I learned photography back in the late 1970s using vintage medium format cameras. My father, who got me started with photography back then, used to speak with longing about a camera he had in the 1950s and eventually traded someone for a lawn mower. Even though we had a few nice cameras, he would constantly recall the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B, and showed me some of the awesome pictures it took on a trip he took back in 1958. That made me remember the name of the camera. In 2003 when I discovered eBay, I sought to acquire one at a reasonable price and was fortunately successful.
The Super Ikonta cameras were made by the German manufacturer Zeiss Ikon from the early 1930s until the mid 1950s. They all use 120 roll film and the “B” size shoots 11 or 12 square images on 6×6 cm format. The preferred lens option is an 80mm f2.8 Zeiss Tessar. Mine has the coated version of that lens, which is essential if shooting color film. The version of the camera I have, the 532/16 model, dates from 1948. The camera features a coupled rangefinder in the viewfinder for extremely accurate focusing.
I had to do a few minor repairs and a cleaning when I got my Super Ikonta, and had to replace the top leather piece and calibrate the rangefinder. After that, I had a fully functioning and great looking 55 year-old folding camera. The first roll of film I shot with it in the spring of 2003 yielded some excellent results, one of which is the Creek and Green Reeds/Grasses photograph on my pinemountainprints.com website. The Super Ikonta also took the Lake Superior Rocky Shoreline and Waves, Red Rocks and Lake Superior Surf, and Brightly Colored Maple Tree in Autumn photos on that website – all shot on color negative film.
I’ll be packing the Super Ikonta at least once this summer when I’ll be hiking and need a lightweight, simple camera for landscape photography. Although it does not offer interchangeable lenses, I have found over the years that the best picture-taking often happens when I’m not distracted by trying to figure out what lens is perfect for a particular subject.
Please read my Preautions On Buying Used Photo Equipment if you are interested in purchasing used cameras, lenses, or other used photographic equipment.
TMphotosite.com is dedicated to keeping alive the art of photography as experienced through the use of vintage equipment and processes. Digital equipment and processes significantly enhance the enjoyment and efficiency of photography, making vintage equipment more useful and fun. Tim McCauley, the creator and author of TMphotosite.com, is a longtime photographer of landscapes, nature, and architecture. His photographs can be seen at pinemountainprints.com.
