Trying to age a Zeiss Super Ikonta 531

[clare_bryan]

<p>Hi,<br>

One of the many cameras I ended up with from my grandad was a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 531 with compur rapid written on the lense.<br>

Around the actual lense it says: xenar f:3.5 F=7.5cm schnelder kreuznach no 1884406<br>

And there is what looks like a serial number of 0 88603 *<br>

I know my grandad brought it in the 1950s and my sister thinks its a 1930s camera, I don't. I think its early 50's. <br>

I wondered if there was anyone here who could shed some light on its age and any advice on using it. I know it works and its ready loaded with film. My problem is I've become too used to digital cameras and have lost my confidence using manual cameras. <br>

I appreciate all your help<br>

x</p>

[Andrew in Austin]

<p>Clare - This is a manual camera and a half. It requires requires more attention by the photographer than even a camera from the mid-1960'ies.</p>

<p>It may be the camera in this link: <a href="http://elekm.net/pages/cameras/sikonta531.htm">http://elekm.net/pages/cameras/sikonta531.htm</a> - read away.</p>

<p>The Xenar, if it's original, would place the camera from the early post WWII Era, a time when the German were just beginning to dig out from the rubble. Zeiss Ikon cameras typically used their own in-house lenses on their top of the line models.</p>

[Greg M]

<p>Yep, possibly a pre-war design, but post war construction. Lens may or may not be coated. Big-time manual operation, including manual cocking of the shutter after winding the film.</p>

<p>A few of the cameras I have owned using the Compur Rapid shutter, the highest speed had to be first set on the ring before you cocked the shutter because that speed required such a tight spring setting. Hopefully the camera didn't sit for decades with the shutter cocked.</p>

<p>It'll be interesting at least to see what's on the fim, assuming at least some of it was already exposed.</p>

[clare_bryan]

<p>Hi,<br>

Thankyou for your responses. When I get home from work I will post pictures. As far as I know it has not been modified and all parts that are there should be there if that makes sense. When we found it with the others the shutter was not cocked. The film inside was used and we took it out have today I put a new black and white film in. My dad checked it over and tested out the shutter and it all appears to work as it should. It is a beautiful camera and I just can't wait to use it. I even inherited some old working developing equipment so once I get my confidence up using film cameras again I'm going to start developing my own films :)</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>According to the Antique and Classic Cameras website, your Zeiss 531 is a Super Ikonta A from 1948. The lens may be coated. The Super Ikonta coatings back then were sort of a bluish color. You should be able to tell just by looking at your front element.</p>

<p>The Super Ikonta A s a cool little camera. It's 6x4.5 format, so it's quite compact -- a take-anywhere folder.</p>

<p>Super Ikontas are a bit complicated to operate, but they're so worth it. Incredible picture takes. Enjoy yours!</p>

<p>I would have posted a link to the camera at the above website, but Photo.net has decided too much spamming activity is connected with that URL. Makes no sense to me, but I can't post it, so you can google the name and obtain the website from google.</p>

 

[robert_marvin]

<p>Great camera! I use a slightly later version (coated Zeiss-Opton Tessar, Synchro-Compur shutter) as my travel camera. The prints I produce with it are pretty much indistinguishable from negatives made with my Rolleiflex with an F2.8 Xenotar (i.e. quite high quality). </p>

[paul_wheatland]

<p>Great little cameras with 16 exposures on 120 film. One caveat, the finder is a folding saddle design. With glasses if you wear them the rear section of the finder has annoying tilt if viewed too close, which irritated me enough to actually sell the camera ( not to worry still have others that are in my collection).</p>

[Greg M]

<p>Sounds nice Clare. Congratulations. The one thing to check, which you won't know until a roll of film is shot and developed, is whether the leather bellows is still light tight. The Zeiss bellows seem to hold up better than most over time, but they can deteriorate and develop pins holes that'll fog the film.</p>

[clare_bryan]

<p><img src="http://s358.photobucket.com/user/clarebryan85/slideshow/" alt="" /><br /> I think I have managed to attach a link to my Photobucket page with some pictures. As far as I know the bellows are ok, if there is any wear and tear, it will be microscopic and hopefully easy to repair. It's just getting used to using it now. I have 2 Kodak brownies in pretty good condition too and they are next on my list to use. I am very lucky to not only have this camera but the others too and I think they make a good start to a collection.</p>

<p>http://s358.photobucket.com/user/clarebryan85/slideshow/</p>

[fred_haeseker]

<p>Hi Clare, Mike Butkus has a manual for a Super Ikonta 6x4.5 on his website that you might find useful. The camera may not be exactly the same as yours in some small details, but operating it will be the same. The Super Ikontas are great cameras, easy to work once you get used to them. The Schneider Xenar lens on yours is the equal of the better-known Zeiss Tessar IMO. Here's the manual:<br>

http://www.cameramanuals.org/zeiss_ikon/zeiss_ikon_super_ikonta_1x2.pdf</p>

[colin carron]

<p>A great little camera. I had the Ikonta / Novar cooking version which gave very nice results. The lens serial number appears to be in the range 1942-1948 according to the Schneider website.<br>

http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/age_of_lenses/<br>

The presence of a coating will also indicate a post-war date as coatings became standard after the war. I had a 1946 Retina II with a nice single-coated xenar which was a very fine lens. I am always surprised at how quickly the german camera industry re-established itself after the war and switched back to civilian production. If you read the detailed history it is clear that this was with the assistance of the then occupying powers as a means of helping to stabilise the country.</p>

[glen_h]

<p>My favorite site for finding out about old cameras is:<br>

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/search.php?param=ikonta+531</p>

<p>well, mostly it is for finding out about how much one might be worth, though I have bought some for much less than the range given. </p>

<p>It seems that there are a few models of the 531, and different versions of those models.</p>

<p>For actually learning something about the camera, there is:</p>

<p>http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Zeiss_Ikon_Ikonta</p>

<p>which explains that some of the model difference is the image size. There are models that get 8, 12, or 16 images on a roll, with the image size decreasing as you get more.<br>

What color is the paper on the roll that you took out? The now well known Kodak yellow, with some red on it, seems to have started around 1956. The older films, with pink paper, usually don't do so well after so many years. Well, even more, what type of film is it? Verichrome (Pan or not), Kodacolor, or even possibly Ektachrome? Or maybe another company?</p>

 

[hans_kerensky]

<p>The star (asteriks) behind the serial number indicates that your Super Ikonta 531 was produced somewhere between 1945 and 1949 and was produced with one or more parts pre-produced before the end of WW2. Zeiss Ikon had a hard time then getting in production again and sometimes even used Schneider Xenar lenses for their cameras.<br>

<br />See also : http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Super_Ikonta_531</p>

<p> </p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>That Xenar looks uncoated to me, meaning that the camera is probably from the late thirties, or early forties. You can date Zeiss lenses from the sn, maybe you can do the same with Schneider?<br>

Great little cameras, probably the pick of the Super Ikontas, and as Fred has stated, the Xenar is a top lens, even when uncoated.....hope you get to use it.</p>