Diax II with Rodenstock Heligon 45/2

[NeeZee]

Just wanted to introduce you to my latest acquisition: a German Voss Diax II fixed lens RF camera from the early 1950s. It came with a Rodenstock Heligon lens (the rarest variant of an already rare-ish camera). Here it is:


Diax II - Heligon 45/2 by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

It's really compact but very heavy for its size and very well-made - not unlike Zeiss Ikon or Voigtländer high-end cameras of that era.


Diax II - Heligon 45/2 by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

I got it for 35€ from a German classifieds site. While I knew it was worth more I was surprised when after the purchase I found out that the last two auctions on eBay with the same shutter lens configuration ended well above 200€ (both with unknown state of the camera).


Diax II - Heligon 45/2 by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

Not planning to sell it at all though as I never received a camera of this vintage in such perfect condition and it looks and feels like a fun shooter. All I did was to remove the top plate to clean the RF/VF unit and adjust the RF. Even the Synchro-Compur shutter seems to run ok at all speeds. The lens looks almost like new. I was lucky to also find an ad for the original hood (you need the original one because it has a 'window' to be able to read the aperture values) and a filter.


Diax II - Heligon 45/2 by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

This is the whole set plus a Diax I (the RF-less version with a Xenar lens - has a hazy lens and the slow times don't work) which I already owned before.

I think it is a really nice-looking camera and probably one of the smallest RF's ever with a lens faster than f2.8 (a bit smaller than the 70s compact RF's). I'll post some photos here as soon as I find the time to take and develop a test film. The last picture shows the size of the Diax in relation to two better known cameras.


Leica IIIf - Diax II - Rollei 35T by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

This is a good site with some info about the Diax cameras: http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/voss1.htm

Regards,
Thomas

 

[Phil_F_NM]

A few years ago I had a Diax 11b with a 3.5cm, 45mm and 90mm lenses. The 45mm was an f/2.8, 3.5cm was f/3.5 and the 90mm was f/4. 45mm and 90mm were both Rodenstock, if I recall correctly while the 3.5cm was different but I can't remember the make. I may have photos of the kit somewhere here. the 45mm and 90mm made the best photos. 90mm was incredibly sharp actually.
The build of the camera and lenses was fantastic. Very heavy, all brass and very smooth operating. It was a very interesting system.

Phil Forrest

 

[Crazy Fedya]

I happen to own one of these Diax II cameras. Mine is equipped with 45/2 Xenon lens. Camera is very nice to use, images are sharp and contrasty. I cleaned viewfinder/rangefinder, and it made a world of difference.

 

[Roger Hicks]

A beautiful camera, superbly stitched together with countless tiny screws -- I used it as an example of camera construction in my A History of the 35mm Still Camera, The Focal Press -- but I actually prefer the Retina with the same lens.

Cheers,

R.

 

[raid]

Roger: Is the lens a 5cm/2 for the Retina?

 

[NeeZee]

A beautiful camera, superbly stitched together with countless tiny screws -- I used it as an example of camera construction in my A History of the 35mm Still Camera, The Focal Press -- but I actually prefer the Retina with the same lens.

Cheers,

R.

Roger, do you have any information if the Heligon lenses in the Retina (50mm) and the Diax (45mm) are exactly the same design just labeled with different focal lengths?

Looks like the Diax-Heligon is the only '45mm' Heligon ever - at least I couldn't find anything else online.

 

[NeeZee]

I happen to own one of these Diax II cameras. Mine is equipped with 45/2 Xenon lens. Camera is very nice to use, images are sharp and contrasty. I cleaned viewfinder/rangefinder, and it made a world of difference.

I bought a set of proper screwdrivers a few months ago and started cleaning the viewfinders of my vintage cameras - it made a huge difference every time, the Diax is no exception... I still leave lenses and shutters to the experts but in this case there was no work needed on those.

Regarding Xenon/Heligon: I guess optically it would be hard to tell them apart. As I understand it, the Heligon version is just rarer (similar in the Retina IIa's, I think).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Sorry: by "same lens" I meant Heligon. I have no information at all about the similarity (or otherwise) of focal lengths. Again, apologies for the sloppiness.

Cheers,

R.

 

[johnnyrod]

NeeZee - looks beautiful

A beautiful camera, superbly stitched together with countless tiny screws -- I used it as an example of camera construction in my A History of the 35mm Still Camera, The Focal Press -- but I actually prefer the Retina with the same lens.

Cheers,

R.

Roger - how come?

 

[NeeZee]

Here are some photos. Love the lens! The only problem was the hood - it vignettes (cropped the black edges away). I guess it was built for the Xenar version which has a smaller front element. Well, I can use it on the Diax I, then...

Film used was Tri-X, developed in D-76 1+1.


Untitled by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr


Untitled by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr


Untitled by Thomas Niesenhaus, on Flickr

 

[Monochrom]

Hi, very interesting, can you tell me how much sharpening did you apply on PP?

 

[NeeZee]

Some sharpening in the last one, none in the first two. The Scanning software does some sharpening though, I think. I'm using an Epson V700 with the standard software. These were just quick scans at 1200dpi.

I've scanned a lot of film from different cameras and lenses and the Heligon looks like a very good performer. Even wide open looks pretty decent for a 1950s lens.

 

[mfunnell]

Hmmm. I have a Diax Ia and IIb I picked up recently as a package deal. I was after the IIb, which is the camera my father used for all our family photos from before I was born until he picked up a Miranda Sensorex system when he was posted to Malaysia (I recently found one of those, too). All my Diax lenses are Schneider-Kreuznach (a 45mm for the 1a; 35, 50, 90 and 135 for the IIb).

They've only recently arrived. They are nice little cameras - I'll have to use them...

...Mike

 

[NeeZee]

Hmmm. I have a Diax Ia and IIb I picked up recently as a package deal. I was after the IIb, which is the camera my father used for all our family photos from before I was born until he picked up a Miranda Sensorex system when he was posted to Malaysia (I recently found one of those, too). All my Diax lenses are Schneider-Kreuznach (a 45mm for the 1a; 35, 50, 90 and 135 for the IIb).

They've only recently arrived. They are nice little cameras - I'll have to use them...

...Mike

I'm still trying to resist getting into the Diax models with interchangeable lenses. Thanks for reminding me of them 😉

 

[Jack Conrad]

This weekend I was at an outdoor market and found 3 cameras. A Voigtlander Brilliant in nice shape, an Ansco Model A wood and brass red bellows camera and a stripped Diax IIb body with a box full of loose bits, screws, shafts, knobs, springs and assorted parts. The shutter blades were hanging open like teeth. It looked utterly hopeless, but the seller threw it in with the other cameras for free.

Well, last night and today I managed to piece it all back together. Lo and behold, unbelievably, the camera works like it's supposed to. The shutter blades just needed some cleaning and the RF seems right on.

Only problem is it didn't come with a lens. Oh, and it's missing 3 little top plate screws.

It's a beautiful little camera, and very well made. I guess I need to keep a look out for a 90mm lens.