Zeiss Ikon 515/2 WWII survivor info needed, please!

Info on wartime Zeiss Ikon Nettar

 

I 've seen lots of great info here about Zeiss Ikons, and now that I need it I

can't find all the relevant threads.

 

My dad fought at Monte Cassino - that little-known, far-bloodier sideshow to

D-Day - and one of the items he brought back from Italy, probably looted from

a German POW, was a Zeiss Ikon Nettar. I bought him a Canon Ixus (pile of

crap)_ for his birthday a couple years back, and now he's given me his old

camera. I know nothing about folding cameras, but I do know it's a 515/2 with

a Nettar-Anastigmat 1/4,5 11cm lens and a Compur shutter.

 

My dad's going to see his relatives in Poland this summer, my family are

meeting him there, and I plan to take this venerable beast alongside my FE2

and Konica HExar. I've got a roll of C41 120 film to test it out. SO i have three

questions:

 

1: how do you load the film and run it through? There's a single red window at

the back - will there be an exposure number on theback of the film? As it's 6 x

9, do I expose it at 1, 3, 5? Or 2,4,6??? Sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing

here and my dad has forgotten...

 

2: what's the 35mm equivalent of the lens, roughly? Is it quite wide?

 

3: is the lens actually made by Zeiss?

 

In every case, if you can give me the URL of a relevant thread or website it

would be much appreciated. Many thanks...

The numbers will show up correctly through the window. You'll get 10 exposures. Your 11cm (110mm) lens is a normal lens for 6x9, equal to about a 50mm on a 35. It's a Zeiss lens.

The 110mm will cover 49 degrees on 2.25 x 3.25 film That the same as a 48mm lens in 35mm.

 

Find the wind knob. Put an empty spool in that side of the camera. Load the film and get it started on the empty spool. Close the back. Advance until you see "1". Stop. Take picture. Advance to "2". There will be 8 numbers. After #8 wind the film all the way onto the take up spool.

 

This is how most folders load. Test a roll.

Yes, Gene M. is a little confused. 10 exposures means it would be a 6x7 camera, which we know it's not. 8 exposures and they will show up correctly. There are three sets of numbers on 120 film. Your manufacturer has placed the red window in the correct spot for the spacing of the film.

 

The Novar, as far as I know, was made by Zeiss. It's a triplet and in this case, not a terribly great lens, but it is a fun camera. keep the aperture down around f11 and you should be OK. Don't let the film sit in the camera too long, the 6x9 will aquire a set where the film goes over the edge of the image gate and won't sit quite flat.

 

tim in san jose

Paul, the coverage area doesn't seem that wide, but the negative that comes out of the camera will be huge. You'll also need to guess on distance. You can use your SLR for that, or you can simply make an educated guess.

 

The most important things with the folders is ensuring that the film stays flat, which you can test more or less by running some film through it. And you need to ensure that the lens bed unfolds and locks securely. There shouldn't be any play in the mechanism.

 

Also, make sure you check the bellows for holes. The Zeiss cameras seem to have survived the years, but most of these cameras are at least 50 to 60 years old, so it's worthwhile to check the bellows before you load the camera with film.

 

To load, make sure you have an empty spool on the side that has the small fold-down key. That's your film advance lever. Insert the new roll. Always make sure you remove the paper band entirely.

 

Pull out some of the the film and insert it into the takeup spool. Twist the film-advance key a few times until it's been wrapped around the take-up spool once or twice. Close the back, continue winding until you see a "1" or "|" in the red window.

 

Cock the shutter, set your aperture, frame and fire! Wind to No. 2 immediately, and repeat. I always get in the habit of winding to the next frame. That helps avoid double exposures. If you prefer, wind before you shoot. Just be consistent.

 

 

 

The Nettar wasn't the top of the line when it came to lenses -- the Tessar occupied that position for many decades. However, it should give you some very nice results, particularly at the smaller apertures.

 

I'm not sure if Zeiss made the Nettar. Generally, if the lens didn't carry a serial number, then it often was made by another supplier. My guess would be that Zeiss didn't make the Nettar.

 

But don't sweat the details. Just make sure you have some fun with the camera. Good luck!

Right, eight.........

Much appreciated, and thanks for those idiot-proof instructions, Mike. I hadn't

even thought about the need to wind on right after taking the shot, I've been

so spoiled by technology. I will go out and try it now.

 

I forgot to ask about the red dots on the aperture scale, about f12, and on the

distance scale at about 10m. Previous threads tell me this was a 'snapshot'

hyperfocal setting; so presumably at this setting everything will be in focus

from circa 5m to infinity, right?

 

Bellows seem fine, and the whole thing opens and locks in position OK, and

the shutter speed seems accurate at one second, so I'm presuming that's fine.

But is there a recommended way of shutting the thing up? The best way

seems to be by pulling the bracing arms in toward the body, then the whole

mechanism collapses, but it feels rather stiff and I'm worried about bending

the bracing arms.

 

Lastly, if ever I see a camera with the Zeiss Tessar lens, is there any way of

fitting it onto this one? I would want to keep using this one, for sentimental

reasons.

 

Thanks again, PT

Folders are so cheap these days why mangle your dad's war memorabilia? Any Tessar-equipped camera is going to be worth keeping in its own right. Give the Novar a chance and do see check out some of the classic camera forum regular's work with triplet lenses.

 

I'd just give that camera a good workout before you leave watching especially for the aforementioned leaky bellows. You may also wish to double check the infinity focus by doing some test shots. I'd be surprised if the shutter wasn't running slow. Try the slowest speeds like 1 sec and 1/2 sec and see how they run. Shutter's slow speed escapements get gummed up with disuse.

Reading Tim's comments about the film taking a less than flat set leads me to believe that winding just before you take a picture is the best plan. If you have double exposure prevention, so much the better.

Check out this page on my web site, it will show you through the steps of loading film...shooting.

 

http://www.davidrichert.com/using_vintage_folders.htm

Hi Paul,

 

See previous threads with regard to the problems and dumb questions that I had.

>Always open it slowly, this reduces ingress of dust and creating halination.

>Line up the red dots on the meter, ie aperture at f 12ish, then focus ring at the red dot,

this gives greatest focusing distance. Focus is an issue with these cameras.

>Load film into the left hand side of the camera and roll onto an empty 120 roll inner

placed into the right hand hole.

>Wind the film on until you see the black line level over the centre of the left reel.

>Close the camera back.

>Open the film finder and wind continously until you are aligned with the (1) number

take your first snap.

>Wind on the next frame before putting away or you will get double exposures.

>Use black and white film, there is more latitude.

>Bracket to get that one shot using shutter speed, its more variable.

>Never hand hold.

>In my view the lens (105) is equalish to 50mm.

>6X9 negatives, they are huge, huge!

>Use an SLR to get accurate and expose for shadow areas.

>Dont be disappointed but poor focus results. they can be pin sharp.

>Its a crazy idea to use them, but I do understand.

>If necessary you can clean the lens element using acid. Contact me for details.

 

 

cheers G