The Camera Site

Nettar 515

Nettar 515/16

Most visible difference to 515 the 515/16 is the landscape format. It is also bigger because it takes 6 x 6 pictures. Lens is Novar-Anastigmat 1:4,5 F= 75mm and the shutter is more sophisticated Prontor -S , B, 1- 1/300. Finder is electing Galilei type.

"The Nettar is a true self-erecting camera. It may be opened with one hand, and the front will spring automatically into the working position.
The lens is focussed on near objects by turning the front mount until the index mark is against the correct distance on the scale. The special type of pressure plate in the camera hack ensures the film lying always perfectly flat in the focal plane."

This camera belongs to that remarkable part of my collection, which has sprung up by the donations of good friends and relatives.

Zeiss Ikon Ercona

The somewhat rare Ercona , which dates from about the mid 1950s, was produced in the Zeiss factory in the former East Germany by VEB Pentacon, Dresden. Ercona takes optionally 6 x 6 or 6 x 9 negatives on 120 film. Similar clone is also russian Moskva I. They both are almost identical to the Stuttgart-made Ikonta 523/2 cameras. Shutter is Prontor -S, 1 - 1/250. There are some Erconas with Tempor shutter.

The lens is an f/4.5 110mm Novonar, which is a Novar by another name. A trademark dispute obliged Pentacon to change the name to Novonar. The synchronized shutter is speeded from 1sec to 1/250th.

Double exposures on one section of the film are impossible, since the
shutter can only be released when the film has been wound on to the
next picture. A signal disc shows when the film has been wound on, and when the shutter will not work.
The red window in the camera hack is provided with a sliding cover, so that any type of panchromatic film may be used without fear of it being fogged.