Zeiss Ikon Contessa, circa 1953

I had my dad's old Zeiss Ikon Contessa repaired about 8 months ago,

but recently decided for kicks to use it for some street shooting.

I found its photocell light meter nearly useless, but its an

otherwise fine camera. I've attached a sample shot.<div></div>

Nice hand gesture. Why do pigeons always look most at home among older gentlemen?

Well done. Mine is much the same - beautiful equipment but the light meter cell is well know not to survive this long. Just a superb camera that also looks a treat.

 

But I have a Super Ikonta and a Rolleiflex same age with active and quite accurate meters.

 

I wonder if anyone can recommend a small meter you can add to the accessory shoe???

Thanks for the comments. Actually, the lack of a meter isn't that big a deal. I can cheat by taking a reading with my everyday camera, but usually I can ballpark an exposure. Heck, even if its a half-stop off one way or the other, a decent print can still be salvaged from the negative.

cameraquest has one lightmeter that attaches to the accesory/cold shoe

 

Kinda pricey but nonetheless intheresting

http://cameraquest.com/voivcmet.htm

Nice shot. The Contessas are neat little cameras & the Tessar rocks. Fortunately, the meter on mine actually works (as does the 1 on my Super Ikonta IV)--of course, since they're selenium, they're useless in low light even when they do work, but are fine for daylight.

Who in the USA will clean, adjust, and overhaul a Contessa, and about what is the fee (assuming no drastic damage, sea water exposure, etc.)? Thanks!

Andy, I got mine done at Central Camera in Chicago. They do a lot of work on older cameras. They benchmarked the shutter and replaced the film advance mechanism, which had seized up, for about $110.

 

You can get contact info from their website:

 

http://www.central-camera.com

Andy, anyone who works on Zeiss Ikon cameras, whether Contax RF, Super Ikonta, etc., can work on a Contessa (which is sort of like a miniature Super Ikonta).

 

Here's an old post of mine w/info on some repairpersons:

 

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/view-one.tcl?neighbor_to_neighbor_id=123604

" anyone who works on an Ikonta...." - a fair comment, but some still won't. Jurgen at Certo6 who does sensational work on folders by Zeiss-Ikon, Agfa and Voigtlander won't.

 

This reminds me to say to Pogue that if he is delighted with his Dad's Contessa, try picking up an early Ikonta (very cheap these days, but I suspect not for all that long) that is clean - the 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x9 images will blow you away. I bought 1930's Ikonta A, B and C each for about AU$75 and just could not believe my luck - huge negs giving wonderful detail - a medium format camera you can fold up and put in your pocket!!

OOps... I forgot to add for Christopher, regarding these cell meters being useless in low light - fair caution, but not always. My Rolleiflex 3.5F has an uncoupled meter that despite it being built in 1956 works PERFECTLY in all light! Now I know that is unusual, but it's not unheard of. I bought mine due to its wonderful Planar lens and shot in near darkness, low indoor and outdoor light; average outdoor and bright outddor light - every shot using the meter was perfectly exposed. God love them!!

 

I have read that some used in certain early cameras have a reputation of working well today, while others fitted to different cameras do not. Maybe there were differences in the cells/units used.

I just missed a purchase of an old Zeiss Ikon Contessa on eBay the other night. I was busy watching and won the bid for a Zeiss Icon Nettar.

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I already had one (from eBay), but I think they are so pretty.....

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What are the differences in the Zeiss Icon cameras mentioned above...and how does the Nettar fit in?

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<P>Having spent some time in City Park in New Orleans with a five year old very vivacious little girl recently, I can imagine why the pigeons prefer older men! I don't think older men "swoop" through pigeons!

Zeiss-Ikon made a variety of cameras using different types of film. Some cameras were quite good, while others were only average at best.

 

The Super Ikontas used 120 film -- medium format cameras.

 

The Contax (the real Contax, by the way) is a 35mm rangefinder produced from the early 1930s to 1960.

 

The Contaflex and Contarex were 35mm SLRs -- very different cameras.

 

The Ikonta 35, Contina II and Contessa were folding 35mm cameras -- among the first to be produced by Zeiss-Ikon after World War II. The Contessa is probably one of the most elegant cameras produced. Definitely overengineered and head and shoulders above any other camera from that era (and many since then) ... my opinion.

 

Zeiss-Ikon also made simple folding cameras, such as the Nettar, simple box cameras, simple 35mm cameras and quite a few folding plate- and roll-film cameras in the 1920s and 1930s.

Simon, you're right, I overstated--I'm sure some repairpersons who work on Zeiss Ikon folder don't work on the Contessa--as Mike points out, ZI made a lot of different cameras that vary considerably in their complexity (I should have said that the repairpersons *I* was familiiar w/could work on the Contessa).

 

As to selenium meters, you're also correct that some are more sensitive than others (I think the larger the cell the better), but in my experience they're not particularly well-suited for low light--that said, they have a better overall spectral response than CdS cells . . .

I meant to add that the Nettar was a lower-cost alternative to the Ikonta medium format cameras. Lower cost didn't mean cheaply made. The Nettar was a very sturdy camera. From what I can tell, the Nettar was usually a zone focus camera and most seem to have a Novar lens. The prewar camera sometimes was offered with a Tessar. The postwar camera usually had just the Novar, though it's possible you will see one with a Tessar.

There are web sites found under "Zeiss Ikon" searches that have very good chronologies and data on Zeiss-Ikon folding MF and 35mm cameras from Nettars/Ikontas all the way through to the end of production fixed lens cameras circa 1960. It can be very confusing becuase ZI ended up with literally thousands of stock itmes - some with very small variations on the same cameras. I have many Nettars, Ikontas and Super Ikontas.

I won't attempt to give a detailed guide here, nor will I claim to be totally accurate in every detail but you might be interested to see how Zeiss-Ikon's products progressed.

But as far as the MF folders go some key points to note are:

Nettars and the more expensive (no quality difference, just features)Ikontas - these were simple 120 roll film folding cameras without metering (coupled or uncoupled) and without rangefinder focusing (coupled or uncoupled). Everything was manual - look through a pop-up frame and set the lens yourself. They were offered in 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x9 formats.

 

The Ikontas (and some Nettars) progressed to offer more modern top plates with built in viewers (no rangefinders) and some had features like double exposure protection with film frame counting.

 

The Nettars and Ikontas saw a variety of shutters and Zeiss lenses from very basic low cost items with limited range of shutter speeds (eg 1/25th to 1/200th) and apertures (eg f6.3). Shutters included Vario, Klio, Prontor and Compur all with varying attributes/speeds.

One I have is a 6x9 with a fast(f3.5) Tessar lens in a Compur Rapid shutter.

These ran from pre-1920s to around WW2.

Then the Super Ikontas came through from the late 1930s (super meant it had a rangefinder - initially uncoupled and of the "wedge" type through to a modern style fully coupled in the III and IV) and were offerd in the same formats with the 6x4.5 and 6x9 dropping off by around the 1950s. The final iteration were the Super Iconta III and 1V the latter of which had both a coupled rangefinder and uncoupled metering in a quite modern top plate style.

 

ZI's wear a huge array of model names, some of which were also recycled and their place in the range and history can be confusing.

 

Model numbers can be hard to follow as the Germans did not really run to thematic model designation. For example one of the last Super Icontas was the III with model number 531/16, whereas the prior model was a 533/16 (and its predecessor was a 532/16) and the same number 531/16 also appeared around the 1940 before the 532/16!

 

Designators of A, B, C were used for 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x9 respectively. The later SIs sported Tessar T f2.8 and Tessar f3.5 coated lenses and Synchro-Compur shutters and very accurate coupled range finders.

During this time as 35mm film took seed, the initial Ikonta 35 appeared and looked like a mini Nettar with a top plate viewfinder - everything was totally manual. It was quickly followed by the Contessa and Continas. My own Contessa has a wonderful f2.8 Tessar T coated lens. With its alloy wedge coupled rangefinder focusing, it gets lots of attention.

 

All were superbly built and unless they were brutally treated over their 40 - 60 years, work very well today.

I have a 70 year old Nettar with a nice Ikonta A f4.5 lens and Compur shutter that takes great photos today and it had not been used in 50 years nor had any servicing in that time - all for AU$50!

Among all of the above there are some very rare, collectible, unique and brilliant models with some weird names.

The very affordable Nettars and Ikontas offer some wonderful surprises and collecting fun at low cost (although gaining popularity today).

 

The 1950s Super Icontas are superb cameras to use today. Accurate focusing, exposures and ease of use (especially after a good CLA) - all in a folding compact MF camera. I use mine regularly and every time the results blow me away.

 

Have fun and take lots of photos.

I'm shooting an Ikonta A 6x4.5 that I picked up off eB*y for $35, original everything, never had an overhall, and have had several rolls of Velvia and Provia through it with incredible results:

 

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2315427">Example 1</a></p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2434879">Example 2</a></p>

 

I also just stumbled across my GG-Uncle's old Contessa with the Tessar 50/2.8 in it. Other than a sticky shutter every once in awhile, which might improve with use, I'm anxious to run some film through it to see what I get...