to those cameras.

The day I went out to shoot had partly cloudy skies so as I would walk the streets I would take light meter readings and adjust the camera accordingly for the light on hand. This almost turned into a chore as the clouds would move in front of the sun and lower the light by 2 stops then the cloud would move out of the way and the meter would jump back up those two stops. Also, I learned dark shade is 3 stops lower than direct sun, so keep that in the back of your mind while looking for street scenes too.

So now I see why some people like having those tiny little hot shoe mounted light meters. The handheld one was nice but it sure was inconvenient to carry around. Having a free hand to adjust and hold the camera would have been nice at times. Plus the light meter is just in the way all the time. I don’t have a lanyard on it so I either had it in my pocket or my hand, neither of which are really desirable.

Once I started to get the exposure settings figured out, I start thinking, I am ready to hit the trail and get some sweet street photos. Nothing could be further from the truth. I now have to learn how to focus the camera. Yes, you heard that right, I… a photographer, had to learn how to focus a camera. That was strange to me as I have been accustomed to simply looking through the viewfinder and focusing and then pressing the shutter. Not so on the Contina! You have to engage in the fine art of range estimation with this camera. Yeah, you literally either get out a tape measure and put your camera on a tripod OR just guess as best you can. Seriously, those are the choices here. The viewfinder is literally used only for composing the image. The taking lens is a completely separate system.

You quickly learn about f stops and how to change depth of field so you have a hope of getting something in focus. Notice on the lens the distance scale and the depth of field scales? You better, because you are going to be using those alot if you plan to shoot with the aperture opened up at all.

On my first roll of film I used Ilford HP5 400 speed and quickly realized this was actually a mistake. This camera is so old that the highest ISO on the built in meter is 320 and the fastest shutter speed is 1/300 second. Yeah, in a world where I personally have cameras right now that will shoot at 1/32000 second, I just bought a camera that maxes out at 1/300… Luckily, the aperture goes down to f22 so in full sun it is correctly exposing (I think) at 1/300 second. This did help with the other problem though…focus. Since at f22 everything from 1 meter to infinity is in focus I just had to make sure that I had not bumped the focus ring and moved it.

Once I used it for about an hour I would start to choose estimated focus distances to try to land better focus. We will see once I get the film developed and scanned…

Another thing you will notice in this photo is that all three major functions of the camera are on the lens, the focus is the first and smallest ring, then the shutter speed is the middle ring and the rear most and largest ring is the aperture ring. All the controls on the top are used to control film exposure and movement. The shutter release button, the film advance, frame counter, and rewind knob are in this area. There is a cold shoe and a light meter in the center area on top. That’s it. I love the simplicity, but wow, photos made in that period were worked for.

Going forward I will now have a brand new appreciation for my modern cameras with all their conveniences. I have learned that our forefathers had it much harder and that we should be more appreciative of the photos from that period. I will continue to use this warhorse of a machine but plan to get some lower ISO film first and we will see what we get over time.

So until next time, get your camera out!