Early Tessar Lens

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:32 pm Post subject: Early Tessar Lens

A most interesting camera.
Icarette 502
Looks like it will take roll film and maybe cut film sheets 6x9 perhaps.
It has a removable back that suggests this to me.
Anyhoo it is the lens that is of interest - an early Tessar.
How early is my question.
How old was the Tessar design when this lens was produced.
Thanks
OH

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7553 Location: Hong Kong

You might find this page useful.

http://www.oldlens.com/lenshistory.html

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:32 pm Post subject:

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Definitely 1920's model and very nice one too.

This is not an early Tessar, or not that early, as the first ones came out around 1902
My earliest one seems to be from @ 1912 in Compound shutter manufactured under license by Bausch & Lomb.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

It's a nice looking camera. Cool

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7553 Location: Hong Kong

I concur with Luis. The Tessar is invented around 1902 as mentioned in the link I posted.

Camera is made around 1920 http://www.stereoantica.com/marques/i/ica-ag/icarette-502

You can estimate the production year from the serial number of the lens http://forum.mflenses.com/carl-zeiss-jena-lenses-issue-date-by-serial-number-t6865.html

Oldhand · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks everyone for the info.
I must have mis-read the link Calvin. Embarassed

From Attila's list, the lens was made in 1922
OH

kenetik · Joined: 02 Mar 2014 Posts: 524

I guess 20 years isn't super early in a lens design lifecycle, but it's still over 90 years old. That camera looks amazing, was it in that condition when you bought it or did you have it serviced/refurbed?

Oldhand · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:34 am Post subject:

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

Good deal, I doubt the light fitting is as valuable today! Laughing

Oldhand · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:20 am Post subject:

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

A wonderful old Camera, OH. Congrats, please don't let it rust or getting funghi.
For that age, really great shape....and soon it'll turn 100 years old, i a few years,
amazing! Shocked

Check out that site:

http://www.amdmacpherson.com/classiccameras/ica/icarette502/icarette50209.html

Introduction

The Icarette 502 was designed by the Ica company of Dresden, Germany. The company was formed in 1909 through an amalgamation of Huttig, Krugener, Wunsche, and the Carl Zeiss Palmos factory. In 1911, Zulauf also joined the company. Ica remained in business until 1926 when it joined with Goerz, Ernemann and Contessa-Nettel to form Zeiss Ikon. Most of the camera designs of the founding companies were continued under the name of the new company and in the case of the Icarette this was so; the model being available in some form or other until the 1930s. The Icarette was, like many similar cameras from the founding partners, available in a variety of sizes and of lens and shutter specifications and after the merger numerous combinations were listed in the Zeiss Ikon catalogue.

The pre-merger Icarette appears to have been offered in three format sizes: Icarette A (6 X 6 cm); Icarette 501 (6 x 9 cm) and the Icarette 502 (6.5 x 11 cm). Additionally the Icarette A and the 502 were offered as combination cameras with the added facility to be adapted to use film plates

The Icarette 502 described here is one of the more comprehensively specified models manufactured by Ica from the period before the merger in 1926.

Unless otherwise stated, references to right and left in the description, assume the camera is viewed from the front.
General Features

The Icarette 502 is a well made quality camera for the serious amateur designed to use 116 size film (taking eight exposures in 6.5 x 11 cm format) or 6 x 9 cm film plates. The camera body is manufactured from wood and pressed and stamped metal and covered with leather. Metal fittings are finished in black enamel or are nickel plated.

The camera front which carries the lens and shutter, is attached to the body by leather folding bellows, and in use, extends from the body on rails mounted on the folding baseboard. The camera is opened for use by pressing a recessed button on the camera side. This action releases the locking latch which allows the baseboard to fall forward, supported from the body by two quadrant struts, and lock into place. The lens panel can then be moved into place along the rails, by pressing together and pulling on two knobs, mounted on a bracket at the base of the lens panel. The lens panel is returned to its folded position by reversing the procedure. Finally the camera is closed by pushing gently on each side strut which unlocks the baseboard and allows it to fold back to its closed position. The baseboard is fitted with a folding support leg. A leather carrying strap is fitted to the top end of the body and it is embossed with "Icarette 502".

On this particular Icarette 502, the lens is a 120 mm f4.5 Carl Zeiss Tessar incorporated into a dial type Compur shutter with speeds of 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 100, 1/250, B and T. The lens mount has a diameter of 30mm. The shutter controls consist of four separate items: the speed selection dial located at the top of the lens panel, the shutter mode selection dial located on the left of the lens panel, the tensioning lever of the right of the lens panel and the shutter release lever on the left of the panel below the mode selector. The mode selector has three positions marked Z, D, and M. The Z position is for time exposures. Depressing the release lever opens the shutter which remains open until the lever is depressed again. The D position is used for brief time exposures, the shutter remains open only for as long as the release lever is held down. In the M position the shutter operates for the time selected on the speed dial. The shutter has provision for the attachment of a cable release.

Focusing is achieved by moving the lens assembly support platform in and out. This is done by operating a quadrant lever on the right of the baseboard when the camera is held for picture taking. The lever operates over a scale from 7 ft to infinity with click stops at the 10, 13, 20, and 40 ft marks. On the baseboard and opposite the focus control is an adjuster which corrects the position of the lens to focal plane distance when the camera is used with the alternative film media. The adjuster consists of a lever which is positioned at the "P" mark for plates and the "F" mark for film. The lens assembly has a rising front allowing movement of the lens in the vertical plane of about 25 mm.

Two viewfinders are provided. Firstly a reflecting waist-level finder fitted to the top of the lens/shutter assembly. This finder may be turned through 90 degrees and can therefore be used in both portrait and landscape modes. The second finder is an open wire frame hinged to the lens/shutter assembly. In use this is swung out through 180 degrees and used in combination with a rear sighting peephole. As a further aid to proper framing and alignment a spirit level is attached to the reflex viewfinder.

The camera back is completely removable allowing full access to the film chambers. Film advance is by means of a folding key on the camera side and frame counting is observed through a red window, which is fitted with a sliding cover, located in the camera back. The camera back is fitted with a slide which is removed when using the alternative plate holder.

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:26 am Post subject:

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

You're welcome, OH. Such a camera should be preserved, for the coming generations...literally, it really should belong into a museum...
and not to be landed into the dumpster...someday, somehow... or being sold for some 10-20 bucks into a garage sale...it's a time history piece. Is that F/5.6 your group?

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:55 pm Post subject:

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:49 pm Post subject:

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

It sounds fun. I've a good friend of mine, which i've found whereas we've been taking pictures into the same location, he's 2 decades older, but that doesn't matter.

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:53 pm Post subject: