ZEISS/IKON MESS IKONTA 524/16

anthonym3 · Jul 27, 2023

I recently bought the camera and have read that it is somewhat rare. It has an OPTON TESSAR 75MM 3.5 and a SYNCHRO COMPUR shutter. Does anyone know how many were made with this combination lens and shutter?

Alan9940 · Jul 27, 2023

anthonym3 said:
I recently bought the camera and have read that it is somewhat rare. It has an OPTON TESSAR 75MM 3.5 and a SYNCHRO COMPUR shutter. Does anyone know how many were made with this combination lens and shutter?

I wouldn't say it's rare, but it's a darn fine camera! Folks will argue that the Tessar is better than a Novar, but I've seen some mighty fine pics made with the latter, too.

takilmaboxer · Jul 27, 2023

I don't know how many were made, but I own several Ikontas with that lens/shutter combination, and they take very sharp pictures. My favorite is the 523/16, same as yours but without the rangefinder.
The Tessar is sharp to the edge of a 6X6 frame at f/8; the Novar needs to be stopped down to f/16.

anthonym3 · Jul 27, 2023

Alan9940 said:
I wouldn't say it's rare, but it's a darn fine camera! Folks will argue that the Tessar is better than a Novar, but I've seen some mighty fine pics made with the latter, too.

anthonym3 · Jul 27, 2023

Thank you.

anthonym3 · Jul 27, 2023

takilmaboxer said:
I don't know how many were made, but I own several Ikontas with that lens/shutter combination, and they take very sharp pictures. My favorite is the 523/16, same as yours but without the rangefinder.
The Tessar is sharp to the edge of a 6X6 frame at f/8; the Novar needs to be stopped down to f/16.

anthonym3 · Jul 27, 2023

Thank you, my camera's rangefinder aligns horizontally but not vertically. I have never used it but do you think that using the red dot system will work.? I want to keep it in my car for quick grab shots when I sometimes wouldn't have time to focus..

Dan Daniel · Jul 27, 2023

One issue with many Zeiss cameras is frame spacing being too tight. I am not certain which system this camera has. It might be set for thicker film and paper than is in use today. With a couple of these that I have had I ended up putting a small Post-It note on the backing paper right after getting it in the slot and this made the frame spacing good. Be prepared to run some tests. Should make a great car floor shooter!

The red dot system is for landscapes and vacation scenics. This might work for you, might not. Learning some rudimentary zone focusing is always a good skill to have.

No idea how many were made with the Tessar. Like the Super Ikonta III, similar but coupled rangefinder, the Novar was standard but every now and then a Tessar shows up. Nice catch.

JPD · Jul 28, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
One issue with many Zeiss cameras is frame spacing being too tight. I am not certain which system this camera has. It might be set for thicker film and paper than is in use today. With a couple of these that I have had I ended up putting a small Post-It note on the backing paper right after getting it in the slot and this made the frame spacing good. Be prepared to run some tests. Should make a great car floor shooter!

The red dot system is for landscapes and vacation scenics. This might work for you, might not. Learning some rudimentary zone focusing is always a good skill to have.

No idea how many were made with the Tessar. Like the Super Ikonta III, similar but coupled rangefinder, the Novar was standard but every now and then a Tessar shows up. Nice catch.

The Mess Ikonta doesn't have a counter mechanism, so you use the red window when winding. The frame spacing should be fine.

Alex Varas · Jul 29, 2023

I just checked the 524/16s that I had last year and 3 cameras had Tessar with Synchro-Compur MX and 2 cameras with Novar with Prontor SV.

About numbers the answer should be here:

Carl Zeiss Kamera-Register 1902–2012 by Bernd K. Otto (Neuss: Rudolf Hillebrand publishers, 2012)

ZEISS/IKON MESS IKONTA 524/16

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency