Senarai produk oleh pengeluar: Contax

Contax is originally the name of the famed 35mm rangefinder camera made from 1932 by Zeiss Ikon (see Contax rangefinder), which subsequently became the name of a pioneering single-lens reflex camera made from 1947 by the Eastern part of Zeiss Ikon (see Contax S).

In 1973 the Contax name was licensed to the Japanese maker Yashica by Carl Zeiss to create a prestigious brand of 35mm cameras and interchangeable Yashica / Contax lenses in cooperation with the German company. By that time, Yashica was a production giant with considerable electronic camera experience, and was seeking ways to expand sales and improve brand name recognition in the highly competitive 35mm SLR market. Thus began ‘Top Secret Project 130’, a collaboration with Carl Zeiss to produce a new, professional 35mm SLR with an electronically-controlled shutter, bearing the Contax brand name. The F. Alexander Porsche Group was hired to complete an ergonomic and styling study of the new camera. The new Contax RTS and its Zeiss T* lenses appeared at Photokina in 1974, and proved an immediate hit.

Until 1984, Contax cameras were made by Yashica in Japan, with lenses made by Carl Zeiss – some in Germany, some in Japan. The cameras were noteworthy for their advanced electronics. The Carl Zeiss T* lenses, in particular, soon gained a reputation for superb optical quality. Since manual-focus Contax and Yashica manual-focus 35mm SLR cameras share the same common bayonet lens mount, their lenses may be used interchangeably.

Contax cameras continued to be produced by Yashica until the latter was acquired by Kyocera in 1983. At that time, Kyocera's new camera division took over responsibility for production of all Contax and Yashica branded cameras, eventually introducing cameras under its own name, as well as contracting production of other models to outside manufacturers, such as Cosina.

In 2005, Kyocera halted production on all Contax-brand film and digital cameras.