1955 6x6 Zeiss Ikon Mess Ikonta 524/16, with built-in rangefinder, CLA'd, Freshley Serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use

Did I hear you say you were looking for a classic medium format camera with a built in rangefinder? One that you can easily slip into an unused corner of your camera bag or back pack? A camera that will increase in value as the years go by? And most important of all, a lovely camera that will deliver lovely photo’s....?

Well, this week we have a freshly serviced Zeiss Ikon Mess Ikonta with a built-in rangefinder that never leaves you guessing about the distance or the focus. It folds out to take 12 beautiful 6 x 6 cm exposures on normal 120 roll film. Bright exposures alive with all the vivid details, lovely colors and rich tonal range that only medium format can provide. When it comes to photography, bigger is better and this camera can produce a large negative that’s more than four times larger than the average 35mm snap shot. The real appeal is that all of this is produced by a camera that folds up into a small package. So whether you're interesting in very fine grain, rich tonal values, saturated colors or big enlargements, this camera can do it all and its compact size will never give you a reason to leave it at home.

This is the popular 524/16 model, that Zeiss-Ikon built between 1954 -1956. It has a built in rangefinder to make focusing easy.  It’s a quality German model in excellent condition. (Please see photos.) The camera has been carefully Cleaned, Lubricated and Adjusted. The leatherette, the black lacquer and chrome trim is in great shape. The bellows are supple and light tight. The view finder is very clean and clear. The built in rangefinder works smoothly, accurately and it’s easy to use.

The fine quality 3.5/75mm coated lens is a classic three element design based on the Cooke triplet. It’s a very popular lens because of the lovely balance of sharpness, rendering and bokeh. The glass looks like new. There are no scratches or cleaning marks. There is no haze, crystallization, separated elements or other problems. And it’s capable of producing very lovely images with modern color and B&W films.

The shutter works smoothly and all the speeds (B & 1sec - 1/300^th) are appropriate. It has an X sync flash connector and it’s been tested and works with a normal electronic flash. The flash will fire correctly at any desired shutter speed. (This is of course very convenient for flash fill.)

All in all a fine collectable classic camera that not only looks great, it deserves to be used regularly. Load it with your favorite film and keep it handy for that perfect shot you’ve been looking for. You know the one... the one with the perfect Ansel Adams light breaking through the dark storm clouds that leaves you wishing that you had a classic medium format camera with you...