Near Mint! 1938 Zeiss Ikon Ikonta, CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use! This is a beautiful, freshly serviced Zeiss Ikon 6x4.5 Ikonta. Generally medium format cameras are large, heavy and expensive but the larger format rewards you with a leap in picture quality. While others might debate the pros and cons of many fine cameras, the choice for me is simple. I like simple things. I want a camera that doesn’t fight me for artistic control. I don’t need an automated camera that second guesses my intentions and then gets it wrong. I also believe that the best camera is the one I have with me. There’s no point in owning the latest Hasselblad if it’s at home... So, if I could only have one classic camera small enough to always have with me. Then this would probably be it. Smaller than many 35mm cameras, it fits easily into a jacket pocket, yet it folds out to take 16 beautiful 6x4.5 exposures on a 120 roll film. Each exposure alive with all the details, the rich tonal gradations, the lovely colors, that only medium format can provide. When it comes to photography bigger is better and this camera will produce a negative that’s more than three times larger than the average 35mm snapshot. So whether you’re interested in large prints, fine grain, rich tonal gradations or lovely colors, this camera will do all of that and may just become your favorite photographic companion. This is an exceptionally fine example of the 521 Ikonta which Zeiss-Ikon produced in Germany from 1938 to 1954. Th camera body serial number indicates it was built in 1938. It’s been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. Everything works as it should. The quality Compur shutter works well and all speeds (B & 1sec - 1/300th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the fast ones are clean and snappy. The real leather bellows are supple and light tight. The view finder is clean and clear. The lens is a coated f3.5/7,5cm (75mm) Novar-Anastigmat. It’s an excellent three element design based on the classic Cooke triplet and well known for its lovely rendition and attractive background bokeh. The lens is also in exceptionally fine condition and looks like new. It’s clean and clear and it’s capable of producing very lovely photos with modern color and B&W films. All in all a very enjoyable classic camera. Load it with your favorite film and keep it handy for that perfect shot you’ve been looking for. You know the one... the one with the perfect Ansel Adams light breaking through the dark storm clouds that leaves you wishing that you had a classic camera with you.