Closeups with a Zeiss Ikon Tenax II camera

#1339 Contameter in its case

For the Tenax II owner who just had to do closeup photography, Zeiss Ikon offered a few accessories, either the same or modeled on those for the Contax rangefinder cameras.

Contameter 1339 mounted on a Tenax II

The best known was a Contameter, a combination of a rangefinder device and three closeup lenses that came as a kit. Each of the smaller Zeiss cameras had a Contameter designed specifically for that camera and its normal lens. The kit for the Tenax II was #1339. Other kits were #1340 for the Contax III, #1341 for the Super Ikonta B, #1342 for the Super Nettal and Nettax and, the mostly commonly still seen, #1343 for the Contax I and Contax II. At $65 each in 1930s dollars, these kits were expensive.

Each lens has a tiny matched focusing lens that fits onto the rangefinder focusing and framing device that goes onto the accessory shoe. In use, you do not focus the lens, but shift the camera back-and-forth until the rangefinder images match. It is simple to operate and requires no exposure adjustment, but one is limited to only three distances and setting up requires some time.

Bloodroot

Crocus on bloom

Cherry blossoms on Mayapple

 The 37mm slip-on closeup lenses for the Tenax II set consist of a #20, a #30 and a #50. When the 30 and 50 are used, the device mounts using one shoe; When the 20 is used, the Contameter uses the opposite shoe which adds additional tilt for the closer distance parallax. The #20 focuses to approximately 10 1/2 inches or 270mm, for a reduction of 1: 6.75. The #30 focuses to 15 inches or 380mm. The #50 is sharp at 21 inches or 530mm.

Contameter kit 1341 for the Super Ikonta B

Tenax II, 7.5cm Sonnar, #50 CU lens.

 The more widely-available #1341 Contameter can be used on the Tenax II since they both share the same square format and take the same size filters. The rangefinder focuser works with the #50 and # 70 lenses. It does not work with the #20. When the #50 is combined with the 7.5cm Sonnar, it works even better, since that was the focal length the 1341 closeup lenses were designed for.  The Contameter framing however is too wide.  For more information on the 7.5cm f4 Sonnar for the Tenax II go to: 7.5cm for Tenax II

In addition, Zeiss offered two Proxar closeup lenses, numbers 1 and 2. These were quite inexpensive at $5.25 each, but since they came with no framing or focusing, a user would have to use a tape measure to gauge distance.

The camera in these pictures is mounted onto a Micrometer, a device that allowed fine tuning of the distance of the camera from the subject. For more general and historic information on the Tenax II go to: Zeiss Ikon's Action Camera

4cm Sonnar, #50 closeup lens.

7.5cm Sonnar, #50 closeup lens.