Previously, I’ve waxed lyrical about the Zeiss Super Ikonta 532/16 – a top of the line, pre-war German camera. As well as the super-sophisticated, super-heavy Super Ikonta series, Zeiss also produced simpler cameras with the same lenses and shutters but no coupled rangefinder. These were the Ikontas. Then there was a still cheaper range, often …
Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 – A More Affordable Zeiss Camera Read More
The box camera must be one of the longest running types ever produced. Niécephore Niépce used one to make the very first photographic image in the 1820s and Fox Talbot and Daguerre likewise ten years or so later. The type died out finally in the 1960s.
The Ikonta range of folding medium format cameras complemented Zeiss Ikon’s Contax ‘system’ camera. They combined quality optics with leaf shutters in sophisticated bodies. The ‘Super Ikontas’ even featured a coupled rangefinder. They were made in three formats for 120 film. The A bodies were 6×4.5, the B’s were 6×6 and the C’s were 6×9. Other Ikonta models catered for 127 film (3×4) and 616 film (a huge 6.5×11 negative). The particular camera I’m basing this article on is a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 532/16. One of the ‘B’ models, producing 6×6 negatives on 120 film. This model was first produced in 1936 and carried on in production for nearly 20 years.
