This is a Zeiss-Ikon Icarex 35 CS, a 35mm single lens reflex camera produced by Zeiss-Ikon in Braunschweig, West Germany starting in 1968. The Icarex series was originally developed in the early 1960s by Voigtländer as the Bessaflex prior to that company’s merger with Zeiss-Ikon in 1965. When the camera…
You know what they say, ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away…’ so for those of you with broken Contaxes, you better get rid of all your apples as the doctor is here! Okay, so maybe he hasn’t quite gotten his PhD yet, but in this, the 41st episode…
Not everyone reviews cameras or has a camera blog. The fact that you are here suggests you at least like old film (and some digital) cameras. You probably have one or two of your own, or maybe you’re a retired dentist with thousands of them. Whatever the case, I know…
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Ikonette, a 35mm scale focus camera produced by Zeiss-Ikon AG in Stuttgart, West Germany starting in November 1958. The Ikonette is a uniquely styled camera with an attractive curved light gray body that was primarily marketed as a lady’s camera. It was thought that by giving…
This is a Contax I, a 35mm rangefinder camera produced by Zeiss-Ikon in Dresden, Germany between the years 1932 and 1936. This particular version is considered by collectors to be a Version 7 or Type F model, offering several upgraded features from the original model, such as additional slow speeds,…
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Voigtländer Vitessa 1000SR, a 35mm rangefinder camera produced under both the Zeiss-Ikon and Voigtländer names from about 1967 to 1970. This camera’s dual branding was a byproduct of Zeiss-Ikon’s 1965 merger with Voigtländer AG. Despite having the Zeiss-Ikon name, the camera was entirely designed and built…
Mistakes were made. Pulling back the curtains here , I can imagine at least a few readers of this site believe there is a vault filled with a never-ending supply of mint condition, perfectly working cameras, glistening under hi-powered LED lights, much like how you might see fine works of…
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Cocarette 519/2, a folding bed camera that shoots 6cm x 9cm images on 120 roll film. The Cocarette was considered a premium model in Zeiss-Ikon’s post merger catalog. Originally a Contessa-Nettel model that was first produced around 1919, the Cocarette was continued under the Zeiss-Ikon brand…
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Contax III, a 35mm rangefinder camera built by Zeiss-Ikon in Dresden, Germany between the years 1936 and 1942. The Contax III was an upgrade to the Contax II from the same era, adding a selenium exposure meter to the top plate. The Contax II and III…
This is a Tenax II, an interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder camera made by Zeiss-Ikon in Dresden starting in 1938. It shot 24mm x 24mm square images on regular 35mm film and was created by famed designer Hubert Nerwin who previously designed the Contax rangefinder. It was an unusually designed camera…
Earlier this week, I posted my take on the Zeiss-Ikon Contarex “Bullseye”. Feedback to that article has been very good with most people who’ve handled it before, agreed with my assessment that while it was a pretty camera with an amazing Rube-Goldberg-like complexity, it wasn’t a very good user. Sometimes,…
This is the Contarex, a professional grade 35mm SLR camera produced by Zeiss-Ikon starting in 1960. This first generation Contarex earned the nickname “Bullseye” for the large prominent circular exposure meter above the lens. The Contarex was one of the first West German SLRs with a focal plane shutter, and…
