Camera Speed Dating – Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikonta B2

Those that know Meghan and I know that we have what appears to be an on going camera acquisition problem. To remedy this but continue to try out ALL of the cameras we have decided to start borrowing cameras from our fellow camera enthusiasts instead of trying to purchase or hoard them all to ourselves. Not all are winners though and some are just easier or more fun to use but you have to shoot with them first to find out! Thus, we decided if we run a roll through every camera we are interested in, not unlike going on a 5 minute date with a bunch of strangers at a singles night, we can quickly see which are worthy of being added to our collection (or put on our list of “must haves.”) Camera speed dating!

Here is the most recent camera I had the pleasure of a quick date with….the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B2.

 

 

This was a very quick date indeed as I was borrowing it off a friend, she had it gifted to her some time back.  At first glance I found the film pressure plate misleading…it reads ‘Zeiss Ikon Film 6x9cm B2 2 1/4 x  3 1/4’ . I was VERY confused as to what size negative this camera actually shot. The camera’s image plane looked to actually be 645 and indeed so did my negatives after I got them back. So no clue why it says that on it’s back door. I also own a B2 and found that its backdoor says the same thing. If anyone knows why they seem to indicate they are the wrong size, please enlighten me! However, I really enjoyed using this particular Zeiss Ikon, unlike some, I found this one very straightforward to use. Despite the lens looking in good condition though the photos I got from it were lower contrast than I would have liked.