Zeiss Ikon Nettar #camera #vintagecamera #filmphotography #zeisslens #photography

This is the Zeiss Ikon Nettar 517/16. It’s a 6x6 medium format folder from the early 1950s. Zeiss made a lot of fantastic folders in this era, most notably the higher end Ikonta line of cameras. The Nettar line was more budget friendly and featured simpler, slower lenses. This model has a very basic 75mm f/6.3 Novar Anastigmat triplet design lens and Vario shutter, but you’ll find a range of shutter and lens combos on this same chassis. This is not a super sharp Zeiss lens, you use this camera because you want a vintage look. Shooting with this camera is a completely manual experience. You select your desired aperture and shutter speed, cock the shutter, then press the shutter release. There’s no frame counter, so you have to rely on the little red window on the back of the camera to keep track of your remaining exposures. It’s very easy to forget to advance and double expose, so I recommend always advancing to the next frame immediately after taking a photo. The viewfinder is small, but large enough to be useful. There’s no rangefinder, so all focusing is done by estimating distance. Though keep in mind, with this slow of a lens, you’ll often be shooting at such a small aperture that your focus will be fine as long as you’re in the ballpark. If you pick up one of these cameras, be sure to check the bellows for light leaks, it’s one of the major failure points on old folding cameras. Overall I am a big fan of medium format folders. They give you a negative over 4x the size of 35mm in a form factor that can easily fit in your coat pocket.