Zeiss Ikon Contina II: A Stellar Folding Camera - Camera Talk

[@CameraTalkVideos]

I forgot to add it to the video, but my rating for the folding Zeiss Ikon Contina II is 9.1/10. This is a well made camera. The Novar triplet is a decent lens, but there is a visible increase in quality with the Tessar-equipped version.

[@CameraTalkVideos]

One of the things that impressed me was the high quality of construction of this small folding camera. I soon learned that this was representative of the Zeiss Ikon brand. The cameras featured in this video are about 70 years old (in 2024). With a minimum amount of care, they should be able to continue taking photos for decades to come.

[@mrstandfast2212]

There is also a third lens variant. The Schneider Kreuznach Xenar, which is comparable to the Tessar. For a while after the 2nd world war, Zeiss couldn't produce sufficient Tessar lenses., and therefore they used S K lenses on these and also on the Super Ikonta 531 medium format camera. These are lovely little cameras, but fiddly if you have larger hands. I found it best to use the red dot snapshot settings on the aperture and focal distance, preferably on a bright day. It's quite a quick camera in these circumstances.

[@CameraTalkVideos]

I've never seen this variant with the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar, but I'll keep my eye out for it. I know the Xenar showed up other Zeiss Ikon cameras. The Xenar is a terrific Tessar-type. I had a Rolleiflex Automat with a Xenar for many years.