Heavily modified Ikonta

[Arbitrarium]

Apologies for the Ebay link, but thought this was too bizarre/interesting to not share:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZEISS-IKO...905085?hash=item1ed04078fd:g:fyEAAOSwkBlZy6Gx

Can anyone even identify what these mods are/do?

 

[Robert Lai]

Whatever they are, they're damn ugly.
The box is either a grip or some type of film storage cabinet.
The odd viewfinder - homemade "stereo"?
I wonder if he put some type of divider in the middle of the film gate to match.

 

[Pioneer]

Have camera

Have no money

Have imagination

Camera will do what I want.

One is a homemade grip.

One on back helps hold the back closed.

Stereo viewfinder implies stereo photography, probably reason for back mods.

I am half tempted to bid just to see what all it does. 😀

 

[Pioneer]

One accessory shoe for flash and one for viewfinder.

I mean, it is a Zeiss Ikon, how much can go wrong...right?

 

[hanskerensky]

Interesting camera !
Seems to have been used heavily.

Top cover doesn't look like an Ikonta (or Nettar) at all.

Lens focal length in mm and Synchro-Compur shutter means that part at least is post war.

 

[sevo]

It does not look as if any of the appendages had improved its usability (except maybe blocking the transport counter, converting it to red-window only). Perhaps a Steampunk film, stage or convention prop?

 

[Gregm61]

Lens focal length in mm and Synchro-Compur shutter means that part at least is post war.

Oh yeah. Looks like a very late version as the lens is a Carl Zeiss, not Opton, so probably 1954 or newer.

 

[sevo]

Oh yeah. Looks like a very late version as the lens is a Carl Zeiss, not Opton, so probably 1954 or newer.

Carl Zeiss with a Synchro Compur might also mean it was made in the post-war era, before the formal split of Zeiss, when they were still using Jena lenses in Stuttgart. The Ikonta B/C had already been upgraded to 523 B/C years before they renamed Opton back to Carl Zeiss, and there never was a 523 A. Was the 521 A continued on past the introduction of the 523 B/C? If not, the 521 A can never have had a Oberkochen Carl Zeiss lens.

 

[Gregm61]

Carl Zeiss with a Synchro Compur might also mean it was made in the post-war era, before the formal split of Zeiss, when they were still using Jena lenses in Stuttgart. The Ikonta B/C had already been upgraded to 523 B/C years before they renamed Opton back to Carl Zeiss, and there never was a 523 A. Was the 521 A continued on past the introduction of the 523 B/C? If not, the 521 A can never have had a Oberkochen Carl Zeiss lens.

With everything else done to that poor body, it wouldn't be surprising to learn someone swapped out the lens at some point to what's on there now, which is definitely a Carl Zeiss, not Opton. Heck, it may be a combination of parts from several bodies in addition to the non-standard mods. The nicer "A" units I've seen have always had the Opton Tessar.

 

[Steve M.]

They make it look reeeeeeeel ugly. Still, quite the conversation starter.

No need to apologize for the eBay link. That is generally where the stuff is. I am not a fan of them or their shyster PayPal outfit either, but you gotta go where the stuff is a lot of times. The lens says it's a Tessar in the first photo of the ad. Not sure of the model number, but it's a plain jane, scale focus Ikonta 6X4.5 shooter w/ a coated Tessar, which is not a bad thing. I owned one and it took wonderful photos, but my earlier camera (1938 ! believe it was) w/ an uncoated Tessar had one of the sharpest lenses I ever owned.

 

[mich rassena]

this is an interesting mod. Does that bump on the front contain a motor? The viewfinder makes me think "strip camera", but I suppose there could be gears, or such, and this is a panoramic camera, like a Cirkut camera.

Very odd.