Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-02-22)

56 22 February 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

TonyKemplenontheÉ

TonyKemplen’sloveof photographybeganasa teenagerandeversincehehasbeencollecting cameraswitha viewto testingasmanyashecan. You
canfollowhisprogressonhis 52 Camerasblogat52cameras.blogspot.co.uk.
More photos from the Contarex Special:www.fl ickr.com/tony_kemplen/sets/72157712382152266/

Zei ss I kon

Contarex Special

Tech Talk

‘Forallitsstyle,the

Contarexwasbig,

heav y,complicated

andexpensive’

W

ritingthison
NewYear’sDay
2020,I feela
mixtureof relief
andpanicto havecompletedten
yearsof usinga differentfilm
cameraeachweekwithoutfail.
That’sa totalof 522cameras,and
amazinglynocompletedisasters,
thoughsomecameprettyclose.
Thereliefis thatI havedecidedto
relaxthepace,anduse‘new’
camerasasandwhenI findthem,
ratherthanrigorouslyloadingupa
newoneeachFriday;thepanic
nowis that,aftera decade,I’mnot
surehowI’llcopewithoutthis
weeklyrhythmin mylife.
TheveryfirstcameraI usedin
my 52 camerasin 52weeks
project,backin January2010,
wasa ZenitE, a Soviet-erabudget
SLRwithlimitedfeaturesandan
unenviablereputationforquality
control.It seemedappropriateto
bookendthedecadewithwhat
wasperhapstheapogeeof
20th-centuryprecision35mm
systemcameras,oneof theZeiss
IkonContarexmodels.Thisone,
theContarexSpecial,wasmadein
1961,anddespiteonlyoccasional
use,is in fullworkingorder.
TheSpecialis thesecond
versionof theContarextobe
made.Thefirst,nicknamedthe
Cyclopsbecauseof theenormous
exposuremeter‘eye’smackbang
in themiddleof thepentaprism
housing,is a wondertobehold.In
hisbookCollectingandUsing
ClassicSLRs, IvorMatanlesumsit
upbysaying‘If youbuyjustone
SLRtoadmire,stroke,holdin front
of thefireona winter’sevening
andneverloadwithfilm,it should
bea ContarexCyclops’.The
Specialis actuallythesame
camera,butwithouttheexposure
meter.Omittingthemeterallowed
for interchangeable viewfi nders

andfocusingscreens,something

consideredanessentialfeature in

a systemcamera.

Allmannerof lensesand

accessorieswereavailable,from

interchangeablefilmbacksto

stereoadaptersandclose-up

bellows.Contarexlensesused

theirownuniquemount,and

unusually,andsomewhat

disconcertingly,thelensesdonot

haveanaperturering,orany

meansof settingthef stop– thisis

alldoneviaa knurledwheelonthe

frontof thebody,operatedbythe

right hand. The aperture scale is

partof thebody,andis used

regardlessof whichlensis fitted.

Forallitsstyle,theContarexwas

big,heavy,complicatedand

expensive.Ata timewhen

JapaneseSLRswerebecoming

moreavailable,andshrinkingin

size,thechunkyContarex,

despiteitssuperbengineering,was

fightinga losingbattle.It has

beensuggestedthatthe

investmentthatZeissputintoit

contributedtotheendof their

cameramakingin Europe.

Mydadwasa ZeissIkon

devotee,thiscamerabelongedto

him,andit seemedappropriateto

takea photoof hisgreat-grandson

whowasbornjustdaysafterhe

died.Technicallythisphotois far

fromperfect,it wasshotat full

aperture,witha shutterspeedof

1/30sec,anda potentiallymoving

target,butit’sspecialtome

because of its associations.

AndsowecometothelastmodelinTony’s

decade-long ‘52 cameras in 52 weeks’ project

A photo of Tony’s grandson taken with a Zeiss Ikon Contarex Special

© TONY KEMPLEN

TheContarexSpecialis thesame

cameraasthefirstversionbut

without the exposure meter

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