Much as I love my Hasselblad and Fuji medium format digital cameras along with Contax and Mamiya 6x4.5s with digital backs, sometimes it's real fun to go back to basics. In the course of researching info on some of my Zeiss lenses, I bumped into Zeiss Ikon. That was 3 months ago and I now have over a dozen of their medium format cameras plus a few that pre-date the formation of the company but carry the Zeiss Ikon logo.
What has come as quite a pleasant surprise is just how many of these cameras remain fully operational despite being almost 90 years old. By way of example, I've attached a photo of a rare version of the ICA Nixe which is apparently a Zeiss Ikon Nixe 555 and uses a Doppel-Amatar 13.5cm f6.3 lens in a Compur shutter, marked Zeiss Ikon, which has a very respectable top speed of 1/250s. This camera is a remarkable piece of engineering as it features a double-bellows (to allow macro work), vertical and horizontal movements, multiple viewfinders, a spirit level, a back which can use either roll or cut film, etc., etc. When you realise that this camera was from the 1920s, it is amazing to see that everything is working and that the bellows are still light-tight.
To help visualise just how large this superb folder is, I've popped it next to Zeiss Ikon's S-310 35mm camera.
What has come as quite a pleasant surprise is just how many of these cameras remain fully operational despite being almost 90 years old. By way of example, I've attached a photo of a rare version of the ICA Nixe which is apparently a Zeiss Ikon Nixe 555 and uses a Doppel-Amatar 13.5cm f6.3 lens in a Compur shutter, marked Zeiss Ikon, which has a very respectable top speed of 1/250s. This camera is a remarkable piece of engineering as it features a double-bellows (to allow macro work), vertical and horizontal movements, multiple viewfinders, a spirit level, a back which can use either roll or cut film, etc., etc. When you realise that this camera was from the 1920s, it is amazing to see that everything is working and that the bellows are still light-tight.
To help visualise just how large this superb folder is, I've popped it next to Zeiss Ikon's S-310 35mm camera.
Attachments
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EXIFS-310_Nixe 555.jpg