Superb! 1933 Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 6x9, with coated Zeiss Tessar lens, CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!

This is a freshly serviced Super Ikonta (serial number X89399). It’s the somewhat hard to find Art Deco version with the lovely chrome & black lacquer trim around the lens. It has a built in coupled rangefinder that never leaves you guessing about the distance or the focus. It’s a lovely camera that easily slips into a jacket pocket or a back pack and yet folds out to take 8 beautiful 6x9 exposures on normal 120 roll film. Bright exposures alive with all the vivid details and lovely colors that only medium format or larger can provide. When it comes to photography, bigger is better and with this camera you can create a negative that is about 6 times larger than the average 35mm snap shot. So whether you’re interested in large prints, fine grain, rich tonal gradations or lovely colors, this camera will do all of that and may just become your favorite photographic companion.

Additionally this camera is also capable of producing 6x4.5 negatives if you have a suitable reduction mask in your collection. (Mask not included.)

This is a quality German camera in fine condition. The serial numbers of the lens and body indicates it was produced in 1933. (Please see photos.) It has been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. The quality Compur works smoothly and all speeds (B & 1 sec - 1/250th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the faster ones are clean and snappy. Unusual for this era, the shutter is synchronized for flash. It’s been re-adjusted & tested and now works with a normal electronic flash. (Rather than flash bulbs.) Your flash will fire correctly at any desired shutter speed. This is of course a very convenient feature for flash fill.

The coupled rangefinder array has been cleaned and it’s clean, accurate and easy to use. The optical viewfinder is also clean and clear. The fine Moroccan leather covering is very lovely. The Zeiss-Ikon logo on the rear is clean and clear. The bellows are soft, supple and completely light tight.

The lens is a Carl Zeiss f4.5/10,5 cm (105mm) Tessar . The Tessar is a superb design with four elements in three groups. This lens is exceptionally clean and clear and looks virtually like new. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.

I’d also like to point out that even though this particular camera was produced in 1933, the lens is coated. (Please see photos) Normally prewar lenses were of course uncoated because the coating process was a proprietary technique invented by Zeiss and used on military wartime optics during WWII. Sometime during or possibly after the war, the lens was on this camera was coated. (In the 1950’s there were a number of firms that specialized in this work.) The nice thing about all of this is that the coating doesn’t change the optical signature of the lens, so you end up with a lens with produces an attractive vintage look but is easier to use and less likely to flare. This makes it an ideal lens for a photographer (such as a WWII reenactor) who want to work and shoot with a vintage lens regularly.

all in all a wonderful classic camera the perfect for photographers with historical interest also an excellent choice wwii reenactors load it your favorite film and keep handy that shot you ve been looking know one ansel adams light breaking through dark storm clouds leaves wishing had medium format

Search terms: 105mm, 10,5cm Tessar, Art Deco, Compur, medium format, rangefinder camera, 120 film, authentic WWII, WW2, reenactor, reenactor, signal corps, USAAF, war correspondent, war photographer