New Zeiss Ikonta folder

stradibarrius · Jul 26, 2012

I picked up a Zeiss Ikonta folder the other day. The focus is set by distance and not through the lens, which is a bit different, but I was amazed at the "look" of the shot! Something "Old School".
What else would I expect from a camera that is 60+ years old???
Anyway I liked the look. It has a Prontor SV shutter and a Novar astigmatic 105mm f/4.5 lens.
The sample photo was just one of the test shots in late afternoon sun but it holds up to a 100% crop!

pbromaghin · Jul 26, 2012

Wow. That is just beautiful. Isn't it cool to have a medium format camera that folds up and fits in your jacket pocket? I have a 6x6 Ikonta of about the same vintage and it really is an amazingly fun camera to shoot. I recently had it CLA'd. Before that the shutter speeds were merely suggestions, but now they are spot on. It's incredible to think that a mechanism that simple and that old can be so accurate with only a little care. Congratulations, you are going to love this camera.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jul 26, 2012

Love my Super Ikonta IV

My girlfriend gave me her father's old Zeiss Super Ikonta IV. I took it to our South East Asia trip. The lens is sharp and the built-in selenium meter is very accurate. This shot was done on Fuji Acros processed in Xtol. I think my camera is a about 50 years old.

stradibarrius · Jul 26, 2012

They are fun! I guess I was just surprised at the way the lens rendered the afternoon light.

pbromaghin · Jul 26, 2012

Stradibarrius - You're right. It looks like a still from a Jimmy Stewart movie.

j-dogg · Jul 26, 2012

I almost bought one and picked up a Mamiya 645 instead, good shots though. I might have to get one anyway

pbromaghin · Jul 26, 2012

j-dogg, which one were you looking at? I salivate for one like Mainecoonmaniac has.

R.Gould · Jul 26, 2012

Ikonta's are great cameras, I have an Ikonta B, pop up viewfinder, nova lens, and I love using it,

Worker 11811 · Jul 26, 2012

I have an Ikonta IV, as well. Excellent camera!

Here's a hint.

Film manufactured today has a thinner leader paper than film manufactured when the camera was new. Because of this, your images might overlap, frame to frame, on the film. This is because the diameter of the takeup roll is smaller due to the thinner leader paper.

In order to prevent this, take a piece of black gaffer's tape approx. 2 in. square and stick it to the back of the leader paper, just after you put the film in but before you wind the film to the start mark. This extra thickness adds just enough extra thickness to compensate.

Some guys wrap the tape around the takeup spool before they put the film on but I find easier to just keep several pre-cut squares of gaff tape stuck to the inside of my case and peel them off to use when I need them.

Other than that, it's fine camera.

Jeff Kubach · Jul 26, 2012

Looks like great pictures, love those old cameras!

Jeff

Mainecoonmaniac · Jul 26, 2012

I found that out the hard way. All my shots done on Arista EDU 400 were fine. The shots done with Fuji Acros with the thin backing overlapped slightly. I originally tested Fuji Acros on my RZ and I liked the film. I should have tested the film on the Super Ikonta IV

pbromaghin · Jul 26, 2012

Is it thinner paper, or thinner film base?

ColdEye · Jul 26, 2012

How do you focus with out a RF? Is it like a slr where you can see if the area is in focus, or you just guess? Nice pictures, I think I am interested in trying them out.

Rick A · Jul 26, 2012

You set the focus by the distance scale on the lens. You have to be fairly accurate guessing distance or rely on DOF to get it right. I love using these old folders, I modify Kodak Tourists for 120 film.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jul 26, 2012

Probably both

pbromaghin said:
Is it thinner paper, or thinner film base?

I think it's the both. Acros isn't so thin that it's a pain to load on the reel. However, it advances easier because of the film and the backing paper's thinness. Beautiful film processed in Xtol. I like Arista EDU in HC-110.

Nick Merritt · Jul 26, 2012

stradibarrius said:
I picked up a Zeiss Ikonta folder the other day. The focus is set by distance and not through the lens, which is a bit different, but I was amazed at the "look" of the shot! Something "Old School".
What else would I expect from a camera that is 60+ years old???
Anyway I liked the look. It has a Prontor SV shutter and a Novar astigmatic 105mm f/4.5 lens.
The sample photo was just one of the test shots in late afternoon sun but it holds up to a 100% crop!

And I'm sure you know that the Novar is a three-element lens and thus "inferior."

stradibarrius · Jul 27, 2012

Nick Merritt said:
And I'm sure you know that the Novar is a three-element lens and thus "inferior."

Rick, define "inferior"??? Is that based on charts and tables or on photographs?

Peltigera · Jul 27, 2012

Rick A said:
You set the focus by the distance scale on the lens. You have to be fairly accurate guessing distance or rely on DOF to get it right. I love using these old folders, I modify Kodak Tourists for 120 film.

Guessing distances is not so hard. I judge how many times I could lie down in the space between me and the subject. Each lie-down is two meters (ok, 2 metres shy of 2 cms). If there are too many 'lie-downs' involved, use hyperfocal focussing. At f11, a pre-war Novar has a hyperfocal distance of eight metres - anything over four metres will be in focus.

I find the Novar lens to be pretty good, especially when stopped down to f8 or less, and well colour corrected.

pbromaghin · Jul 27, 2012

Nick Merritt is joking. Novars do tend to vignette or get a bit soft when opened up (mine does, anyway), and so people claim they are inferior, but in most circumstances they are every bit as good as a Tessar.

pbromaghin · Jul 27, 2012

Peltigera said:
Guessing distances is not so hard. I judge how many times I could lie down in the space between me and the subject. Each lie-down is two meters (ok, 2 metres shy of 2 cms). If there are too many 'lie-downs' involved, use hyperfocal focussing. At f11, a pre-war Novar has a hyperfocal distance of eight metres - anything over four metres will be in focus.

I find the Novar lens to be pretty good, especially when stopped down to f8 or less, and well colour corrected.

View attachment 54495

Great system:munch:

The Novar on my 521/16 has a nice feature to assist the shooter. There is a little dot on the distance ring, just beyond 8 meters; another on the aperture, just short of f11. I shot a roll on the street using this setting and the whole thing came out real nice.

Steve Smith · Jul 27, 2012

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I think my camera is a about 50 years old.

It's probably older than that.

Steve.

Peltigera · Jul 27, 2012

pbromaghin said:
Great system:munch:

The Novar on my 521/16 has a nice feature to assist the shooter. There is a little dot on the distance ring, just beyond 8 meters; another on the aperture, just short of f11. I shot a roll on the street using this setting and the whole thing came out real nice.

That is how I know what the hyperfocal distance is!

Ian Grant · Jul 27, 2012

The Novar was the cheaper option not as good as the Tessar wider open but as has been said abopve is usuallya good performer stopped down, but then that's true of any triplet lens.

The Novar on my Ikonta is unuseable due to poor contrast and low resolution, the 1930's versions tend to go soft with age due to the type of glass used, I have two spares new ones , the first is again 1930's in a great Compur shutter but the lens looks hazy the other's a coated post WWII lens which should make the camera useable at last

Ian

ntenny · Jul 27, 2012

With a 105mm lens, it should be a 6x9 camera, which is a particularly fun format because you can contact print it. The resulting prints look small to a modern viewer, but they were the normal print size for a generation or two, before 35mm took over the world; you can still find little cheap frames in this size at craft stores and so on.

Also, the larger format can really show off the "inferior" properties of the triplet lens---you're likely to see a lot of vignetting and interesting softness in the corners, especially at wider apertures. I think that's part of what creates the "vintage" impression; it can also be quite effective at drawing attention to a central subject.

There should be a model number---for 6x9, I think it's always 520, 521, or 523---embossed in the leatherette at one end of the body. That'll get you an approximate date range, if you care.

-NT

Newt_on_Swings · Jul 27, 2012

Have fun with your camera! I just cleaned my super ikonta iv. One of the trickier ones to put back together.

Sharp lens, smooth controls, good rf contrast. These folders are so compact for carrying. And they do draw inquisitive looks from people.

New Zeiss Ikonta folder

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