Zeiss Ikonta 532/16 stuck aperture?

AndreaJEP · May 22, 2023

Hello!

I got my new-to-me Zeiss Super Ikonta 532/16 on Saturday and just finished my first roll of film with it today. Once I'd taken a few pictures, I noticed the aperture wheel seemed stuck between f8 and 11. However, I kept taking pictures and gently wiggled the wheel, and eventually it freed itself again.

At least...it freed itself for a few more pictures, before it got stuck again. No amount of gentle wiggling is having any effect on it now. Is there anything I can do to fix this, short of finding someone to service the camera and probably paying a ton of money for it? This is my first medium format camera (and my first non-Lomo film camera), and it's disappointing to have the aperture so restricted after taking just a few pictures with it.

The aperture in its stuck position (shutter closed):

Zeiss Ikonta stuck aperture by AndreaJEP, on Flickr

The stuck aperture (shutter open in bulb mode):

Zeiss Ikonta 532/16 stuck aperture by AndreaJEP, on Flickr

Zeiss Ikonta 532/16 stuck aperture by AndreaJEP, on Flickr

The setting on the dial where it gets stuck:

Zeiss Ikonta 532/16 stuck aperture by AndreaJEP, on Flickr

Romanko · May 23, 2023

Congratulations on your first "proper" medium format folder!

I have the same model of Ikonta being serviced at the moment. The problem is most likely in the grease that was used to lubricate the camera. With time the solvents in it evaporated, turning it into glue. Be careful, the aperture blades can be easily damaged if they are glued together by grease/oil/filth and you apply too much pressure to the aperture ring.

I would not recommend DIY repairs on this camera. The design is more complicated than an average folder of the era. This is a job for a professional.

AndreaJEP · May 23, 2023

Romanko said:
Congratulations on your first "proper" medium format folder!

I have the same model of Ikonta being serviced at the moment. The problem is most likely in the grease that was used to lubricate the camera. With time the solvents in it evaporated, turning it into glue. Be careful, the aperture blades can be easily damaged if they are glued together by grease/oil/filth and you apply too much pressure to the aperture ring.

I would not recommend DIY repairs on this camera. The design is more complicated than an average folder of the era. This is a job for a professional.

Thank you for the info! I'm guessing the solvent started evaporating over time, and the camera maybe hadn't been used in a while until I got my hands on it, causing the blades to stick when I finally adjusted the aperture, maybe?

I'll get my first roll of film developed to make sure I actually got some images, then I figure I'll keep using the camera at this aperture until I can find someone to repair it.

How did you go about finding someone to repair yours? Could most camera repair shops handle this, or is it more specialized?

Romanko · May 23, 2023

AndreaJEP said:
Thank you for the info! I'm guessing the solvent started evaporating over time, and the camera maybe hadn't been used in a while until I got my hands on it, causing the blades to stick when I finally adjusted the aperture, maybe?

I'll get my first roll of film developed to make sure I actually got some images, then I figure I'll keep using the camera at this aperture until I can find someone to repair it.

How did you go about finding someone to repair yours? Could most camera repair shops handle this, or is it more specialized?

I had a similar problem with the focusing ring. My guess it is the grease on the aperture blade ring and the rest of the mechanism, not the stuff of the blades themselves (yours look fairly clean). I would assume your shutter is also off especially at lower speeds (1/50 and slower).
I used this forum to find a local camera repair shop. In Australia they are sparce and ridiculously expensive. It might be cheaper now to send my cameras in Europe. If you are in the States you might be in a better situation. Try searching this forum, better start a new thread. The situation in the camera repairs business is rapidly changing (worserning) as more repairers retire of go out of business.
Any good repair service would be able to deal with your camera. This looks like a straightforward CLA (Clean-Lubricate-Adjust).

Alex Varas · May 23, 2023

I wouldn’t move that aperture, surely one pin got out of place and moving it you will bend one or more aperture leaves.

In States there are some options, some readers of this forum.

In EU I would contact myself among others.

The job of putting together all aperture blades is difficult and requires patience and sometimes spare parts as the last Yashica 35 I did.

Mr Flibble · May 23, 2023

Alex Varas said:
I wouldn’t move that aperture, surely one pin got out of place and moving it you will bend one or more aperture leaves.

I concur. The aperture is out of round in those images, an indication that one or more of the blades are no longer anchored properly

Kino · May 23, 2023

Some aperture blades have tiny, tiny rivets that pivot in a hole or slide in a slot in the face of the shutter cover. If you force the lever, the rivets shear-off and that's all she wrote until you find a donor shutter to replace the blades.

Don't force the lever!

guangong · May 23, 2023

Keep in mind that your camera is a pre-war model, so it should be no surprise that the lubricants are kaput. It would not be a bad idea to give the camera a complete CLA. Good investment. These cameras were built to outlast the pyramids.

AndreaJEP · May 23, 2023

Romanko said:
I had a similar problem with the focusing ring. My guess it is the grease on the aperture blade ring and the rest of the mechanism, not the stuff of the blades themselves (yours look fairly clean). I would assume your shutter is also off especially at lower speeds (1/50 and slower).
I used this forum to find a local camera repair shop. In Australia they are sparce and ridiculously expensive. It might be cheaper now to send my cameras in Europe. If you are in the States you might be in a better situation. Try searching this forum, better start a new thread. The situation in the camera repairs business is rapidly changing (worserning) as more repairers retire of go out of business.
Any good repair service would be able to deal with your camera. This looks like a straightforward CLA (Clean-Lubricate-Adjust).

Thank you! There are several camera repair shops within reasonable driving distance of me, so if it does just need a CLA, I should have options.

Alex Varas said:
I wouldn’t move that aperture, surely one pin got out of place and moving it you will bend one or more aperture leaves.

In States there are some options, some readers of this forum.

In EU I would contact myself among others.

The job of putting together all aperture blades is difficult and requires patience and sometimes spare parts as the last Yashica 35 I did.

Thank you! I'll leave it alone. I noticed yesterday that it was letting me close the aperture the rest of the way to f22 (but not open it past that point between f8 and f11), but I definitely don't want to risk it getting stuck at f22, so I'll just leave it where it is. I'll look around the forum for repair shop recommendations.

Mr Flibble said:
I concur. The aperture is out of round in those images, an indication that one or more of the blades are no longer anchored properly

Thank you! I think I see where you all are talking about, that sort of tear drop shape in the diaphragm?

Kino said:
Some aperture blades have tiny, tiny rivets that pivot in a hole or slide in a slot in the face of the shutter cover. If you force the lever, the rivets shear-off and that's all she wrote until you find a donor shutter to replace the blades.

Don't force the lever!

Thank you! It's a dial for the aperture (the shutter seems to be opening fine...it's open in two of the pictures to better show the aperture opening), but I'll leave it alone to avoid risking damage to the blades.

guangong said:
Keep in mind that your camera is a pre-war model, so it should be no surprise that the lubricants are kaput. It would not be a bad idea to give the camera a complete CLA. Good investment. These cameras were built to outlast the pyramids.

Thank you, it does make sense. I guess I'm puzzled as to why I was about to adjust the aperture freely for a few pictures, and only then did it get stuck, but maybe the blades were already out of alignment, and using it just make things worse.

Romanko · May 23, 2023

AndreaJEP said:
I guess I'm puzzled as to why I was about to adjust the aperture freely for a few pictures, and only then did it get stuck

Most likely some dust and old lubricants moved as you changed the aperture settings. The blades must have stuck together and when you moved the aperture ring again one of the blades fell out of its slot. This happens quite often. If you did not use excess force the mechanism has not been damaged and will be as new when cleaned and re-assembled.
The Super Ikontas were top-of-the-line folding cameras build by Zeiss Ikon. Most of the surviving cameras would be in a similar or worse condition, so it is definitely worths servicing your Super Ikonta. The Tessar lens is very good and the Compur shutters are known for their reliability. Look after your camera, service it every 40-50 years and you'll have no problem with it!

AndreaJEP · May 24, 2023

Romanko said:
Most likely some dust and old lubricants moved as you changed the aperture settings. The blades must have stuck together and when you moved the aperture ring again one of the blades fell out of its slot. This happens quite often. If you did not use excess force the mechanism has not been damaged and will be as new when cleaned and re-assembled.
The Super Ikontas were top-of-the-line folding cameras build by Zeiss Ikon. Most of the surviving cameras would be in a similar or worse condition, so it is definitely worths servicing your Super Ikonta. The Tessar lens is very good and the Compur shutters are known for their reliability. Look after your camera, service it every 40-50 years and you'll have no problem with it!

Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better about it. I'll post on the forum for repairman advice once I'm ready to send it somewhere, though I was searching today and found a few contenders.

Mr Flibble · May 24, 2023

AndreaJEP said:
Thank you! I think I see where you all are talking about, that sort of tear drop shape in the diaphragm?

Yes. Exactly.

It's tricky to re-align them properly, but it can be done. Takes a bit of disassembling though. And I've worked on enough 530/16 and 532/16 Super Ikontas to know it's no fun

Zeiss Ikonta 532/16 stuck aperture?

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