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Zeiss Ikon Cocarette - or is it?
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 02, 2023 10:47 am    Post subject: Zeiss Ikon Cocarette - or is it? Reply with quote
Here is a very unusual camera. On the face of it, it's one of the range of Cocarette models produced by Zeiss Ikon. But it's not that simple...

It carries the Zeiss Ikon logo embossed on its leathers and bears the Cocarette name too - but now it starts getting complicated; its serial number pre-dates the formation of Zeiss Ikon and it has a most unusual lens: a Dr. Staeble Doppel-Anastigmat Isoplast 130m f5.8. Now, I have seen 13.0cm and 130mm but this is the only time I have seen 130m on a lens' bezel. And this is not a lens used by Zeiss Ikon. The shutter is an IBSO model - this is strange too as there are Ibsor shutters but IBSO ones were made for a very short period - again pre-dating Zeiss Ikon. And there's a further surprise - its film gate measures 55x110mm; what film size is that? It would appear to shoot images of approximately 50x95 in size...weird.

It's a large, highly sophisticated camera featuring front plate movements, multiple viewfinders, a spirit level and a spring-loaded bellows assembly which can be jumped to preset distances. All in all, it is one of the finest folding roll-film cameras I've seen, albeit with major limitations on the shutter speeds due to its ancient IBSO unit. But exactly which model it is remains a mystery, wrapped inside an enigma and hidden within a conundrum.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2023 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's a nice piece of equipment! The combos body + shutter + lens in the universe of folders were quite various and sometimes arbitrary. You may easily find some "undocumented" combos in today's second hand market, i.e. those which were not publicized or present in catalogues of the era. Some were made on demand in the factory, there was such a commercial option in Zeiss and some other producers. Some others were just an assembly of spare parts present in stock, sometimes belonging to quite distant dates of production. Add to it an easy part replacement which was the source of even more unusual combos made by amateurs in different periods. All this gives you quite an impressive variety to which your copy belongs.


PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2023 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
alex ph wrote:
That's a nice piece of equipment! The combos body + shutter + lens in the universe of folders were quite various and sometimes arbitrary. You may easily find some "undocumented" combos in today's second hand market, i.e. those which were not publicized or present in catalogues of the era. Some were made on demand in the factory, there was such a commercial option in Zeiss and some other producers. Some others were just an assembly of spare parts present in stock, sometimes belonging to quite distant dates of production. Add to it an easy part replacement which was the source of even more unusual combos made by amateurs in different periods. All this gives you quite an impressive variety to which your copy belongs.


I suspect you're spot on - an exceptional assembly of elements that was never part of a catalogue; whether it was ZI using up its old inventory, a customer specified model or perhaps an original Cocarette which had to be repaired by ZI leading to an unconventional assemblage, we'll never know. But it's resulted in a delightful camera although its film format remains a complete mystery.

I was really curious about that metal cylinder sitting atop the shutter, only to discover that it is, in essence, an air-brake which is used to provide the shutter speeds, hence the limitations of the shutter. It's quite interesting to note the different methods some manufacturers used instead of clockwork (we're only pondering the pre-electronic era here); I have this camera with a pneumatic device and three Purma cameras which use gravity shutters. I wonder what other methods, if any, were used to govern shutter speeds back then...?


PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2023 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ah, you are right: if the combo might be explained by the history of folder production and repairs, the film size of your camera is a bigger puzzle.

I have also a couple of old shutters with the cylinder air pump. As compared to clock-work shutters, they seem to be more reliable and need less of servicing.

The oldest folders and box cameras with meniscus lenses, such as Kodak and Agfa boxes were using a simplier one- or multiple spring shutters, avoiding a coplex clock-work mecanics.
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