Contaflex Beta

1957

Zeiss-Ikon

Stuttgart

West Germany

Lens:

f2.8, 45 mm Pantar, automatic iris diaphragm to f22. Depth-of-field scale. Fixed lens with removable, bayonet mount, front cell for wide-angle or telephoto attachments. Serial no. 3364699 .

Shutter:

Prontor Reflex, speeds 1 - 1/300, B. EV scale 3 - 18. Delayed action. X, M Flash synchronisation.

Construction:

Metal body.

Format:

36, 24 x 36 mm exposures on 35 mm film in cassette. Two Contax cassettes can be used or one standard cassette with re-wind.

Focusing:

Front cell to 1 metre.

Attributes:

Reflex viewing through taking lens. Roof pentaprism finder, split-image rangefinder on focusing screen with Fresnel condenser.
Auto-stop on film advance. Film advance tensions the shutter. Film advance and shutter inter-linked for double and blank exposure prevention.
Uncoupled selenium exposure meter, match needle type with window on top of camera. Additional shutter speeds shown on meter of 2, 4 and 8 sec. Film speed setting: ASA 5 - 650, 12 - 32 DIN.
Exposure counter. Film reminder dial.

Serial Number:

N14772 .

With:

f4, 30 mm Pantar attachment. Focus to 0.8 metre, depth-of-field scale. Plastic case. Serial no. 3764873.
f4, 75 mm Pantar attachment. Focusing scale to 5 feet, depth-of-field scale. Lens cap. Plastic case. Serial no. 3769072.
Accessory shoe. Ever-ready case.

The Alpha and Beta models were introduced as a cheaper option to the Contaflex models III and IV. They were fitted with Pantar lenses and Prontor shutters rather than Tessar lenses in Compur shutters. The front element of the lens could be replaced by lenses giving 30 and 75 mm focal lengths. The Beta was fitted with an uncoupled exposure meter. The meter is set by turning a dial under the re-wind knob which moves a pointer visible in a window, the pointer is aligned to the meter needle. The Exposure Value (EV) is then shown on the dial against an index. The EV is set on the shutter, the speed/aperture settings are cross coupled. The Alpha has Exposure Value settings with cross-coupled speed/aperture settings.

Further Information:

For a list of Contaflex models see Contaflex Models and lenses.

Early Photography