Recommend me a folder

Congratulations. The Nettar is a good place to start. The quality of construction should be very good, and a triplet (Nettar Anastigmat or the Novar) are decent lenses. This will give you a taste of medium format without having spent a minor fortune.

If you like it (and most folder aficianados love them), then you can move on to a camera with a premium lens.
 
I have a Nettar too, a 517/16 but looks exactly like your 518.
I'm surprised how good the images this camera can produce. I have some shots with the camera on my Flickr photostream and RFF gallery.
I love using the MF folders, recently ordered a Super Baldax from Jurgen of Certo6.
 
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malkmata said:
I have a Nettar too, a 517/16 but looks exactly like your 518.
I'm surprised how good the images this camera can produce. I have some shots with the camera on my Flickr photostream and RFF gallery.
I love using the MF folders, recently ordered a Super Baldax from Jurgen of Certo6.
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Hopefully the camera will perform as well as yours. Not sure the owner will though!
 
Those are nice cameras.

These were made near the end of the folder era. They have satin chrome finishes, although the leather is somewhat different from what Zeiss Ikon used in the past. It seems a bit drier to the touch. But you won't notice that, because you probably don't have a reference point.

The struts on these are very sturdy, and the Novar should give you decent performance wide open and very good sharpness when closed down (f/8 or smaller).

It's 6x6, so you don't have to worry about horizontal vs. vertical.

There was a series of cameras called "Signal Nettars," which put a small translucent red indicator in the viewfinder if the film hadn't been advanced to the next frame. I believe it also locked the shutter release ... double-exposure prevention. I can't tell if your camera is a Signal Nettar, and I'm too lazy at the moment to go and find my Zeiss Ikon Compendium.

I love the square format. If nothing else, it really makes you think, which is always a good thing for photography.
 
Anyone know where I can find a manual of any kind for a Zeiss Nettar (518/16). I am even more of a noob than usual with these....
 
Camera arrived today - it's a little beauty. Now I only need a film and spare spool!
Are folders best 'stored' folded or open?
 
I've heard that they're best stored with the bellows closed. But I should add that I have many cameras stored in a cabinet with the bellows open.
 
Hello folks
Now a question about film. The Nettar has shutter settings from 1/10 to 1/200. Because of this I guessed that a faster film (ISO 400) would not be a good choice for daylight shooting - am I correct? As such I'm thinking more of Pan-F, FP4+ or Delta 100 rather than XP2 Super. Are there any drawbacks in using these rather than the XP2? Would anyone recommend any alternatives?
Best regards,
RoyM
 
Thanks for the advice. I've decided to try a few different films for both my 35mm Rf's and the Nettar:
1 x Ilford FP4+ 125 - 135-36
1 x Ilford FP4+ 125 - 120
1 x Ilford Delta 100 - 135-36
1 x Ilford Delta 100 - 120
1 x Kodak Portra VC 160 - 120
1 x Kodak T-MAX 100 - 135-36
1 x Fuji Professional PRO160C - 120
1 x Kodak Plus-X 125 (PX) - 135-36
2 x Kodak Professional EKTAR 100 - 135-36

Now awaiting the postman!
 
wakarimasen said:
Hello folks
Now a question about film. The Nettar has shutter settings from 1/10 to 1/200. Because of this I guessed that a faster film (ISO 400) would not be a good choice for daylight shooting - am I correct?
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6x6, or rather the focal lengths and permissible CoC that go with it, give you a smaller safe aperture than 35mm before you hit the diffraction limit, up to about f/22 on a normal. But 1/200s is stretching the limits (the more so as it will usually be not fully up to nominal speed on a 50 year old shutter). That would be just about enough for f/22 on a summer noon with ISO 100, with no margin left for ISO 400 or for tropical/mountain/seaside noon (which will need a extra stop or two). In summer, I'd choose ISO 100 for outdoor work with that shutter, and less, or a grey filter, in extremely bright conditions.

Sevo
 
I agree with the others and also agree with your own suggestion of staying with the 100-125 speed films. That should give you plenty of flexibility in different shooting conditions.
 
MF folders

MF folders

Agfa Isolette III
Nearly as small as Perkeo (fits in my dress shirt pocket.
Easy to clean and set RF
but takes lots of patience and care.
See images at
http://www.pbase.com/oldasigneous/agfa_isolette_iii


If you arent absolutely sold on RF, there is an Isolette II for sale for $37 on ebay. It has the top of the line lens. I am thinking about buying it myself to put the lens on my III.
 
Of all the films recommended here I am going to have to disagree with the Ilford Delta Pro films and the Kodak T-Max films. People who don't have a lot of darkroom experience probably shouldn't start off with tabular grained films. They are pretty finicky to develop. Cubic-grained films are a lot more foolproof and are better for beginners. Let's instill some confidence before we bring his world crashing down on him.
 
FallisPhoto said:
Of all the films recommended here I am going to have to disagree with the Ilford Delta Pro films and the Kodak T-Max films. People who don't have a lot of darkroom experience probably shouldn't start off with tabular grained films. They are pretty finicky to develop. Cubic-grained films are a lot more foolproof and are better for beginners. Let's instill some confidence before we bring his world crashing down on him.
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I've decided to 'play' with these films first and have each one developed. That way it's a fair comparison of each one which won't be influenced by newbie processing errors. It also allows me to check the camera a little bit too.

After 'testing' is complete I think I'll turn the the next task of developing.......
 
I disagree with the assessment of Delta and Tmax films being finicky... just follow the instructions and they come out perfectly fine.

I mostly shoot BW400CN and XP-2 Super in my folders, just use f16 outdoors and let the shutter max out... perfect prints!

If you have to use a traditional emulsion, Tri-X rated at 250 is very lovely and old looking.
 
chippy said:
well i agree that the FP4 is a good place to start (nothing wrong with it long term either) and i also said it is very forgiving. but Charles do you really think it as bad as 'someone's world would crash around them' if they used Delta or TM film? surely its not that hard, even for a beginner, pretty much mix the ingredients, right temp and right time as per the instructions and Bobs your uncle eh ;)
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As a lab assistant, in college, I saw a LOT of beginners having trouble with both films. With the Ilford Delta Pro, they'd use a wash that was just a few degrees too cold and the film would reticulate so badly that it looked like a shed snakeskin. Then too, I figure this guy will be using Microdal, D-76, or one of the other more foolproof and commonly available "beginner's" developers with it, and he isn't going to get much contrast from Delta Pro using those unless he push processes it.

T-max ... well, it is sensitive to EVERYTHING. Temperature, any developer but T-Max developer, dillution, agitation, ... your mood. Just look at it cross-eyed and you get grain from hell, let alone rapping it too hard to get rid of bubbles. Yeah, you can get some kind of photo out of it, but a beginner's photos will almost certainly be grainy and T-Max is supposed to be almost grainless (that's what tabular grained films are for). Took me years to master that one, to the point that I know what to do to control the development of grain so it comes out just how I want it -- and that's what I use it for.

For example, this is T-Max with a little grain (nudity): http://fallisphoto.deviantart.com/art/Nude-Portrait-3113845 (what appears to be grain is actually the texture of the paper, picked up by my Agfa Snapscan flatbed scanner).

This is T-Max with a lot of grain (nudity): http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=75138

This is T-Max pushed and agitated to achieve a very controlled grain (no nudity here): http://fallisphoto.deviantart.com/art/Smith-Mountain-Lake-3219175
 
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