Super Ikonta - questions.

A few weeks ago, my Father gave me a medium format camera that he no

loner wanted (he has had it a long time but prefers his Canon AF

gear). I would appreciate a bit of information on it if anyone can

help me.

 

It is a Zeiss Ikon 'Super Ikonta' model 532/16, fitted with an 80mm

f2.8 Tessar lens. The rim of the lens is marked with a red

letter 'T'. Is this model any good? Any Idea of it's age? I am not

up to speed with medium format gear I am afraid and would appreciate

your input.

 

It is in excellent condition and fully working with a self timer and

flash socket (not sure if this is X or M sync) however the

viewfinder is a little dim ? looking through the viewfinder

the 'wrong way' I see the mirror looks a bit discoloured ? can these

be sorted?

 

I have not run a film through it yet as it is an unknown quantity to

me.

 

All input welcome!

 

All the best,

 

Ian

The letter T on the lens barrel means that it is a coated lens. If is not engraved Zeiss-Opton but Zeiss it's from 1953 or so or later. In the late 40s and early 50s Zeiss lenses had an Zeiss-Opton designator.

 

Rangefinder mirrors often look somewhat coloured - to give clear distinction of the (coloured) rangefinder patch. If you manage to open the top cover, NEVER touch the eyepiece side of the diagonal half-transparent mirror. You can clean all other glass surfaces - moistened eye glass papers work great on old viewfinder lenses, better than rubbing them with lighter fluid.

You have one the very best folding cameras for 120 film (6x6 format) ever built, and furthermore this one also have a coated lens which means you would not even have to worry about flare. Your Super Ikonta is fully capable of delivering stunning results even today, and in particular if you have never seen a 6x6 slide be prepared to have your socks blown off! The rangefinder patch may indeed be slightly discoloured or perhaps you are not immediately aware of how to use it. Can you see two distinct images inside the patch until the camera is in focus? If yes, then everything is OK. If not, there is discoloration and this can be repaired but it is rather complex (if you do it yourself) or costly. Fortunately there is a much simpler and efficient cure at rick oleson's web page. Enjoy your fine camera!

Thanks for the answers!

 

Sounds like my Father gave me something good then - I will have to treat him out for lunch ;-)

 

Yes, the rangefinder works and is accurate. It is just that the patch is not very distinct (I feel that it has become a bit dim over time as the patch on my Retina 3C is loads brighter).

 

Does anyone know what synch the flash socket is on this model?

 

Cheers,

 

Ian

You might have a tiny M/X switch somewhere on the shutter's frame.

Incidentally, on your first posting I tough it could be a typing error but now congratulations to you (and your family) on you using a capital "F" for the word, "Father". You certainly earned this fine camera! Rick Oleson's method for restoring the brightness of the rangefinder patch consists in attaching a tiny piece of black tape on the front glass of the viewfinder, exactly corresponding to the position and size of the rangefinder patch when viewed through the viewfinder. It works like a charm.

What a nice gift. A think a very expensive lunch may be on the cards.

 

Quite a few of the old camera viewfinders are a bit dim, but cleaning the glass surfaces can improve things. DO NOT try to clean the rangefinder mirrors, or you'll wipe the surface off!

 

Grab a roll or two of film, and go and amaze yourself at the quality. I always like to use slide film the first roll or two, as you can more easily see the results and can more easily check that the shutter speeds etc are right on. Shoot a some shots handheld and some shots on a tripod. 6x6 slides (and larger!) are wonderful !

 

Paul

I don't think this model uses a rangefinder mirror, rather a cemented prism like most similar Zeiss cameras. If the cemented portion with the gold coating hasn't separated, it should be relatively easy to clean the optics and restore it to original condition.

 

These gold Zeiss prisms impart a characteristic green cast to their viewfinders, with a gold rangefinder patch.

OF COURSE Mike above is correct. And to think that I own and use this camera myself! Rick Oleson's dark patch cure will not work in this case.

Here's a photo I just snapped of a prewar Contax II I'm working on with the same type of prism. Unfortunately you cannot see the seam because the prism is painted with black paint to improve light transmission.

 

If you look in the front window of your camera, you should be able to see the gold part of the prism. It acts like a semi-transparent mirror where most of the light is transmitted (big arrow) and some is reflected down the length of the prism where it is then projected through the moving rangefinder prisms. These are the two round, rotating pieces of glass mounted on the front of the Super Ikonta.

 

If it becomes damaged, e.g. from an impact, it can separate and result in a poorly projected image. I have been tempted to try and restore some of these because I have access to a gold sputtering machine at work used for electron microscopy. I might be able to lay down new gold and recement. Of course, I need to lay down the precise amount to get the proper amount of light diverted to the rangefinder.<div></div>

You own the postwar Super Ikonta B with a coated Tessar, a very fine camera.

 

There are no mirrors in this camera. It uses a series of prisms for the rangefinder. The discoloration could be anything from paint loss on the primary prism to possible separation to merely haze.

 

With a camera of this age, it would benefit greatly from being serviced. However, make sure that the person who works on it understands the camera. There are a couple of different things about the camera's disassembly, and you don't want the average hack working on it.

 

Once serviced, you get a real feel for the precision of its assembly and its use.

Thanks for the advice!

 

That prism looks a risky business to me - is it OK to clean the external surfaces?

 

Concerning a CLA, it is working OK, however a camera this old probably could do with some TLC. Any pointers on a good repairer for these beasts?

 

Thanks again,

 

Ian, UK

The trick, of course, is getting the top plate open. Since I haven't had the pleasure of working on one of these, I can't help you there.

 

Generally, you should be able to clean the prism without removing it from the camera. Use glass cleaner (e.g. Windex), a blower bulb, plenty of clean Q-tips and it should work-out fine. Use a light touch when cleaning, take care not wipe grit into the glass and you won't scratch anything.

 

There should be 4 open glass surfaces of the prism to clean, two on each end. There is also the eyepiece and viewfinder/rangefinder windows to clean. Don't diassemble the rotating glass on the lens to clean inside unless you know what you're doing. I had a Moskva-5 (Soviet Super Ikonta copy) where someone had done this and it took a while to get them re-aligned. They need to be installed with the correct orientation or your rangefinder image won't line-up vertically.

To remove the top plate, you need to remove the film-advance knob, the frame counter and the screw under it and then gently lift the piece of leather on the left side. Under that is a screw. Also, remove the screw from the accessory shoe -- note that there is a small tube spacer under that screw that must be replaced.

 

Once the top plate is removed, you'll want to remove the main prism, which is held by two braces. You can also disassemble the eyepiece, if you want to go that far. For some odd reason, I've found that most of the paint flakes off the postwar prisms, so you can simply repaint those (flat black).

 

Then pull the shutter, clean all lenses surfaces, reassemble, and you've got a great camera that should outlast you and everyone else on this forum.

 

The tricky part on reassembly is the frame counter. David Richert has a very good page on this.

Need a manual <a href="http://davidrichert.com/zeiss_super_ikonta.htm">532/16 manual</a>