Zeiss Super Ikonta B - date

[pdccamerqs]

HI all,

I just acquired a nice Zeiss Super Ikonta B with a very clean Zeiss-Opton 80mm f/2.8 Tessar (Nr. 25575) in a working Compur Rapid (1/ 400 sec.) shutter. The serial number is H15040* (with the star). The research I have done seems to indicate that this camera was manufactured in Stuttgart in the Contessa factory between 1945 and 1949, out of some pre-war parts. Can anyone confirm same?

Thanks for the help!!

Paul

 

[JPD]

Your findings seem correct to me. The Oberkocken lens serial number of the lens indicates early post war production, and some camera parts were made in Dresden, that ended up in the Soviet Occupation Zone in 1945, and it makes sense that the Stuttgart factory used up the pre-war parts they had. They also started redesigning the camera to what became the Super Ikonta III and IV.

Is your Tessar coated or uncoated? Some of the earliest post-war Oberkocken lenses were uncoated.

 

[pdccamerqs]

HI! Thank you for the info. The lens looks coated to me. It's almost identical in appearance to the Novar lens on a much later Super Ikonta III, so it must be post war.

P.

 

[JPD]

HI! Thank you for the info. The lens looks coated to me. It's almost identical in appearance to the Novar lens on a much later Super Ikonta III, so it must be post war.

Definitely post war. Opton (Optische Werke Oberkochen) was founded in 1946, then in 1947 the name changed to Zeiss-Opton, and then around 1953-54 to Carl Zeiss.