"F" coated Zeiss lens?

[FatBear]

Hi,
Here is an ebay listing for a Zeiss Ikon 532/16.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330857674645
If you look at the photo showing the front of the lens, it has a fancy F where the T would usually be. What does this mean?
Thanks,

 

[BMbikerider]

As a wild guess it it a Greek letter or symbol for the missing 'T' after all we use other letters from the Greek alphabet in photography. As I said it is a guess.

Cancel the above it isn't a Greek letter, I have just Googled the Greek alphabet and it isn't there.

 

[Ian Grant]

This was at a time where Carl Zeiss Jena had been making lenses for Zeiss Ikon, Rollei etc, this stopped due to quality issues in Jena where supplies of specialist optical glass was spradic.

Jena used the red T on their coated lenses, Zeiss Ikon needed to ensure that people realised these Optons were different lenses hence the Zeiss Opton Tessar name and maybe used the Ғ symbol as an alternative.

These Zeiss coating were very good both from Jena and Zeiss Ikon, I have an early 50's CZJ T coated 150mm Tessar, however they do tend to have a blue bias with colour films. tThe T & Ғ coatinngs seem to be heavier coatings than the coated but unmarked cheaper lenses like the Novars.

Ian

 

[FatBear]

That makes sense. Thank you, Ian.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

In case you're thinking to bid issues with the fast speeds is not good news.

 

[FatBear]

Is the slowness in the faster speeds an issue because it needs cleaning or is it a sign of some really expensive defect? I expect to have to clean the shutter on just about anything I get unless it has just been done.

I am looking for pretty much this exact camera: 532/16, Synchro Compur, 80mm Tessar. I'm not a collector and so a mint edition is not necessary, but good shooting condition is.

I'm also not in a big hurry, so moving on and continuing to look for the right camera is not a problem. My GS645 takes a good picture and is lighter in weight. I just want some of those nice 6x6 Tessar images in my portfolio.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

In recently talking to a camera tech I often use he mentioned to me that sticky or off slow speeds usually means just a simple CLA due to dust or old lubricants but that troublesome higher speeds could often indicate worn parts of the shutter or the springs, the latter needing possible replacement parts thus costing more even assuming they can be found.

 

[elekm]

These cameras are out there, but it does require patience.

The cameras with the coated lenses are excellent, but I would also get one with a coated lens if that's all that I could find.

All of the cameras will need to be serviced, unless someone has already done that. And for some reason, it's not unusual to find that the paint has flaked off the main prism in the postwar camera's rangefinder system. Luckily, the prism can be repainted.

Here's my own 532/16 with the coated Zeiss-Opton Tessar.

Aside from the paint flaking off the prism and a need to be serviced, the camera was in excellent condition. I bought a second a few years after this one (mid-2000s), and all the paint had flaked off that camera's prism, too.

 

[FatBear]

That's a nice looking camera. I expect to have to at least clean the shutter and maybe get a CLA. I always peer into the viewfinder and sometimes see scruffy looking mirrors inside, but didn't realize it was that pervasive. I have been avoiding those, but maybe I should just buck up and budget for it.