An old camera

[bojan_steinb_cher]

I've inherited an old bellows camera and don't have much data on it.

Can somebody provide me with some info?

 

It's probably Zeiss Ikon Contessa, at least there's such inscription

on the body. The others are "Zeiss Icon" on top and "Compur" on the

bottom of shutter's face plate and "D.R.P. No 258646 D.R.G.M." around

lens mount.

 

There are two lenses, both made of two separate parts. The first one

is Carl Zeiss Jena Nr 721911 Tessar 1:4,5 f = 15 cm, the second is

Voigtlander Tele - Dynar 1: 6,5 F = 29 cm No 470027.

 

Aluminum ground glass holder has an opening of 11.6 X 8.5 cm. There're

several film holders.

 

Regards,

 

Bojan

[janez_pelko1]

Bojan, prav veliko ti ne morem pomagat. Vem le to, da je Carl Zeiss Jena vzhodnonemska tovarna, objektiv pa je verjetno narejen v 50-ih ali 60-ih letih.

 

lp,

Janez

[stephen hazelton]

It sounds like you've identified the camera- what else were you looking for, specifically?

[emmanuel_bigler]

This camera is, as you can read, a Zeiss Ikon 9x12cm view camera. Contessa was re-used as a trade mark by Zeiss Ikon in the 1950's-1960's. Your image size is most probably 9x12cm, the old European standard, still in use in Europe.

 

As far as the year of manufacture is concerned, the Acronyms "D.R.P" "D.R.G.M" tell us by the "R" like "Reich" that the camera was manufactured between 1933 and, surprisingly, 1950 (not 1945). Were it "D.B.P" it would mean a post-WWII camera with the following meaning :

 

DBP/DBGM DBP means Deutches BundesPatent or "German Patent".

BGM stands for "Deutsches Bundesgebrauchsmuster" which translates to

"German Federal Registered Design" and is a simplified form of a patent.

 

DRP/DRGM same but from 1933 to ~1951

 

Compur is the trade mark of famous German leaf shutters. Originally "Compur" a trade mark of the independant Deckel Company in Münich, then merged in to the Zeiss group. Taking into account the age of the camera, most probably you do not have flash synchronisation, otherwise it would be a "Synchro-Compur".

[bojan_steinb_cher]

Thank you all for your kind answers!

 

It was really clumsy of me asking for obvious things as I know the approximate age of the camera.

In fact I'm way more interested in practical value of the camera and lenses. Is it worth giving them a proper inspection/cleaning/repair? It looks good enough to put into a display cabinet, but is it sensible taking pictures with it? If so, should I limit myself to B&W?

 

Regards,

 

Bojan

[ron_gratz]

Bojan,

 

On almost all Zeiss-Ikon folding plate cameras, the name and model # were imprinted into the leather of the body under the handle. The number will probably be something like 250/7. The first number (250) is a model number and the second number (7) is the size: 7 meant 9x12cm. If you can find this information I can give you an estimate of its value (note that condition and the desire of a buyer play a big role in selling price).

 

When you say 2 lenses, I assume that you mean that the lenses were removable. The 15cm lens is the normal for 9x12 (13.5cm was also common). The 29cm is a long focus lens which could be placed on the camera. If this is so, it would make your camera one of the high-end models since most Zeiss-Ikon folding plate cameras did not allow changing lenses. I will guess it is the Ideal (model 250/7) but it could be a Favorit (model 265/7) or even a Universal Juwel (275/7). The latter was a favorite early camera used by Ansel Adams. Since you have film plate holders (do they contain film sheaths?) this can be a very usable camera. I have all three above models and they are very capable performers. I have only used them with black and white film but you could try color if you can get 9x12 color film.

 

Ron Gratz

[ralph_barker]

If the camera appears to be in reasonably good condition, and you are located such that you can conveniently obtain 9x12cm film, it would certainly be worthwhile exploring its use. There are two primary concerns that you can check yourself before sending anything to a repair technician: 1) whether the bellows are still light-tight (i.e. have no pinhole light leaks), and 2) whether the shutters still work, and are reasonably accurate.

 

You can check the bellows using a small flashlight placed inside the bellows in a darkened room. Simply extend the bellows out, move the flashlight around inside the bellows, and look for leaks. You'll have similar concerns with the film holders, but there's no convenient way to check them for leaks other than through actual use.

 

If the shutters work (there's a cocking lever and a separate shutter release), check operation at each of the shutter speeds to see if they all work and seem to represent the stated speed. There are shutter testing devices available, but it might be easier to have a technician check the accuracy of the shutters, and service them if needed.

 

If you're not familiar with large format camera operation, there is a wealth of information available at http://www.largeformatphotography.info/

 

Have fun!

[jim_galli4]

You can see what others have sold similar cameras for <a href="http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?GetResult&query=contessa&ht=1&category1=625&combine=y&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort">here</a>. If you have an interest you could make pleasing black and white photos with it. 9X12 Agfa film is easy to get.

[bojan_steinb_cher]

Thank you all!

 

I'm taking the camera to a repair shop next week and looking forward to take pics with it. First ones are going to be black and white, but I may later also try color.

 

To Ron Gratz:

Unfortunately there's no name and model number on the body under the handle. There's actually no leather there. Body is made of wood and metal.

The lenses are removable. They are made of 2 parts, one fits in front and other behind shutter.

Fuji's slide films (Velvia, Astia and Provia 100F) are in principle available in 9x12 cm in Europe, but must check with local dealers.

 

To Ralph Barker:

Camera appears in more or less fine condition, shutter seems to work OK, but can't fully extend the bellows to check it for light tightness. The rails stick, I guess that's work for a repair technician. :-(

Thank you for the link! There's much to learn, regardless of experience with 35 mm and medium format .

 

To Jim Galli:

I'm certainly going to try making pictures with it, selling was never an option. Thank you for the link!

 

Regards,

 

Bojan