Zeiss Ikon "Coffee Can" TLR - information and a few questions

Wow. What an interesting looking camera! Even if the shutter is from another camera, it's still pretty darn cool.

Pioneer said:

Everything about your cameras suggests the version II but Lawrence Gubas book on Zeiss and Photography does not even show a front shutter of the style seen in your photograph. The book does mention a model called the 850/16CR that came equipped with the Compur Rapid shutter but it doesn't provide any information other than that. It does mention that the only place that the Ikoflex name is found is on the shutter face. Even the Zeiss Ikon script is different. All the examples I have seen of the Ikoflex coffee can TLR have block letters on the shutter. Yours is in cursive. Just speculating but perhaps your shutter actually comes from a different Zeiss Ikon camera and was mounted as a replacement sometime after it left the factory?

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I had the same thought, but a Google search does show this version of the camera on occasion - not as much as the others of course, and in different cosmetic conditions, so it does seem that this was a legitimate version. Once I’m home I’ll try doing a bit more research on what’s come up in this thread so far.

AgX said:

Post-1945 no TLRs were made in East-Germany.

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Yes there were. Welta Weltaflex, Reflekta I & 2. Probably a few more.

Yes, you are right. Introduced 1954, 1949, 1950.
No more as far as I know...

Just stumbled across this website and I hope the attached Ikoflex 'fact sheet' may be of interest (although I should stress that the 'facts' are just my observations over the last few decades of things Zeiss Ikon 1926 to 1945).

And page 2 ....

shutterfinger said:

What is the View Lens serial number?

Classic Zeiss Jena serial numbers:
400,000's 1921-1923
4,000,000's mid 1950's.
1929 shown as the change to Compur Rim set shutters, about serial number 97,091. The Compur Rapid is a rim set shutter.,
125,883 1st Contax lens, 1931.
1,890,000 switch to chrome finish, 1936.
Compur Shutter Serial numbers: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Compur_serial_numbers

A 4,000,000 Compur shutter serial number will fall in late 1936 to early 1937 which sounds period correct for the camera.

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There is a degree of confusion regarding Compur shutter serial numbers as there are some unhelpful (although I am sure well intentioned) 'tables' of Compur shutter serial numbers that suggests that they were consecutive (i.e shutter with a serial number of 101 was made straight after the shutter with a serial number of 100), sadly that is not correct as there were a number (I am not sure how many but I suspect at least three) consecutive serial number ranges being used in the 1930s, with Zeiss Ikon equipped with the Compur 00 shutter (top speed 1/300s) having serial number in the 1xxxxxx range and other Zeiss Ikon cameras made about the same time but equipped with the Compur 00R (Compur Rapid) shutters (top speed 1/500s) haveing serial numbers in the 4xxxxxx range (I believe contemporary Kodak cameras used Compur shutters which I had serial numbers starting with a '6', but I cannot confirm that)