Velorum
Member
Thought that this may be of some interest!
My Zeiss Ikon Tengor 54/2 box camera is in amazing condition for its age. I am guessing that it spent many decades lurking in the back of someones wardrobe. Who knows how many people have owned it - could be one, could be many, I will never know. I bought it from an Austrian camera dealer and it came with no history. These cameras did not have serial numbers so its not possible to date it to a specific year of manufacture. What I do know is this is the 'intermediate' model that was made just after the very first Tengor and before the first one to have aperture and supplementary lens settings on the front plate. This model was made between 1928 and 1934 so mine is at least 81 years old!
Everything works and the optics are clear - testament to the overengineered design and build quality. I doubt that its ever been serviced - which considering the simplicity of design especially the shutter (very few parts) is not really an issue.
All metal construction with a Goerz Frontar F11 100mm multi element lens and rotary shutter. Fixed shutter speed of (approximately) 1/30s, aperture settings of F11, F18, F25 and supplementary sliding lenses giving zone focusing at 1m and 4m. The shutter can be set on bulb mode for long exposures with a cable release and tripod (there are two mounts) but I have achieved good results handheld bracing the camera against my abdomen and controlling my breathing. Its akin to a medative exercise. Its a lovely compact thing that feels good to use. The biggest drawback are the viewing windows which are small and quite dark. They can be tricky to see in bright sunlight. However, with a little concentration they are OK when you get used to them. Its certainly not as easy to use as my much more modern Tengor 56/2 but it remains a very useable camera.
My Zeiss Ikon Tengor 54/2 box camera is in amazing condition for its age. I am guessing that it spent many decades lurking in the back of someones wardrobe. Who knows how many people have owned it - could be one, could be many, I will never know. I bought it from an Austrian camera dealer and it came with no history. These cameras did not have serial numbers so its not possible to date it to a specific year of manufacture. What I do know is this is the 'intermediate' model that was made just after the very first Tengor and before the first one to have aperture and supplementary lens settings on the front plate. This model was made between 1928 and 1934 so mine is at least 81 years old!
Everything works and the optics are clear - testament to the overengineered design and build quality. I doubt that its ever been serviced - which considering the simplicity of design especially the shutter (very few parts) is not really an issue.
All metal construction with a Goerz Frontar F11 100mm multi element lens and rotary shutter. Fixed shutter speed of (approximately) 1/30s, aperture settings of F11, F18, F25 and supplementary sliding lenses giving zone focusing at 1m and 4m. The shutter can be set on bulb mode for long exposures with a cable release and tripod (there are two mounts) but I have achieved good results handheld bracing the camera against my abdomen and controlling my breathing. Its akin to a medative exercise. Its a lovely compact thing that feels good to use. The biggest drawback are the viewing windows which are small and quite dark. They can be tricky to see in bright sunlight. However, with a little concentration they are OK when you get used to them. Its certainly not as easy to use as my much more modern Tengor 56/2 but it remains a very useable camera.
