Contax I
The Contax I, introduced in 1932, was Zeiss Ikon's opening shot in its long rivalry with Leica, as noted in High-Fidelity (September 1953, p.59). It's a 35mm rangefinder camera with a die-cast aluminum body covered in leatherette - not leather, a detail owners are quick to point out. The camera uses a screw mount of 1 inch, 26 threads per inch, and accepts interchangeable Zeiss Sonnar lenses. Early models shipped with a 50mm f/3.5 Sonnar. Later versions came with a faster 50mm f/2. At least three body variants exist, distinguished by differences in the rangefinder mechanism and shutter speed dial.
The horizontal-travel focal-plane shutter uses cloth curtains and offers speeds from 1/2 to 1/1000 second plus a "Z" time exposure. The numbers on the dial are printed upside down so they can be read from above at eye level. Film advance is via a right-hand, non-ratcheted, short-stroke lever. Rewinding means collapsing the taking lens barrel into the body and then turning the barrel. That's a fiddly process by modern standards. There's no flash sync terminal at all. The viewfinder is corrected for parallax with a movable frame, and an interchangeable eyepiece was offered in normal, tele, and wide-angle versions. A small secondary strip at the bottom of the frame provides exposure compensation for close-ups, calibrated to a magnification of 1:15.
Owners describe the camera as capable but demanding. The shutter is notably quiet for a focal-plane design, and the viewfinder is bright and clear, though the rangefinder patch is dim by modern standards. Loading film takes practice. The spool pulls out, the cassette loads, and a knob must be inserted and tightened. The lens release button sits beneath the rewind knob and, if pressed accidentally, can detach the lens entirely. One owner's assessment: "The Contax I is a great camera to use and produces very good images if it is working correctly." The rangefinder mechanism may be out of spec depending on lens and body serial numbers, and the measured distance at the 1-meter mark can vary from camera to camera.
Original factory serial numbers and production history are unknown, and the numbering that exists is inconsistent. The camera was produced briefly and in small numbers compared to the Contax II that succeeded it. Common issues include sticky slow shutter speeds, rangefinder calibration drift, shrinking or peeling leatherette, and Sonnar lenses prone to haze or fungus in humid climates. A full CLA is recommended before use, and spare parts are scarce, so repairs may require a donor camera. On the current market, a working body alone runs $300-$500. With a 50mm f/2 Sonnar, expect $600-$900. Original parts like shutter curtains and leatherette are no longer manufactured, so replacements are aftermarket.
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