Finding out about my Ikonta - a few more questions.

Thanks for all the good advice concerning my new Super Ikonta. I

thought I would start a new thread as I have some different

questions (and my original post has dropped down quite a bit).

 

I went home and put all of the advice you gave to good use and armed

with the instruction manual (thanks for the link) managed to get a

better understanding of my camera. I am beginning to appreciate it

now! I have just a few last questions that I will ask (sorry to try

your patience, but this is new ground for me).

 

1. The film counter does not quite line up with the numbers - is

this a mal-adjustment, or just the standard operation?

 

2. The lens is a Zeiss-Opton 'T'. How does this differ from the

later lenses without the 'Opton' designation? Is there any way of

dating it by it's serial number?

 

3. The slow speeds are accurate but are loud like a clockwork toy

car - loads louder than my Retina Reflex. Are they always loud in

this camera?

 

4. There is no visible flash synch setting. Anyone know what synch

these cameras are (X or M).

 

5. Lastly, can anyone recommend a good repairman to me. I am loath

to spoil the camera through unexperienced meddling and have also had

my fill of 'bodge-jobs'. Where do you have yours serviced?

 

Thanks for taking time to help, and you can be sure that when I get

my first roll developed I will share them with you.

 

All the best,

 

Ian,UK

Within the limits of my own experience and little knowledge:

1) What do you mean exactly? The counter shows an intermediate position between two numbers, or what?

2) Opton is just the name that was used by Zeiss (West) after WW2, pending the outcome of legal litigations with Zeiss (East). There is no difference directly linked to the name.

3)It depends on which type of noise. If it is sort of a soft "purr" it is OK (and IMHO pleasant to hear), but if is suggest metal-against-metal it is a bad omen.

4) The countless variations and changes in these cameras are well beyond me. My own 532/16 is older than yours (uncoated Tessar) yet it has an X synch.

There used to be a register of Zeiss lens numbers on a forum posting on

 

www.tigin.de

 

but this site is not accessible now.

 

If a leaf shutter does not have an M/X selector lever it is X synch'ed.

 

The 'purr' is normal. Older Compur-Rapid shutters can be pretty noisy. It is more important that the 'purr' is evenly and does not 'hesitate'. If the shutter 'purrs' evenly the slow speeds should be OK.

Bonsignore, thanks for the answers - I am getting the measure of it now.

 

Concerning the film counter, it stops mid-point between the numbers (not exactly on the number). The slow speeds do not falter, but to me sound a bit 'buzzy'. My Retina purrs - a lovely soft sound - on the slow speeds, and I was thinking that as they are both Compur shutters, they should sound roughly the same...

 

Was a lens hood (shade) made for this camera? If so, what type should I look for?

 

Still think it deserves a service as the focus wheel and shutter speed selection are on the stiff side.

 

Cheers,

 

Ian

Keep in touch - I just bought a similar 532/16 off ebay last night for cheap. Bit of a gamble but a hell of a steal if it works well after I give it "the treatment".

 

This is a Compur Rapid shutter? I would think a Reflex would be louder, especially the mirror slap.

 

Sorry I don't know any repairmen on the UK side of the pond.

I don't know about the retina, but the shutter in my super ikonta is also louder than the one in my rolleiflex and former rolleicord. But to me it sounds more like the sound is damped in the TLR's more, because the shutter is more built inside the camera. The folders have the shutter outside, and the whole bellows system is a nice resonating cavity:)

Mike, was that the "582/16" that you won? I almost dropped a bid on that one, but I'm in enough trouble after grabbing a model 530 and an Iskra this weekend. Good luck with yours.

Yes that's the one - mislabeled, so-so photos, a bit of a gamble but what the heck for $53.

Ian, I have an older 532/16. The counter mark always lines up with the numbers, so it's not a standard design thing. My camera is in the hands of a man named Jurgen Kreckle right now (in America), for a new bellows and shutter repair. I don't mistrust him, but as a word of warning, he's had my camera for 10 weeks now, and my money for a month, and all I've gotten so far are promises. I miss my camera.

As regards the film counter problem, the first thing is to ascertain whether you have a problem with the counter, or with the advance, or both. If you can sacrify a roll (or better obtain an expired roll from your photo shop), load the camera and advance/fire the film while checking the advance with the red window. If the advance stops automatically when the corresponding frame number is exactly under the window, then the only problem is the frame counter ring being slightly off place. Otherwise you have a problem with the advance. I've heard (although this is not in my user experience) than Super Ikontas tend to advance irregularly due to contemporary rollfilms using a much thinner backing paper than it was the case 50 years ago. There is a thread in this forum describing a simple correction through the use of a little bit of cardboard wrapped around the receiving roll.

Part of the reason the Compur shutter in your Retina is so much quiter than the Compur in the Zeiss, is because of size. The Compur on my Recomar 18 is much larger than the ones installed in my Retina 1b and Welta Welti, and is much, much louder than the shutters on the smaller cameras as well.

<b>1. The film counter does not quite line up with the numbers - is this a mal-adjustment, or just the standard operation?</b><br>

You can adjust this by loosening the two screws on the film counter dial and then carefully turning it to "1." However, it's not unusual for some of the numbers to be slightly off. The film counter mechanism uses a series of notches that were hand cut into part of the gearing.<p>

 

<b>2. The lens is a Zeiss-Opton 'T'. How does this differ from the later lenses without the 'Opton' designation? Is there any way of dating it by it's serial number?</b><br>

... what the others have said.<p>

 

<b>3. The slow speeds are accurate but are loud like a clockwork toy car - loads louder than my Retina Reflex. Are they always loud in this camera?</b><br>

Yes. Larger shutter, larger blades = more noise.<p>

 

<b>4. There is no visible flash synch setting. Anyone know what synch these cameras are (X or M).</b><br>

Hmmm -- not sure, but I think you should be OK with electronic flash. I probably would test it.<p>

 

<b>5. Lastly, can anyone recommend a good repairman to me. I am loath to spoil the camera through unexperienced meddling and have also had my fill of 'bodge-jobs'. Where do you have yours serviced?</b><br>

I service my own. Ivor Mantanle routinely recommends one fellow, Ed Trzoska, 0116 267 4247.

can't anyone recommend a good UK classic cameras repairman for Ian???

 

if you don't get any leads, talk to repairmen and ask if they've worked on this camera

before. also, watch+clock repairmen of a certain age usually may be quite adept at

this kind of thing too. expect to spend at least $100 or pounds or more, as you have

several issues: film counter, dim rangefinder, maybe shutter issues...

 

but, again, remember that you have one of the very finest folding medium format

cameras ever made. i had one, pre-war and uncoated lens, very beaten up, that i gave

away as part of a trade for other stuff.

Do get a competent repairman. Don't get a hack. Here are two of my Super Ikonta B cameras (both serviced by me). You can really see how the lens coating makes a big difference. You can see the shutter blades on the coated lens, but not at all on the uncoated lens. There is no difference in use between either camera. Results show the coated lens to be better with color film, which is to be expected.

Oh, forgot the photo.<div></div>

Nice-looking cameras Mike. I'm looking forward to "hacking" mine :) The Moskva-5 I did was a good practice run as are David Richert's pages on the rangefinder and frame counter service.

Mike, interesting side-by-side picture. From the markings around the lens, they were much more optimistic about depth of field with the non-coated lens. It shows f11 about the same distance from top dead center as f22 on the Opton. What's up with that?