Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex 850/16 "Coffee Can".

I see the DOF indicators on yours have suffered the same way as the ones on mine. I had to service the shutter on mine as well.

The two frame counters are for 120 format and 620 format film, which I think is genius, combined with the horizontal film travel.

Very nice camera. And very nice results. I love old warbirds :)

I shot a roll through mine. but I don't think I've ever uploaded any photos

Great work and restoration. I had a slightly later model, the one with lever focusing on the side, but I don't think I did a thread on it. The pictures have a slightly low contrast feel, probably due to the lack of coating and light baffling in the body but I'm sure they would acquire a more modern look with a small levels tweak - if that's what you wanted.

Edit, yes I did do a thread on it:

An Ikoflex at the Station

Great work and restoration. I had a slightly later model, the one with lever focusing on the side, but I don't think I did a thread on it. The pictures have a slightly low contrast feel, probably due to the lack of coating and light baffling in the body but I'm sure they would acquire a more modern look with a small levels tweak - if that's what you wanted.

 

Edit, yes I did do a thread on it:

 

An Ikoflex at the Station

Yes! Low contrast well describes the results. I even had to boost contrast in PShop before posting the images. Your linked thread has me thinking that maybe there is something I can do to reduce the effect. While this camera has a film carrier that fully encapsulates the film gate, there are shiny areas on the inside of the taking lens mount/helicoid that might be something I can look at.

Andy, it's possible to improve the light baffling inside a TLR, but probably at the expense of it's collectable value, as here:

Yashicamat at the Carnival

The 850/16 was the very first TLR Zeiss Ikon produced back in 1934 - '37. I found this nearly 80 year old "version II" example on ebay and crossed my fingers the optics were okay. I was pleased to find the glass perfect but under a layer of dust and grime just like the rest of the camera. The shutter was sluggish, the leather lifting in a few areas and paint chipped here and there. The viewfinder was not erecting correctly and the film advance clutch was slipping badly. Also both counters were not working correctly (one for metal spooled film and the other for wooden spooled). After a few nights it was ready for a test roll just in time for a Memorial Day event at a local vintage aircraft museum. The first surprise was how small the camera is; the second was how nicely the Zeiss lenses perform considering their age.[ATTACH=full]1297041[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1297042[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1297043[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1297044[/ATTACH]

I have that model but focus lever does not move. Having removed lenses and focus plate it turns out it’s the distance scale that is jamming the lens helicals. It appears to connect through the camera body (to what?) but won’t budge. So I thought I would remove the viewfinder (WLF) but I can’t see how to do that - grateful for any advice you may have.

Regards,

Gordon

As a long-term 'fan' of Zeiss Stiftung in all its forms and reincarnations, it is profoundly disappointing to me that the company so often lost sight of the horizon and went into a slow "death spiral".

I got a Zeiss Ikoflex 1c. but with the Novar lens, and it was considerably less capable as a picture-taker than some of the TLRs I've accumulated from the 'cousins' in the Dresden area.

I'm late to this but does anyone know how to remove the finder on the coffee can (later model - not the one with the step pyramid lid).

Or indeed how to get the distance wheel assembly out. The focus lever on mine refused to move and after disassembly it turns out that the distance wheel or cog is jamming everything.