When a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex Ic twin-lens reflex, “6×6” medium-format camera arrived, I was excited to try it out, at last! I guess what had me quivering with anticipation was the gorgeous glass — twin Novar Anastigmat f/3.5 75mm viewing + shooting lenses — and of course, the Zeiss Ikon reputation for great engineering and overall build quality.

The Ikoflex Ic TLR was manufactured between 1956-1960; discontinued the same year my mother was pregnant with me. Turns out that by 1961, Zeiss Ikon had abandoned medium-format cameras, the same year my mother delivered my small-format self into the world. Out of death, came life. One door shut, another opened… You get the point — it was a time of transition — sorry about the tortured metaphors! 🙂

Anyway, the Ikoflex Ic is one of my favorite cameras produced from the late 50’s to early 60’s, which seems to have been a great time for producing cameras (and babies). Here are some photos of the Ikoflex Ic I tested (see film info below), which will have a new owner/home by the time you read this post:

What film to test it with? Well, I generally prefer using expired film for testing vintage cameras, because it’s cheaper to buy (have you seen new film prices recently?) and I enjoy the risk/reward and random results when using film that was intended for exposure long ago. I mean, you don’t want to test an old camera, which may malfunction or not work at all, with fresh, full-priced film, right? Unless you’ve got money to burn…

So, I pulled an old roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan (black-and-white) 120/medium-format ASA 100 film, from a box of them I recently acquired at auction. Each roll of film was still “sealed” in its original box, but the boxes were all dog-eared, water-stained, and smelled of must and mildew. What could go wrong?!

The roll of old 120 film yielded 12 good negatives from this 6×6 square-format camera, six of which I’m pleased to share with you below. The other six were sort of lame, meh, duds, typical of when even a decent photographer is rushing to test an unfamiliar camera. We’ll just skip the duds and just show you the six good exposures:

Camera: Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex Ic TLR (Twin-Lens Reflex) 120/medium-format
Film: Kodak Verichrome Pan 120 (expired in 1998!) B&W/monochrome
Photographer: Russ Murray
Film Processing + Scans: Nice Film Club

TEST VIDEO

More info about the Ikoflex Ic:

• Pacific Rim Camera / Photographica Guide
• Ikoflex Ic Review / Matt’s Classic Cameras
• Matt’s Ikoflex Ic Video Tutorial/Walk-through
• Ikoflex PDF Manuals on Butkus.org

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