Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2

[brmill26]

So this is my latest eBay find - $17 to my door. It's a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 6x9 120 film folding camera. The lens is a Nettar Anstigmat F/6.3 105mm. From the hexagonal shutter plate, it must have been made in 1933 or 1934, as after that all the plates around the shutter were round. It's in fully working condition - the bellows look to be in excellent shape considering its age and they're light tight (dark bathroom flashlight tested). The shutter seems to be dead on at all speeds, the aperture adjusts fine, and the focusing is very smooth.

Negatives: The body is very well worn, particularly around the edges. No functional damage, but it won't win any beauty pageants. For its age and price though, I really don't care about that. The whole camera is a bit dirty - dust, dirt and grime are in most of the little nooks and crannies, with a couple very minor rust spots inside parts of the back. The lens looks mostly clear, but is either a little dirty or has some very light fungus; I can't quite tell. Looking through it is very clear unless held up to a light at an angle, only then can you see a little something that looks almost more like a smear; I haven't tried to wipe it off yet to see.

The shutter speeds are 1/25, 50, 100, B, and T. Apertures from 6.3 to 32. Focusing is by turning the outer lens element, marked in meters. The "brilliant" viewfinder is a little less so now. When it arrived it was so dirty you couldn't see anything through it. I've cleaned it enough to see a little through it, but it's not great. The frame finder pops up via spring; I'll certainly use it for shooting.





On the left is the shutter, which both cocks and fires in a single stroke. On the right is the self timer, which is tight and/or lightly sprung now, as it only runs a few ticks and stops.


Frame finder flipped up


The inside of the film back; apparently BII was the German name for 120.



Overall, it needs a bit of a cleaning, but that aside, I'm pretty happy with it. It's not going to be shot much; just enough for fun and every so often to keep it functional. It will spend most of its time on the mantel. Here are a few shots of the lens. The one from the inside is with a strong light at an angle, a little underexposed, so it looks worse than it really is. But as you can see from all the shots, there's definitely something there. Fortunately, the front element focus stop is just a set screw, so it should be very easy to take that out and get the front element off. From there, I wouldn't have a clue of what to do, so if anyone has any tips, hit me with 'em!

[polarbeardiggers]

for a antique collector its a great find,are you planning to take a few pictures from it,i hope,would be very interesting to see its outcome,nice find for the price,today i too picked up another film camera nikon lite touch 150 ED QD, used with a spare battery for a grand price of $5.00.

[brmill26]

Thanks Polar! Yeah a good portion of it is just as an antique. Even the best of cameras this old just aren't very great to use as a consistent shooter (unless you're willing to make many compromises). But I definitely do plan on shooting it some for sure, that's why I want to make sure the lens is in the best shape possible. Congrats on your purchase, that's quite a price for ANY functioning camera!

[Xia_Ke]

She's a beauty Brad. These old cameras can make for some great consistent shooters. The problem is they are old and mechanical. A good CLA on these oldies but goodies, will make them great shooters once again.

[brmill26]

Thanks Aaron, I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of all the working bits. I think I'm going to just go ahead and run a roll of HP5 through it and see how it turns out. If it's bad, I'll try to break into the lens and see what I can do (if anything other than mess it up), and if it's alright, then I'll just leave it alone.