Zeiss Ikon Ikonta: A Hidden Gem of Medium Format Cameras

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2 жыл бұрын

IG: @expiredbren - I mistakenly put my old IG handle at the end of the video.
In this video I am speaking about the Ikonta series cameras produced by Zeiss Ikon from the 1930s to 1950s. Not only are these cameras very compact for medium format; they are also fairly cheap. While many might doubt the capabilities of an 80 year old camera and lens, I have found both the work quite wonderfully.
In this video I talk about the three cameras in particular: the 6x6 Super Ikonta 532/16 from 1937, the 6x6 Ikonta 521/16 from 1949, and the 6x4.5 Ikonta 521/16 from 1939. In the end I filmed myself using the latter camera to shoot a roll of Fomapan 100 in Siskiyou County, California.

Пікірлер: 51

@LocoFan611 Ай бұрын

My 530 6x4.5 cm Super Ikonta A (c. 1937) is the favorite camera in my collection. A pocket medium format with an excellent rangefinder, sharp lens, and still in excellent condition. The engineering of their rangefinders was brilliant. Thank-you for highlighting this line of cameras.

@ExpiredBren 29 күн бұрын

I have a Super Ikonta A from about the same year as well! Such an insanely compact camera. Do you have a Tessar or Xenar with yours?

@charlespitts5901 15 күн бұрын

Factoid: Robert Peterson of Hot Rod Magazine fame used a Super Ikonta 531A (6x4.5 format) for the early car pictures used in the magazine. The camera is currently on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Ca.

@ExpiredBren 13 күн бұрын

Now that’s a great piece of trivia. Thanks for sharing!

@segzeeman7356 Жыл бұрын

I like your presentation style. You’re chill, it’s a short video, but you gave the sufficient information with great photos that captured the mood of the place… hot, dry and lazy sleepy town.

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! That would certainly be an apt description of how that town is 🤠

@nunito66 2 жыл бұрын

I have few Ikontas and Voigtländer’s folders there are awesome all around and love them all. An option for traveling light with a big 120 negative in a pocket. Thanks for sharing!!

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! The portability of these old folders are truly unbeatable. My whole Super Ikonta kit fits the size of a water bottles in my backpack when traveling

@northof-62 2 жыл бұрын

Nice shots!

@GettingNegative 2 жыл бұрын

Nice. Those look like fun cameras.

@AdelfoENunez 2 жыл бұрын

Beautiful camera and beautiful photos, great results, I really like the images it produces, and to think that these are close to 100 years old...

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

It is indeed crazy to think what such an old camera can do! Especially since it’s so compact

@randallstewart175 2 жыл бұрын

For those trying to choose among the several varieties and film format sizes of Ikontas, note that the main difference between the Tessar and Novar lenses, which were the standards for these cameras, is that the Tessars are four element lenses which are well corrected for optical defects, whereas the Novars are three element lenses, which are not so much. The Novars have smaller maximum lens apertures in order to avoid those defects. A Novar or similar lens type does very nicely if keep to f 8.0 or smaller. A less costly option alternative to the Ikontas are the Nettars, which mostly use the Novar lenses and are less heavily built, but still the equal if an Ikonta when using similar lenses. Why are there so many Novar lensed Zeiss folders of this era if tghe Tessar is a better lens? Cost, and the fact that at that time, most photos were not enlarged, just contact printed. Not even an expert could tell the difference in lens performance between these lenses from looking at contract prints.

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your insight regarding the Novar lenses! Having shot with a coated Novar on my Ikonta 521/16, I was most impressed with the color rendition and contrast of my images. It makes me want to get a post-war super ikonta with a coated Zeiss Opton

@randallstewart175 Жыл бұрын

@@ExpiredBren Super Ikontas have attained a price range driven by collectors, not users. If you want to shoot one for the nostalgia, great. However, Most other 6x6 cm folders from other, usually Japanese, makers which use a Tessar copy lens (or better) will give you the same or better image than a Super Ikonta at a much lower price. Idf I was willing to pay for a Super Ikonta and really wanted a cool, old folder of the type, I'd instead buy an Agfa Super Isolette. ($500-600 US) Rarer, cooler, somewhat better lens, better looking, and easier to actually use.

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

@@randallstewart175 collectors have definitely driven up the price of some of these old folders! I feel fortunate because I have lived in Germany and have been able to get some decent folders for much much cheaper. I recently got a Super Ikonta III w/ Tessar this way👍 Also got a Voigtländer Bessa II w/ Color Skopar, a Voigtländer Perkeo I w/ Vaskar, and a Adox Sport, but will need to test them first.

@randallstewart175 Жыл бұрын

@@ExpiredBren The Ikonta III from around 1959 is a total body redesign, dropping the complex and expensive rangefinder originally adopted to enable front lens cell focusing. The III uses a very conventional rangefinder, full enclosed in the top plate, with unit focusing (the full lens is focused, a superior way to do it). Very nice 6x6 cm folder, and very similar in overall design to the Super Isolette I mentioned. I've also got the Bessa II with Color-Skopar lens. It's drawback is that while the top plate is very stylish, it minimizes the size of the viewfinder, which is very tiny and squinty, in the manner of most medium format cameras of the later 1950s. I confess that I never use it and should sell it to someone who would.

@Frisenette Жыл бұрын

@@randallstewart175 the III doesn’t have unit focusing.

@AlexLuyckxPhoto Жыл бұрын

Ikontas and Super Ikontas are excellent cameras. I have an Ikonta 521 (6x4.5) model and a Super-Ikonta 531/2 (6x9) model. Both are with the Novar optics, the lenses are of a Triplet design and deliver excellent quality. Excellent overview and shots!

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

Thank you Alex!

@vellokrom Жыл бұрын

I also have one and it is my go to camera for 120 :D

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

Very nice! It's hard to beat a camera that fits in your pocket

@ChrisTDownTheRabbitHole Жыл бұрын

These folders are fine and...funky :) I like most the 645 format as cameras are smaller and qute. Thanks for the video.

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

The Super Ikonta version is easily one of my favorites. The smallest 6x4.5 rangefinder bar none!

@mrstandfast2212 Жыл бұрын

Greetings from over the pond. This is a very good and succinct review of these wonderful cameras. I utterly love vintage Zeiss cameras, from the humble Nettar with a Novar lens to the Super Ikontas with Tessars up front. All take great pictures, but it's a combination of the aesthetics and engineering that I find so appealing. It is my dream to visit such a place as that where you filmed. I'm also an owner of vintage vehicles and the two loves of cars and photography go together well. To slip into geek mode for a moment, at 6.55 alongside the Mercedes is a Vanden Plas Princess R. This was an unusual car, built in Britain and featuring a 4 litre Rolls Royce engine. Built in the 1960s, only around 7000 were produced. A rare car today, I wonder how it came to be abandoned in California?

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much of the kind words and for sharing you knowledge! When I photographed the car I definitely had zero clue that it was a rare piece of British automotive history. After developing the negatives I did see the Vanden badge and it sent me down a real rabbit hole

@chickenitsa 2 жыл бұрын

Good, informative video. Thanks (PS: I agree with you about Foma film!)

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I’m glad I’m not alone in loving Fompan 100👍

@doctorcatnip2551 8 ай бұрын

Nice channel! Subscribed!

@paultaylorphotography9499 2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate awesome vid and cracking sample shots I’m loving reconnecting with film photography finally at a stage in life where I can collect and try different cameras and put the effort up here. I’m keen to try a folder for sure plenty of options out there the Ikonta and the Agfa billy appeal to me. Liked and subbed top work regards Paul

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Paul! Although I haven’t used the Agfa Billy, I’ve heard great things about it👍 I’m a big fan of the Ikonta series though

@paultaylorphotography9499 2 жыл бұрын

@@ExpiredBren definitely gonna give them a go mate love these old cameras 📷❤️

@anotherguycalledsmith 7 ай бұрын

@5:00 This green _Zeiss Ikon Film_ sticker inside the camera is a strong indicator for >1936 - they used to be red-orange until 1935/36…

@ExpiredBren 7 ай бұрын

That’s good to know! Thanks

@jeffreycrawley1216 2 жыл бұрын

Nice shots from a lovely camera. Yes, from the lens number the camera would be late 1937 or early 1938 - one of the earliest. The camera serial number, pressed into the leather by the hinge, should be a letter and 5 numbers - I'm guessing F????? for 1937/38, but it's a straight 521 not a 521/16. As with your other two cameras the /16 means 6x6cm. So a 521 (521A in the US) would take 6x4.5cm shots a 521/2 (521C in the US) would take 6x6cm shots and the 521/16 (521B in the US) would take 6x9cm shots. Did you know you can get a clip on viewfinder called the Zeiss 437? It slots into the bracket at 11 o'clock as you look at the lens. You can then cup the camera in your left hand and use the black shutter release with your right thumb. One thing I've only just learned about my own 521 is that there is a third shutter release: The normal one, oddly placed on the left of the camera; the black trigger at 5 o'clock as you look at the lens and the third is at 7 o'clock. Mine was hidden by a tiny screw, take that out and you can screw in a cable release. They're a great camera to work with - people are amazed when I tell them it's over 80 years old - and the limited number shots makes you so much more choosy about your subject than the iPhoners and digital camera shooters can be; no deletes and retakes! Hope you enjoy using it for many years to come. Happy Snapping!

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing Jeffery! Discerning the various Ikonta models and model numbers has been tricky, so I appreciate it👍 I’ll need to look at my 521 and find that black trigger

@anotherguycalledsmith 7 ай бұрын

@5:38 What a _rich_ country to let beautiful cars like this rotten in the streets for decades… You guys are crazy.

@ExpiredBren 7 ай бұрын

Fortunately the desert climate means that most of these cars are still rust free!

@anotherguycalledsmith 7 ай бұрын

@@ExpiredBren Yes, this a great advantage ;-) We would be much more interested in these beautiful cars of yours - if they had metric threads…

@MrsCareyTarkman Жыл бұрын

Bren- Greetings I just got a 6x4.5 521, Mine has the Tessar 3.5 Compur-Rapid. It has the plainer back- no 2 circles with red at the lower the back plate. It does hav the 'tall' octagon window on the upper center of the back plate with red. Otherwise it looks like yours. Is mine older or newer you think?

@ExpiredBren Жыл бұрын

Sounds like an newer post-war Ikonta to me. In such a case the Tessar is likely coated!

@devroombagchus7460 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot. Great video. I have a Super Ikonta 6x9. I love it! For objects not far away, the range finders comes in handy, because the lens is 10,5 cm. My preferred shutter speeds are 1/200 or 1/400, so I mainly use 400 ISO film. PS. As a Swiss, I see that visiting your region would be very interesting for one or two days. Not worth the very long and expensive trip. So much junk and bad cheap architecture!

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Robert! Fortunately the area has lots of wonderful nature to explore👍

@HtMnBrusso 2 жыл бұрын

What model in the zeiss ikon line would you recommend for 6x9 format?

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

If one has a larger budget, the postwar Super Ikonta 531/2 with a coated lens is hard to pass up, but the prewar uncoated Super Ikonta C will still deliver stunning results!

@gloriayin4594 2 жыл бұрын

I just got a zeiss ikon nettar and I’ll try to take some photos recently will let you know Nettars are quite cheap btw it’s good for tight budgets or when you are not sure if you really are going for these old ladies

@ExpiredBren 2 жыл бұрын

@@gloriayin4594 I have heard that the Nettar’s are nice as well. It’s great bang for your buck!

@gloriayin4594 2 жыл бұрын

@@ExpiredBren they are much simpler compared to ikontas haha but that’s beautiful too. Actually ikonta was what I really wanted cause omg it looks so perfect and elegant and balanced but it’s been difficult to find a functional one in Spain with a reasonable price. So I accidentally found a Nettar in a flee market and saved it from an alcoholic seller. It’s also so amazing and the last owner must have loved it so much cause it’s so well taken care of. Anyway thanks for the sharings, it’s very interesting!!!! Love your videos keep up the amazing work!!💪🏼

@anotherguycalledsmith 7 ай бұрын

With _Zeiss Ikon_ , the „…/2“ stands for the _6×9 cm_ format. I like my _Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta II 531/2_ from 1937 a lot! There are two red windows and by using a reduction mask for the film, you can use it in _4.5×6 cm_ as well. This is what the second red window is good for in this case. And yes, these Russian knock-off Москва 4 film format reduction masks would fit perfectly too ;-) The good thing about _Zeiss Ikon_ is, very German, that you can still chase the needed accessory by their original part numbers. Get an old _Zeiss Ikon_ catalogue, look up what ever-ready case you would need for a specific camera - and you are good to go. And yes, my „Bereitschaftstasche“ for this camera was found in Australia and re-imported by me to Germany. Apart from re-sewing some stitches, it is perfect after all these years - and fits like a glove. Have fun, do _not_ disregard these pre-war versions, they are still beautiful to work with ;-)