1930 6x9 Maximar plate camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. Freshly serviced CLA’d

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

This lovely 6.5x9cm plate camera was built in prewar Germany and can be used in combination with the included film back to shoot lovely photos on 120 roll film. Focus is achieved by using the distance scale on the lens bed or by focusing on the removable mat glass back which features a folding leather shade.

The camera in in excellent condition. It’s been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. All shutter speeds (T, B, 1 sec – 1/250th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the faster speeds are clean and snappy.

The lens is a Carl Zeiss f4.5/10,5 cm (105mm) Tessar, a superb design with four elements in three groups. The serial number of the Carl Zeiss lens (1203633) indicates that it was produced in late 1930. The lens looks virtually like new. It’s clean and clear. No scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.

It comes complete with Zeiss-Ikon box, a Rollex-Patent film back and three plate holders.

The camera arrived here in an original Zeiss-Ikon Maximar box in stunning condition considering it’s nearly 80 years old. That said, the Maximar model name doesn’t appear on this camera, there’s just Zeiss-Ikon on the shutter and of course Carl Zeiss on the lens. Even more puzzling is that there’s an anchor with the letters “WK” on the rear of the camera. Possibly it’s a military model but if that’s the case, I’m unfamiliar with it. What is clear is that this camera is capable of producing very lovely photos because its 105mm Zeiss Tessar lens was also used on the famous Super Ikonta cameras. Here are some examples of the rendering that you can expect from this camera. These photos can be found in our Example Gallery and were shot with cameras acquired from us.

https://www.petrakla.com/pages/1934-super-ikonta-c

https://www.petrakla.com/pages/1934-zeiss-ikon-super-ikonta-c-another

 All in all a lovely fully functional vintage camera. Perfect for photographers with a historical interest who want to work with a prewar camera 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 you had a classic 6x9 camera with you.