How and why Contax died in the shift from analogue to digital photography.

1. RIP Contax?

3. On April 12 2005, Kyocera
announced that they would
terminate the famous
Contax brand.

7. With this press release,
one of the oldest and most
renowned cameras
became history.

8. The first Contax cameras
were produced by Zeiss
Ikon in 1932.

9. It was inspired by the famous
Leica, but never regarded as
merely a copy.

11. Contax became famous in
the segment of 35mm
cameras for professional
photographers.

12. Over the years, famous
photographers like Robert
Capa have used Contax.

16. A small, portable camera
with great image quality was
ideal for Capa, who
photographed many wars.

17. Some of his most famous
photos were taken in Normandie
when the allied forces entered
the beach in order to fight back
the Germans.

21. According to his book "Slightly out of Focus" and a bio
called 'Blood and Champagne", Capa took two Contax
cameras and a bag of film to the beach. Judging by the
surviving pictures, he seems to have shot with a 50.
Capa claimed to have spent 90 minutes on the beach
and apparently shot 4 rolls of 135. Unfortunately all but
11 of these shots were destroyed in the LIFE lab, in a
rush to dry the film. Supposedly Capa never really got
over that incident, but was graceful about it in public. My
uncle Andy was on Omaha Beach that morning and I
have often wondered if he had came across a fellow
taking pictures in the hail of bullets.

23. • I also have a sneaking suspicion he had a
Contax around his neck on the day in 1954
when he trod on a land mine and died in
Vietnam. But I am working from memory in
relation to the latter and may be wrong.
• However, I can be certain that I have also seen
him in photos in which he has been holding a
TLR camera. There is one here in fact although I
have seen others:

24. When he was killed in Asia he had his Contax in
hand. He may have also had a Nikon, since he
had just completed an assignment in Japan and
was given several free cameras. There is a
photo of him, dated a few days before he was
killed, with what appears to be a Contax around
his neck. The camera has a Nikon varifocal in
the hot shoe. I've never seen a high resolution
version of this shot to verify if it was a Nikon,
instead of his Contax.

25. • What's certain is that the "prewar and wartime" Robert Capa was not a
Leica photog, despite the Leica staff tries to assert urbi et orbi nowadays.
He was a Contax (Zeiss Ikon) photog, just because the Contax II of that
time (the 30's) was more than a serious competitor for the Barnack camera.
• See the attached picture showing Bob Capa (left) and George Rodger
(right) in Italy during the summer of 1943. I've also seen a portrait of Bob
Capa on a Spanish civil war battlefield - no Leica around his neck, but a
Contax II as well.
• The persistence of "Bob Capa used a Leica camera" cliche can easily
explain for one reason IMHO.
• The prewar Contax II resembles the postwar... Leica M. In fact, the Leica M
was largely inspired by the Contax II regarding its design and style. The two
cameras have approx. the same size, while the Leica SM is way smaller
than the Contax II. So, it's obvious that journalists, critics, "photo
specialists'" and whatsoever, who generally know nothing about the history
of the photographic gear although they seriously think they know it at its
best, decided that Robert Capa used a Leica because they had seen many
photos of him with something closely looking like a Leica M around his
neck.

29. Kyocera has today announced that it has decided
to terminate the Contax branded camera
business. Contax joined forces with Yashica in
the 1960s, which became part of the electronics
giant Kyocera in the mid-1990s. The history of
the name goes back to the original Contax
camera produced by Zeiss Ikon AG in 1932. The
company announced its first 35mm SLR film
camera, the Contax S, in 1949. A dark cloud
has been hanging over the Contax brand
since Kyocera announced it was to end of
camera production last month.

32. Other than this model, and its associated
Zeiss lens line, the Contax brand has been
at a dead-end for several years. Their film
cameras were once highly regarded, for
their use of Zeiss lenses as much as for
their remarkable build quality and excellent
handling. I owned a Contax RTS III for a
while in the '80s and found it to be an
exquisitely built camera with excellent
ergonomics.

33. one of the oldest brands in photography,
Contax. Contax cameras have been
produced since the early 1930's, when the
brand was launched by German optical
legend Zeiss Ikon. Contax joined forces
with Japanese manufacturer Yashica in
the 1960's, becoming part of electronics
giant Kyocera in the mid-1990's.

34. He certainly used contax cameras. Having
read his account of his landing at Omaha
Beach in Normandy, it is clear that he was
using two Contax cameras on the day
(Here is a direct quote: "It was now light
enough to start taking pictures, and I
brought my first Contax camera out of its
waterproof oilskin." found here:

35. Capa now felt safe enough to photograph the other soldiers who, like himself, had taken cover behind the steel defences. Wading to a disabled
US-tank, he continuously clicked his two Contax-II-cameras. “I lived through a never before known terror and my whole body shook while
all the time looking around me”. Throughout he repeated a sentence he had picked up during the Spanish Civil War: “Es und cosa muy
seria.” This is serious business. To Robert Capa it seemed an eternity before he spied a landing craft in the surf. “I did neither think nor
decide; I simply stood up and ran for it.” Racing for the boat he held his cameras high to protect them from water. He had shot three films
and took 106 pictures. On reaching England, he boarded the first train for London in order to have the photos developed. John Morris,
photo editor at Life, had already waited impatiently for the material since Tuesday 6th June. It needed to go rapidly through British
censorship and on to New York. The following evening, from a port on the Channel, came the hoped for phone call: Capa’s photographs
would be in London within one or two hours. Around 21 hours a courier delivered a total of four miniature and six medium format films to
the offices of Life. Dennis Banks, the young laboratory assistant developed them and suddenly raced up the stairs to John Morris. “They
are ruined, ruined! Robert Capa’s films are all ruined!” In the hectic he had closed the door to the drying room, where he had hung the
films. The negatives could only dry properly with the door left slightly open; otherwise the air would be too stuffy. The surface of the films
was damaged. John Morris looked at them, three rolls were unusable, only on the fourth were eleven usable pictures. At 3.30 on
Thursday morning Morris, with the pictures, raced his Austin through London’s deserted streets to the censor’s office where first of all he
had to wait. The pictures needed to be handed over to a courier by 9 o’clock in order to arrive on time in Life’s New York head office. But
Morris did not leave the Ministry of Information until 8.45. Again he raced through London, this time to Grosvenor Square. He sprinted the
last 40 meters to the courier service and entered their office just as the delegated assistant was about to close the transport bag destined
for the USA. “Wait!” Morris shouted. On Saturday evening, shortly after going to press, the publishers of Life cabled London: TODAY
WAS ONE OF THE GREAT PICTURE DAYS IN LIFE’S OFFICE, WHEN CAPA’S BEACHLANDING AND OTHER SHOTS ARRIVED. On
19th June 1944 eight photos by Robert Capa were published in the magazine. The captions stated that the pictures were slightly out of
focus, because Capa’s hands had trembled from excitement. Capa denied this and accused the London laboratory of Life to have ruined
his films. 1945 saw peace again in Europe and nine years later Capa once again visited a war theatre for Life, this time Korea. But this
was his last assignment; he was mortally wounded when stepping on a mine. After the end of the Korean War other themes played a part
in Life: In the 60’s many pictures of film stars, the Kennedy family, the Landing on the Moon were printed. Only during the Vietnam War
did the magazine again show unadorned pictures of military conflicts, this time in South East Asia. The reporting by Life helped to bring
about anti-war protests in the USA. The big times of the magazine however were soon to be over. Diminishing circulation saw the first
closure of the magazine in 1972. From 1978 onwards it was again published monthly, but till today it has never again reached the
circulation numbers it enjoyed during the heyday of photo journalism.

37. http://www.luminous-
landscape.com/reviews/cameras/c
ontax645.shtml
But the world of film is fading fast, so why review a
film camera? The answer is because though
medium format film has been eclipsed of late by
high-end 35mm digital, there are several
medium format digital backs of 16-22
Megapixels coming to market that are
reasserting medium format's superiority. I
decided that the Contax 645 would be the
platform that I would use to investigate these
exciting new developments.

38. • Autofocus
• This is not the autofocus that you may have
become familiar with from 35mm cameras. It's
slow. In fact, it's really slow. But, who cares?
The Contax's Zeiss lenses have metal barrels
and silky-smooth focusing rings. And did I
mention the real aperture rings and depth of field
scales? OK. Autofocus is slow. But given the
type of shooting typically done with an MF
camera, I can live with it

39. Contax's N Digital, while it did eventually
make it to market, then ended up beating
a hasty and ignominious retreat

41. Contax is a brand name that belongs to the
Carl Zeiss Foundation, and which was
licensed to Yashica (now a part of
Kyocera). Similarly the Zeiss lenses which
are used on Contax cameras, while they
were produced under license by Kyocera,
are still Zeiss lenses. The are made from
Zeiss designs, with Zeiss glass, under the
supervision of Zeiss technicians – at least
this is so for the 645 and RTS lenses

42. http://www.luminous-
landscape.com/reviews/cameras/c
ontax-rip.shtml
Contax is one of, if not the oldest and most
venerable names in photographic history. Carl
Zeiss owns the brand name, and Zeiss is very
much a going concern. In fact there are few
photographers who don't appreciate, if not
actually covet owning and using Zeiss lenses.
For Zeiss to abandon the Contax brand and its
flagship camera now doesn't seem like a
sensible thing that any company would do,
(especially since it was Kyocera who took all the
losses in recent years – which of course is why
they bailed out)

43. Because it’s the most popular medium
format camera in the world, there are more
than 20 digital backs available from
virtually every manufacturer in the
industry.

45. 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 was chosen
after a poll among its employees. Dr. Ing.
Heinz Küppenbender was its chief
designer.

46. 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 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
1/1000s, then increased to 1/1250s in 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.

47. 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 Kiev in Ukraine.
During the war years, the chief designer, Hubert Nerwin,
tried to convert 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), even
though the "S" was not marked on the camera.

48. The Contax S can be said to be the camera that defined the
configuration of 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, numerous models followed including D, E, F,
FB, FM and FBM.
During that period, VEB Zeiss Ikon, as 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 line of camera
was abandoned.

51. Instead, many companies
were created around the idea
to develop digital backs for
established medium
format players.

52. Leaf…

54. Imacon…

57. Phase One…

60. (This document was translated from the Japanese press release.)
April 12, 2005
Kyocera Corporation (President: Yasuo Nishiguchi, hereafter called
"Kyocera") has decided to terminate CONTAX-branded camera
business.
Although Carl Zeiss and Kyocera have entered into a long term co-
operation regarding the development, production and sale of
CONTAX-branded cameras, Kyocera has decided to terminate such
business due to difficulties in catching up with the recent rapid
market changes.
Consequently, Kyocera will terminate the shipment of CONTAX-
branded cameras, and the exclusive lenses and accessories in
September, 2005, except for the CONTAX 645 camera system, the
shipment of which to some markets will come to an end in
December, 2005.

61. 645

66. • Kyocera / Contax's digital point and shoots were
never much of a market factor, and simply have
been a stylish but technically me-too line up.
• When it came to DSLRs though Contax was the
first company out of the starting blocks several
years ago with its Contax N Digital, a full-frame
6MP camera. It was a highly flawed product, and
though heavily marketed initially, was only
shipped in small quantities in most markets. In
typical Kyocera fashion the company flubbed the
way it handled the camera's problems, and it
wasn't long before it was withdrawn.

67. The Contax 645 is somewhat like a slightly
overgrown 35mm model. It is extremely
user-friendly, like most 645 format- but
unlike many larger medium format
cameras

70. http://www.dpreview.com/news/050
3/05030301kyocera.asp

71. • Sources at Kyocera have confirmed that
the company is to cease production of film
and digital cameras, putting a huge
question mark over the future of

73. • Kyocera has had some success in the digital camera
market with models bearing Yashica, Kyocera and
Contax branding, though the company's first foray
into the digital SLR market (the Contax N Digital) was
widely regarded as an expensive failure.
There is some confusion over the future of the Contax
brand, or the widely anticipated digital rangefinder (G
digital) and Mark II 645 cameras. When we spoke to a
Kyocera UK representative at the UK's Focus on
Imaging exhibition this week, it was made clear that
there may well be a future for Contax under another
owner, with one rumor mentioning Sony as a potential
buyer (the company already uses Carl Zeiss branded
lenses on some of its digital compacts).

76. • This review of the Contax N Digital is being published in early 2004, many
months after this ill-fated camera was withdrawn from the U.S. market by
Contax. It is still apparently available though in some European and Asian
markets.
• So why am I publishing this review now? Simply because it was an
important landmark in the history of digital photography — the first full-frame
35mm camera to reach the market. There have been very few published
reviews of this camera. I tried very hard to obtain one for testing from
Contax U.S., but was ignored, lied to and avoided by them for many
months. I finally gave up in disgust. Virtually no other reviews have
appeared in U.S. magazines or web sites, and I am told by other reviewers
that Contax was similarly uncooperative with them regarding this product.
• This review is written by Irakly Shanidze, a photographer and author
whose reviews are widely published in both Russia and the United States.
Even though the Contax N Digital failed in most markets, hopefully Contax
will bounce back and bring to out a second generation digital SLR;
something that owners of Contax 35mm lenses and 645 cameras look
forward to with anticipation (myself included).
• — Michael

77. Philips sensor
The Contax N Digital was the first professional digital SLR with a full
size CCD chip and 6.04 megapixel recording resolution. In many
ways it was, and still is a groundbreaking camera that sports a host
of unique and innovative features. Not to mention that it is the only
digital camera that provides access to professional Carl Zeiss optics,
it is also the only digital SLR in existence that is fully compatible with
lenses and accessories of two film systems: Contax N1/NX 35mm
system and Contax 645 autofocus medium format camera. Even
with the advent of Kodak DCS 14n and Canon 1Ds that feature
over-ten-megapixel full-frame CMOS chips, the Contax N Digital
remains the only full-frame digital camera that uses CCD technology
for digital capture. Kyocera Optics managed to integrate a Philips
3008x2008 24x36mm chip used before in medium format digital
backs into a camera body that still remains the lightest and the most
compact among full-frame digital SLRs.

78. • The camera is based around the well-known Contax N1 film-based
camera, and it looks almost identical to the N1 with a vertical
grip/battery holder attached. In fact, both cameras are amazingly
similar in controls layout, handling and operation. All digital controls
are located on the back plate, and they are very easy to learn and
operate. The Contax N Digital inherited such fine N1 features as
focus bracketing, wide array diagonal AF with dual-focus capability
and a very reliable exposure system.
• Since I purchased the Contax N Digital in July 2002, it was my
primary substitute for a 35mm camera in most shooting situations.
The transition from the Contax N1, which I used before, was very
easy because of the remarkable similarity. After eight months of
using the camera almost on a daily basis with lenses ranging from
17mm to 300mm, I learned a great deal of very exciting and
sometimes not very exciting things about Contax N Digital that you
may find interesting and useful, especially when considering
committing to a very capable yet expensive film/digital system.

79. Another notable flaw of AF the system is its
dramatically increased power consumption
in low light situations. It is possible to drain
fresh batteries in less than ten minutes just
by frequently engaging autofocus by
pressing a shutter release button halfway
down.

80. Another signature feature of Contax N
Digital is its excruciatingly high power
consumption. It came at no surprise,
however, because powering such a large
CCD is not an easy task.

81. Both of them show full charge almost to the
point when batteries are nearly exhausted
and then suddenly show low battery sign.
When the batteries are low, the camera
may perform erratically, lock-up and even
produce images with artifacts.

82. The Contax N Digital produces images of
outstanding quality that in my tests supersedes
any current 6-megapixel SLR and holds up very
well against Canon 1Ds and even Kodak DCS
Pro Back mounted on Contax 645 body. Partly
due to outstanding Carl Zeiss optics and partly
to developed by Kyocera thin low-pass filter that
eliminates light frequencies that produce image
artifacts common in digital images.

83. but it takesan amount of work that one
should hardly expect from a $7000 worth
professional rig

84. • Outstanding image quality makes the Contax N Digital
quite a capable performer, even compared to new
generation over-10-megapixel DSLRs. It is especially
suitable for fine art, glamour and portraiture as well as
for landscape photography. Its studio performance is
outstanding.
• Unfortunately, there are some tasks that the Contax N
Digital is just not equipped to perform well enough. High
power consumption, small and slow buffer, poor
performance in low light and limited selection of high-
speed lenses makes it nearly unsuitable for
photojournalism.

85. The real drawbacks of the Contax N Digital
are in its image processing software and
the camera firmware.

86. Launched in early 2002

87. Irakly Shanidze's work may be seen on his
web site at www.shanidze.com/en

88. The camera was announced in late 2000,
and began to be sold in spring 2002, after
several delays. The camera received
mixed reviews from the press

89. and was withdrawn from the market within a
year of its introduction

90. There were only three Contax N-Mount
cameras - two 35mm film SLR bodies,
plus the N Digital - all of which have been
discontinued

91. After the demise of the N Digital, the Contax
brand name was used for one further
camera, the Contax TVS of 2002. Contax's
parent company Kyocera withdrew from
the digital imaging market in 2005. Today
the N Digital is considered a collector's
item.

92. • Back in late 2000 when the Canon D30 was new and hot
and the Nikon D1 was king of the hill both Contax and
Pentax announced cameras that would offer 6MP full
frame imaging chips. The chip used was from Phillips,
and was essentially the same chip used in a number of
high-end digital backs used on medium format cameras.
• Photographers were thrilled. Imagine — a full frame
imager in a 35mm camera.
• Then time passed, and passed, and still no cameras.
About a year later Pentax announced that it was
dropping out. The rumours were that they simply couldn't
get the image quality they needed from the Phillips chip.
Contax hung on though, and in the spring of 2002 they
finally started shipping the 1N Digital

93. The N Digital is based on Contax's 1N
35mm film body, introduced the year
before. It was Contax's first autofocus
SLR. (Actually they had an autofocus SLR
in the mid-90's that moved the film plane,
but that's another story). Contax
aficionados were pleased when this
camera came out because finally there
were Zeiss autofocus lenses

94. http://www.luminous-
landscape.com/reviews/cameras/1
n-non.shtml
As soon as the N Digital started shipping I
contacted Contax and their PR department,
explained that I wanted to review the camera for
both one of the magazines that I write for as well
as this web site. I was told that they would get
me a camera for review as quickly as possible.
That was more than six months ago. When a
camera failed to show up I would call every few
weeks and was assured that as soon as one
became available I would receive it. But over a
half year and after a dozen phone calls and e-
mails one never showed up.

95. After a time I simply lost interest and gave
up. But, I didn't forget about it. Two things
struck me as being strange. First that I
knew that there were cameras sitting on
dealers shelves, and secondly that I wasn't
seeing reviews anywhere else, either
online or in magazines. Strange.

96. • Two things happened in early November 2002 that lead me to
question what was going on. The first was a chat with some senior
executives from Contax at the PhotoPlus Expo show in New York,
and the second was the appearance in the French magazine
Chasseur d'Images of a full review of the N Digital.
• At the show I was aggressive with the Contax brass, asking them
why I hadn't been provided with a review sample. In fact, I asked,
why had I not seen any reviews in an American magazine, though
the camera had been in the retail sales channel for a half a year?
The answers were the worst bit of evasive baffelgab that I've ever
heard. They were non-answers. I walked away from the Contax
booth shaking my head in disbelief.
• Then a couple of weeks later I bought the current issue of Chassier
d'Image, in part because it featured a review of the 1N Digital. After
I read the review I started to understand what was going on.

97. • On a scale of 1 to 5 Chasseur d'Images gives the 1N Digital a 1, the
lowest possible rating. The magazine likes the handling and build
quality (always Contax strong points) but strongly criticizes the
digital side. They write that the image is very noisy, especially at 200
and 400 ISO. Images are clean at ISO 25, 50 and 100, but as they
point out that only really leaves ISO 100 as a usable speed.
• They are also critical of the buffer, claiming that it is both too small
and too slow, and the batteries — four AA cells, which they say are
woefully inadequate. They feel that the resolution is good, but really
no better than many much less expensive cameras. Also one can't
set the colour space, the post-processing software is lacking, and so
on and so on. They have almost nothing good to say about the
digital side of the camera. In fairness, they do like the ergonomics,
the viewfinder and the metering. And of course, the Zeiss lenses.

98. • I am left to conclude that Contax U.S. simply doesn't want to have media
coverage for this product. Most manufacturers are eager to provide
cameras to reviewers, usually providing pre-production samples in
recognition of the long lead times that traditional print publishers have.
• Of course if no press coverage is what Contax wants, that's their affair. But,
they shouldn't expect for it to go unnoticed. They also should be taken to
task for obviously selling a product to consumers that they appear to be less
than enthusiastic about. For whatever their reasons Pentax decided that
they couldn't build a camera with this chip, while Contax decided to forge
ahead. To save face? Possibly. We'll likely never know for sure.
• By now, of course, the N Digital has missed the boat. Both Kodak and
Canon have announced full frame cameras, and with double the resolution
of the Contax. The Kodak 14N comes in at nearly half the price, and the
Canon, while a bit more expensive, is clearly a far superior camera.
• The bottom line for the Contax N Digital. Too little, too late, too expensive,
badly marketed.

99. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/c
ontent_page.asp?cid=7-6234-6239
• A spokesperson for Contax in the US has confirmed that the N
Digital SLR camera is no longer being manufactured. While there
may still be stock at dealers or in the distribution chain, no new
shipments are expected from parent company Kyocera in Japan.
• The 6 MP Contax N Digital was the first digital SLR to ship with a
sensor about the same size as a 35mm film frame, and emerged on
store shelves about a year ago. The Contax N Digital remains listed
for sale at reputable dealers in the US for about US$6800-7000, or
about the same price that it shipped at originally in 2002.
• References to The N Digital as a current product will soon be
removed from the Contax web site. The spokesperson said that
while new products are always being developed, a possible
replacement for the N Digital is not being announced at this time.

101. Contax compact camera
Photokina 2002: About a month ago we first
heard of the Kyocera Finecam S5 and some hint
of a new Contax TVS Digital. At Photokina
Kyocera / Contax took the covers off a pre-
production TVS Digital, and a stylish looking
compact digital camera it is too! As far as we
can tell the five megapixel TVS Digital is based
on the Finecam S5 digital engine but has a
different lens, which is labelled "Carl Zeiss" (not
the same Carl Zeiss lens as the Sony's?;)

102. Kyocera has already stopped production of
film and digital cameras, and the various
international operations are being
prepared for closure. The reasons given
were purely market-related (in other words
not because of financial difficulties), with
Kyocera now concentrating on its mobile
phone and semiconductor business.

105. • Kyocera has already stopped production
of film and digital cameras, and the
various international operations are being
prepared for closure. The reasons given
were purely market-related (in other words
not because of financial difficulties), with
Kyocera now concentrating on its mobile
phone and semiconductor business.

106. • Kyocera Corporation, parent and global headquarters of
the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer
of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered
materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them
with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading
supplier of telecommunications equipment, cameras,
laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems,
semiconductor packages and electronic components.
During the year ended March 31, 2004, the company’s
net sales totaled $10.969 Billion with net income of
$654.673 Million. Kyocera Corporation trades on the
NYSE, Tokyo, and Osaka stock exchanges under the
symbol “KYO”.

141. The last camera branded Contax

142. On April 12, 2005, Kyocera announced that
they would no longer produce Contax
cameras.

143. • A departure from the 35 mm format, the Contax 645 was
an autofocus medium format SLR system, featuring an
array of Zeiss lenses and interchangeable film and digital
backs. One of its unique features was a film back
equipped with the vacuum system originally developed
for the 35 mm RTSIII SLR, which was claimed to
increases sharpness by keeping the film perfectly flat in
the plane of focus.
• In addition to 120 and 220 medium format backs with
film inserts for quick loading, including the previously
mentioned vacuum back, many manufacturers offer a
variety of interchangeable digital backs for the Contax
645 system:

144. CONTAX TVS Digital with Zeiss Vario-
Sonnar 2.8-4.8 - the last camera with the
brand Contax

154. Kyocera developed the modern Contax
camera brand, along with their Yashica
brand (from a much earlier acquisition),
long before digital. Imaging was never a
very large part of Kyocera and they could
not keep up with the larger electronics
companies (Sony, Matsushita, Canon) so
they bailed

155. • Zeiss has not indicated they will resell
rights to the brand name to another
company, but I doubt it could happen soon
if ever. Kyocera never did disclose if they
would sell their own designs, patents, and
equipment to anyone else....
• Ergo, Contax has faded away...

157. What a great system it was... I mean all of it,
from 35mm rangefinders to 645 AF
cameras, I am thinking of buyinh 645
system today,

158. Zeiss still owns the Contax brand name - it was licensed to
Kyocera for exclusive use and, even though Kyocera has
discontinued making cameras, Kyocera still has the
brand rights for several years. (The agreement probably
should have had a caluse to revert to Zeiss if Kyocera
quit using it but it didn't) Whether there will be some new
deal that creats a new Contax line is not yet known. Most
probably, the contax 35mm manual SLR line, the Contax
35mm AF SLR line and the Contax 645 AF SLR line
have all seen their end and any new "Contax" would be
something different.

159. Well, I think Zeiss probably cares less about
the CONTAX name anymore. While a
historic brand to some degree, I don't think
it's very marketable today.

160. I do agree with you that the Contax name
doesn't really tie to Zeiss anymore, even
though they own it. Made in Japan for too
long, and with too little Zeiss input in terms
of camera systems.

161. That's just not true. You obviously are not fasmiliar with the
brand. There was quite a bit of Zeiss input, and the
cameras benefited from it. The name is stil strongly
associated with Zeiss and still has tremendous brand
value. There are a lot of potential partners out there that
would kill to be able to use the name and work with Zeiss
on the Contax line. First, however, they have to sort out
the arrangement with Kyocera, which is confusing and
confounding to most people watching it. (even though
Kyocera has left the business and stopped all production
and development activies -- so they say -- they still are,
apparently, able to hold the Contax licnese in spite of
non-preformance under the license and are able to stop
Zeiss from re-newing the brand with another partner.)

162. Contax has never been a mass market brand, and never
has positioned itself there. It is not going to compete with
the volume of Nikon D50's and Canon Rebel XT's, and
will never make a camera that cheap. It has always
been a product for discriminating and professional
users, and in that space it can and did (and will
again) compete very well. Many people that use them
prefer the camera's excellent handling and
ergonomics, and the lenses -- especially wide to
short telephoto -- which are superior to the big
names (Canon ,Nikon, Pentax, Minolta) Expensive but
worth it (but much less expensive than Leica optics of
comparable performance). There are many pros using
Canon digital today that would switch tomorrow just for
the lenses if Contax/Zeiss produced a new pro-DLSR.

163. in the days of flim contax was on the mind of
photographies,just
not every one could afford them.
if one could afford them and used them,one
would not go back
to another camera.
everone talks about quility but few are willing to
pay for it.
i only wish i could afford the M digital back

164. Ended up in the medium format segment,
which is smaller and smaller…

165. I am currently using a Contax 645 with a
Phase One P30+. Firstly, this combination
will record detail that is unsurpassed using
any Dslr. Phase one software is getting
better and better, the new 4.0.1 has
excellent controls and is every bit as good
as ACR. Capture One DB has a steep
learning curve and is well worth the time
spent, although 4.0.1 is my preference for
most processing.

166. The thing I like about the Phase back is that
there is very little to configure. 4 buttons
on the back and it is so easy to get the
right setting. The back has a readout that
tells you iso, white balance etc. The menu
system is not myriads of menus like my
D200 which I dearly love. Combine the
ease of use of the back with the traditional
user interface of aperatures and shutter
speeds of the Contax 645 and the joy of
photography returns.Hope this helps

168. Image attributions

169. Christian Sandström is a
PhD student at Chalmers
University of Technology in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He
writes and speaks about
disruptive innovation and
technological change.
www.christiansandstrom.org
christian.sandstrom@chalmers.se