Photographica Pages

An online guide to collectable cameras and related stuff

Zeiss Ikon Near Steritar for Contaflex

The Near Steritar is a stereo lens for taking stereo pictures from a distance of .2 to 2.5 meters. The stereo effect is affected by the distance from the subject and the distance between the two lenses. The further away the subject, the greater the distance between the lenses needs to be to achieve stereo separation. But if the lensesare two far apart, the image looks unreal.

Most stereo photos are taken at greater distances than two meters, so a specialized lens for close-up stereo work would be of limited appeal. It's surprising that Zeiss even designed one. Needless to say, it was not a commercial success, and they are extremely scarce today.

The lens was designe to fit Contaflex 35mm cameras with interchangeable 50mm Tessar lenses. I do not know if this was affected by the change in Tessar lens design that occurred when the Contaflex Super New was introduced.