Almost a Contax (Tenax II)

[Jerevan]

I got a Zeiss Tenax II and since this is almost a Contax ... 😉

... I have a few questions.

The camera is missing the take up spool - what can I use instead? A Contax/Kiev spool?

I also need a 37 mm lenscap - does it have any designation or does it look in some special way (I mean, can I try to find something generic - will any sort of push-on cap do)?

Is there any way to find out when the camera was made? From the lens serial number I can see that it is in the late 1936 range. On the body there is E. xxxx and no export markings (Made in Germany).

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Jerevan,
I have a 1939 Tenax II, and it is one of my favorite cameras to use. It is fantastic!!
You can use either Contax/Kiev spool, or you can make your own from an empty roll of film. Instuctions are available online.

As far as cap goes, mine came with a plain aluminum cap with no designation of any kind.

I am using series V hood with felt glued onto threads to make up the difference. It works very well.

 

[Jerevan]

Sam,

thanks for the confirmation on my hunch about the takeup spool. Since I have not run a roll through the camera yet, I can't say much except that it feels very natural to use. It has the "lesser" Tessar.

The fit and finish is nothing short of amazing. Too bad it never got a longer production run.

Thanks for the tips - if I can't find a decent cap, I'll make one. And maybe I can find something to use as a hood in the boxes in the darkroom.

It will need a cleanup (especially the lens), so after a roll or two I'll send it off.

 

[CMur12]

Sam,

thanks for the confirmation on my hunch about the takeup spool. Since I have not run a roll through the camera yet, I can't say much except that it feels very natural to use. It has the "lesser" Tessar.

The fit and finish is nothing short of amazing. Too bad it never got a longer production run.

Thanks for the tips - if I can't find a decent cap, I'll make one. And maybe I can find something to use as a hood in the boxes in the darkroom.

It will need a cleanup (especially the lens), so after a roll or two I'll send it off.

What is the "lesser" Tessar?

- Murray

 

[OlliL]

What is the "lesser" Tessar?

- Murray

Probably should reflect, that it isn't the Sonnar version, I guess. 🙂
I'd love to have a Tenax myself, too bad I passed on it, before the prices skyrocket. I remember them selling for less than 200€ just a couple years ago. Now most people asking 400+.

 

[CMur12]

Thanks, Oliver. So, I understand that to mean the "lesser camera, with the Tessar."

- Murray

 

[sleepyhead]

Sam,

- if I can't find a decent cap, I'll make one. And maybe I can find something to use as a hood in the boxes in the darkroom.

I made a good lens cap for the 40mm Sonnar on my Tenax II out of a plastic screw-on cap found on many milk and yogurt bottles here in Denmark. Perhaps you have the same in Sweden.

All I had to do was give it a good washing and cut two small notches so the cap fit over the two small metal protrusions on the aperture ring of the lens.

Congradulations on the Tenax II. It's a lovely camera as you've already discovered. I no longer shoot 35mm film (I use medium format for B&W, and a digital camera for all color), but out of 13 or so 35mm film cameras that I owned at my peak, I kept 2: the Tenax II and a Leica M3.

 

[Jerevan]

Yes, you are correct in the assumption OlliL, that I meant it as the "not-as-good" Tessar optic.

Murray, I put "lesser" in quotes since I like Tessars (or the derivates thereof) while others may disparage them.

This example was €160, which I consider okay: all speeds run and rf is clear.

Sleepyhead: thanks for the idea - I am going to have a look, maybe I can recycle something. 🙂

 

[wes loder]

lens cpas for Tenax

lens cpas for Tenax

The lens should take a standard 37mm slip-on lens cap. I actually found several Carl Zeiss Jena caps in 37mm slip-on on ebay for my Tenax lenses. They fit very nicely.
The Tessar for the Tenax II should be an excellent lens as long as you guard against flare. The slightly more-common F2 Sonnar is generally considered more desirable, but also more expensive. I am not sure which is better in terms of picture quality since I have read different opinions. I love the handling and feel of my Tenax, I just wish I could get slides mounted easily and scanning easier.
Enjoy. And, an EXXXX series Tenax would date to 1937, the year before it went on sale. Cheers, WES

 

[raid]

My Tennax II with its 40mm Sonnar lens looks like new. I want another lens for it.

 

[Jerevan]

I have no idea where the serial numbers for the Tenax II actually begins, so I do not know how early the camera is in the run. The numbers are E.3261 and for the Tessar 1846296.

It was sold in Stockholm in a wellknown store, Nordiska Kompaniet, (NK), where Greta Garbo used to be a top model for their fashion shows in the roaring twenties. 🙂

I am guessing that the lens and camera has been kept together throughout the years - being a quite uncommon camera and the mount being proprietary.

The lens barrel has three cuts in the back of it - one straight and two slightly slanting and there is a + and a - engraved into the barrel just by the slanting ones. Maybe they all look like this?

I'll have a lookout for a Zeiss cap on the 'bay.

 

[Jerevan]

I tried a few spools from my screwmount Leicas (one "springy" and one rigid) and none of them work. I guess the Zeiss spool is longer or constructed in a different way.

I just get it to wind on one frame and then the film is too loose and does not connect to the sprockets anymore. Rather "crunchy" winding when I do this.

I find screwmount loading very easy but loose spools and back seems to need a different level of dexterity! 🙂

I guess I need to insert the cassette first and then the spool, keeping a minimum of film stretched over the rails. I guess there is no way to guarantee tension other than putting the back on and hoping for the best?

Is the cassette to cassette loading a better idea?

EDIT: realised that the Leica spools do not have the required "thingamajig" to help winding (they are friction fit on the Leicas).

 

[wes loder]

Tenax numbers

Tenax numbers

Leica take-up spools will not work in a Tenax or a Contax. You should be able to make a spool from a standard plastic one by making a diagonal cut at one end of the stem. Directions are on the web somewhere, but any Contax spool will work. As for loading, check my blog <http://wesloderandnikon.blogspot.com/> and find the post on "Zeiss Ikon's Action camera." I describe how to load film in that entry. You have to tilt the camera down so the film and spool do not fall out while you tension, then put the back on.
As for your serial number: The lowest number I have record of is E 3036. The Es ran up to 4981 or higher, so yours is an early one. The first run of Tessars for the Tenax II began with 1846001 and went to 1847000 for a run of a thousand in the first batch which date to April 1937. So your lens is also quite early. Hope this helps. Cheers, WES

 

[Jerevan]

Thank you very much Wes for the information!

It was as I was guessing - that it is from an early batch. I am looking forward to see if I can get it up and running again.

But first, a spool! 🙂

 

[someonenameddavid]

I was looking to trade my Tenax II for a Leica III-something. .. but I don't know... I would probably never find another one.

 

[Jerevan]

Well, I have a few too many Leicas ... 😉

(if that is possible?)

 

[wes loder]

My Tennax II with its 40mm Sonnar lens looks like new. I want another lens for it.

Raid,
I have seen four of the 7.5cm Sonnars for the Tenax II show up for sale in the last ten months. One at Westlicht (which did not sell) and three on ebay. So they are out there. All three of the ebay lenses sold for less than $600.
I love my 7.5cm Sonnar. It is compact and adds hardly any weight to the camera. I made a finder adapter that works. I just wish that Zeiss had offered another long lens with a longer focal length, say around 100mm.
As for the 2.7cm Orthometar, I'm still looking, but they're not many of them out there, so it might take awhile. Cheers, WES

 

[ZeissFan]

If you pose your question to the Zeiss Ikon Collectors Group on Yahoo, the members there should be able to provide you with a month and date of manufacture for the body and the lens.

The Tenax II uses the Zeiss Ikon film cassette, which fit nearly all Zeiss Ikon 35mm cameras with a removable back, starting with the Contax I and ending with the Contarex. The only one that couldn't use it is the Tenax I. Unlike other camera makers, Zeiss Ikon did not make a new film cassette to fit a new body.

These are very nice and compact cameras. The uncoated lens should always be protected, as it is prone to surface scratches.

Zeiss Ikon also made a Contameter set for the Tenax II, which allows you to take close-up photos. In 13 years, I've seen exactly one show up on eBay.

 

[Jerevan]

I managed to find a film cassette (marked 540/01) in a very nice red box, so I have got the camera up and running with a test roll at the moment.

The lens is very hazy (and probably scratched up) so I am not expecting anything worth making a fuss about.

In actual use the camera feels very intuitive, everything in the right place.