The line of Contax/Yashica single lens reflex cameras was manufactured and sold by Japanese camera company Yashica, designed in cooperation with European partners Carl Zeiss AG and Porsche Design. SLR cameras were built both with the revived Contax name as well as Yashica; these cameras were sold from 1975 until 2005 when Kyocera, which had acquired Yashica in 1983, exited the photography business. Both Contax and Yashica-branded SLRs used a common Contax/Yashica (C/Y) bayonet lens mount; first-party C/Y-mount lenses were sold under both the Yashica and Carl Zeiss brands.
History First generation, featuring the Real Time System In 1973, Yashica began Top Secret Project 130, a collaboration with Carl Zeiss that resulted the Contax RTS (for "real time system"), a new, professional 35 mm SLR system featuring an electronically-controlled shutter, using the revived Contax branding (styled in all caps as CONTAX). The preceding Contax line of rangefinder cameras had ceased production more than a decade before. The Contax RTS was designed by Prof. Dr. Katsuiko Sugaya, styled and evaluated for ergonmics by the Porsche Design studio, and manufactured by Yashica. The new camera was introduced at photokina 1974, and became a commercial success, aimed at the professional / system market. Featuring comprehensive use of electronics, it was the first of a new Contax line of SLR cameras which eventually included 13 different models; all used electronically-controlled shutters with the exception of the S2 and S2b (named as a spiritual successor to the original Dresden-built camera) being fully mechanical.
Yashica soon introduced several new SLRs with the same basic mechanics, including the FX-1 (1975) and FX-2 (1976). Also in that year, in response to the success of the Contax RTS, Yashica developed the upscale Yashica FR using some of the features of the RTS, including its electromagnetic shutter release. The FR was capable of using the entire range of Carl Zeiss T* lenses. In contemporaneous tests, the FR was described as being tougher in some ways than the more expensive Contax RTS, including better sealing against dust and contaminants.Goldberg, Norman, Frank, Michele, and Rothschild, Norman, Lab Report: Yashica FR, Popular Photography, September 1977, p. 10 This practice of "pairing" similar Contax models with more affordable, less full-featured, but still high-quality Yashica models would continue for the next ten years. The FR was quickly followed in April 1977 by the FR-I and FR-II. The FR-I was a 35 mm SLR offering even more features compared to the RTS, including an electronic shutter with both manual and aperture priority modes, and marked the high point for the Yashica brand in competing with Nikon, Canon, and Minolta for the semi-professional SLR camera market.
+Contax/Yashica-mount SLRs (first generation, electronic shutter control) colspan=2 rowspan=3 CONTAX YASHICA RTS FX-1 FX-2 FR FR-I FR-II Year 1975 1976 1977 Shutter Timing / Release E/EM E/MK E/EM Speeds B+4–, stepless in AE B+1– (stepless to 2 s in AE) B+1– B+1– (stepless to 2 s in AE) B+4–, stepless Material cloth Travel Horiz. Film transport Manual, optional winder (2 fps) and motor drive (5 fps) units Manual Manual, optional winder (2 fps) Meter Sensor SPD CdS SPD Range (EV) -1 to +19 0 to +18 +2 to +18 +1 to +18 Modes M,A M M,A A Size Dims. (W×H×D) Wgt. Second generation: mechanical and quartz options
In 1979, Yashica introduced a new inexpensive 35 mm consumer SLR, the FX-3, intended for entry-level buyers.Yashica's FX-3: Basic, Black, And Beautiful, Modern Photography, January 1980, pp. 116–120 Designed and manufactured to Yashica specifications by Cosina, the affordable FX-3 still incorporated the C/Y lens mount that would also accept Carl Zeiss T* lenses. This simple, lightweight manual-exposure SLR camera sold well, and with minor revisions, stayed in production until 2002. Additional variations of the FX-3 included the FX-3 Super (1984, adding a flash ready light), FX-3 Super 2000 (1986, adding a s shutter speed), and the FX-7 (bundled with a zoom lens), which also had Super and Super 2000 variants.
Yashica would later release two mechanical shutter Contax cameras as well, the S2 (1992) and S2b (1994), differing in the metering pattern. The S2 and S2b were deliberately designed without exposure automation, and required a battery only for the light metering system. The S2 has a spot meter, and was popular with some Zone System photographers, while the S2b has a centerweighted meter favored by some photojournalists.
+Contax/Yashica-mount SLRs (manual exposure, mechanical shutter) colspan=2 rowspan=3 YASHICA CONTAX FX-3 / FX-7 FX-3 Super / FX-7 Super FX-3 Super 2000 / FX-7 Super 2000 S2 S2b Year 1979 1984 1986 1992 1994 Shutter Timing / Release M/MK Speeds B+1- B+1- B+1- Material metal Travel Vert. Film transport Manual Meter Sensor SPD Range (EV) +2 to +18 +2 to +19 +2 to +20 Modes M Size Dims. (W×H×D) Wgt.
Also in 1979, Yashica introduced a new line of manual and autoexposure cameras with shutter timing governed by a quartz clock with the Contax 139Q (also known as the 139 Quartz). This introduced a more compact form factor as well, and was followed by the Yashica FX-D (1980), with many of the same features, and the FX-70 (1983), a stripped-down version of the FX-D limited to aperture-priority autoexposure only. For its full-size quartz-timed cameras, Yashica released the Contax 137MD and 137MA in 1980 and 1981, respectively, which included a built-in motor film advance, followed by the RTS II (1982) to supplant its original professional model, incorporating quartz timing along with several detail improvements in a body nearly identical to the first RTS.
+Contax/Yashica-mount SLRs (second generation, quartz-timed shutter) colspan=2 rowspan=3 CONTAX YASHICA CONTAX 139Q FX-D FX-70 137MD 137MA RTS II Year 1979 1980 1983 1980 1981 1982 Shutter Timing / Release Q/EM Speeds B+1- (stepless to 11 s in AE) B+11-, stepless B+1- (stepless to 11 s in AE) B+4- (stepless to 16 s in AE) Material metal cloth titanium Travel Vert. Horiz. Film transport Manual, optional winder (2 fps) built-in motor (3 fps) Manual, optional winder (3 fps) or motor drive (5 fps) Meter Sensor SPD Range (EV) 0 to +18 +1 to +18 0 to +18 -1 to +19 Modes M,A,TTL M,A A A,TTL M,A,TTL Size Dims. (W×H×D) Wgt.
Third generation: new directions under Kyocera After Kyocera acquired Yashica in 1983, several autofocus SLR projects under development were canceled, including the Yashica FX-A and Contax 139AF, which had been shown privately at photokina 1982. Starting in 1984, Yashica released its next generation of cameras, adding shutter-priority and program autoexposure modes, accompanied by a new generation of lenses designated MM. MM lenses were redesigned with a linear aperture setting to ensure the commanded aperture could be achieved using these exposure modes. These cameras included compact models (159MM, FX-103, Aria) as well as full-size models with built-in motors (167MT, 10x Multi Program, ST).
+Contax/Yashica-mount SLRs (third generation, program and shutter-priority autoexposure) colspan=2 rowspan=3 CONTAX YASHICA CONTAX YASHICA CONTAX 159MM FX-103 Program 167MT 107/108/109 Multi-Program ST Aria Year 1984 1985 1986 1989 1992 1998 Shutter Timing / Release Q/EM E/EM Q/EM Speeds B+1- (stepless to 60 s in AE) B+1- (stepless to 16 s in AE) B+16- (stepless in AE) B+1- (stepless to 16 s in AE) B+1- (stepless to 16 s in A,P) B+4- (stepless to 16 s in AE) Material metal Travel Vert. Film transport Manual, optional winder (3 fps) Manual built-in winder Manual; some models include built-in motors built-in motor (3 fps) Meter Sensor SPD Range (EV) 0 to +20 +3 to +18 0 to +20 0 to +20 Modes M,A,P,TTL M,A,P,TTL M,A,S,P,TTL M,A,P,TTL M,A,S,P,TTL Size Dims. (W×H×D) Wgt.
Starting from 1990, flagship Contax cameras featured unique technological innovations, including a vacuum pump to hold the film flat (RTS III) and a gradual approach to implementing autofocus, starting with focus confirmation (RX) and followed by in-body autofocus (AX), which worked with manual focus lenses by moving the film plane inside the camera. A side benefit of this arrangement is that it allowed the AX to feature a macro mode which worked much like a built-in 10 mm extension tube, allowing for a magnification ratio higher than 1:1 without the use of bellows or extension tubes. By using a special adaptor made by Kyocera, Hasselblad V-series lenses could also be used on all Contax C/Y mount cameras. Thus users could perform auto-focus of Hasselblad V-series lenses with AX.
By this time, the Yashica-branded cameras were no longer being actively developed, as Kyocera focused its attention on the high end of the market. However, Yashica continued to target the professional market by permanently mounting the 100 mm Medical lens, derived from a bellows-mounted macro lens, on a body and selling it as the Dental Eye.
+Contax/Yashica-mount SLRs (third generation, flagship cameras) colspan=2 rowspan=3 CONTAX RTS III RX AX RX II Year 1990 1994 1996 2002 Shutter Timing / Release Q/EM E/EM Speeds B+4- (stepless to 32 s in AE) B+4- (stepless to 16 s in A,P) B+4- (stepless to 32 s in A,P) Material metal Travel Vert. Film transport built-in motor (5 fps) built-in winder Meter Sensor SPD Range (EV) 0 to +21 +1 to +20 0 to +20 +1 to +20 Modes M,A,S,TTL M,A,S,P,TTL Size Dims. (W×H×D) Wgt.
Kyocera pivoted back to autofocus cameras with the release of the Yashica 230 AF (1987) and Contax N1 (2001), but these broke support for the legacy C/Y lens mount to support autofocus operation. In April 2005, Kyocera announced it would discontinue production and distribution of Contax cameras by the end of the year, citing difficulties in transitioning to digital cameras.
Special models Contax RTS Fundus: usually marked 'Medical/Scientific' on the base plate it featured a 3mm high guard around the shutter release and a lock button on the front plate for the shutter speed dial. Several of these also had enhanced mirror dampers; most RTS Fundus cameras were sold for laboratory use, especially with Zeiss ophthalmic equipment. Contax Preview: a non-metered body with the mechanical shutter from the Yashica FX-3, a Polaroid Back and a Right-Angle Finder to correct the reversed image. Contax CGCM: a severely stripped down 137MD used by the Swedish military and for recording images from oscilloscopes and similar screens. Contax Preview II: an upgraded and faster mechanical shutter than the Preview; it used the shutter found in the S2/S2b. Yashica Dental-Eye (1985): a modified FX-3 with a permanently fixed 55 macro lens and ringflash; the shutter speed is also fixed at s, and the lens aperture is set automatically according to film speed and reproduction ratio. Yashica Dental-Eye II: similar to the original Dental-Eye, now featuring the 100 mm Medical DX lens permanently fixed to a 107 Multi-Program body. Yashica Dental Eye III: a fully automatic, fixed lens single lens reflex dental camera made for intraoral photography and based on the Contax RX. Features a 100mm f/4 lens with integrated flash.
Lenses Like its first attempt at forging an alliance with Pentax, Zeiss designed a new lens mount, known as Contax/Yashica mount (C/Y), which was used on cameras bearing both marques. A new prestige line of lenses designed by Carl Zeiss was introduced for the RTS, with the common C/Y bayonet mount allowing lens interchange between all 35 mm Contax and Yashica SLR camera models.