| In
1932 Zeiss Ikon introduced the Contax camera. A 35mm Rangefinder
camera, it was designed to compete with the Leica in the growing 35mm
market. Zeiss took a leaf out of the Leitz book by introducing a
plethora of lenses and other items to create a 'system' camera equal to
the Leica. Zeiss was a huge conglomerate, a goliath, in comparison to
the David of Leitz, a family run business. With all the resources at
its disposal it is a wonder that Zeiss did not surpass Leica in the
35mm market place. Between Leica and Contax, Germany dominated the
world of photography for 60 years. The Single Lens Reflex camera,
specifically the Nikon F of 1959 was the beginning of the end for the
rangefinder camera and Zeiss stopped production of the venerable Contax
in 1961. |
