Super Ikonta A - Zeiss Ikon - 1937/1950



My second collectible. I bought this camera in a flea market in Sao Paulo in a watches booth. It was really cheap. The price of two films 120. I had the Ikonta B from my wife's grand father and was attracted by the similarity. Looking closer I realized that there was something more: the small loupe that flips up was a focusing device. I said: yes, that is a good idea. Since the time I left the Olympus Pen EES2 to the Olympus OM 1n and Mamiya C330 I use to consider guessing distances as a thing of the past. It is a beautiful design and like other Super Ikontas it is difficult to believe, when it is unfolded, that it is possible to close it with everything inside. It is like a contortionist show every time.
Zeiss Ikon produced this model from 1937 to 1950 (with interruptions I guess, but I don't know). It lasts forever. Lens is Tessar and this one is a bit cloudy so it is difficult to get contrast. You can notice this effect in the picture below: colors have lost saturation because they are receiving light spread by the lens deposits. Also the image gets soft. Not bad for the atmosphere in this case. To use it is not complicate but you must be quite methodic to perform all the steps: wind the film, measure or guess the light, adjust speed, adjust aperture, cock the shutter, focus, frame (not necessarily in that order till this point) and finally shoot.




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