Contessamat

[russell 47]

Does anyone have any info on a Zeiss Icon Contessamat with 45mm fixed lens? An antique store is selling it for $20. It seems to have just three shutter speeds listed on it.. 30, 60, 125. Whats with this?
Thanks.

 

[Dwig]

It seems to have just three shutter speeds listed on it.. 30, 60, 125. Whats with this?

slow, medium, fast ... what more to you need?

The Contessamat line were not targeted for the very serious user. The plain Contessamat (no additional letters) was the most basic. The the newer "fast" (by early '60s standards) color negative film being ASA 80, the common slide films being ASA 25 & 64, and the standard B&W being ASA 125 there wasn't much need for anything else in a "snapshot" orientated camera.

 

[Fawley]

I think this is a case of Zeiss making a number of variations on a name. I have a Contessamat SE and I would say that it is very much a consumer level camera. It is a very pretty little thing though which I suppose is why I bought mine, together with the fact that it was only a little more than $20 and there wasn't a mark on it. The 45mm , F2.8, Pantar, lense does seem to do its job; it takes surprisingly sharp pictures. But if it's an inexpensive Zeiss you are after, for not a lot more money a Contina is a vastly superior camera.