Episode 78: Super Ikontas, Pearls, and No Anthony!

One of the benefits to having four hosts is that if something comes up and someone can't be on a recording, the show can go on.  For Episode 78, we were short Anthony, so what did the guys decide to talk about while he wasn't there?  One of Anthony's favorite cameras of course!  The Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikonta 532/16 is a medium format folding camera that shoots 6cm x 6cm images and is one of the very few medium format folding cameras with both a rangefinder and fast f/2.8 lens.

In addition to it being one of Anthony's favorite cameras, it is also a favorite of professional photographer Johnny Martyr who, along with a stable of vintage Leicas, shoots his Super Ikonta professionally, offering medium format prints to his clientele.  On this episode, Johnny shares with us his motivation on why he incorporated medium format into his business and why he chose this specific camera.

Episode 78 was light on guests as Paul, Theo, and Mike were also joined by returning callers AJ Gentile and Miles Libak, but we made up for it with a nice discussion of GAS!  The conversation eventually moved from 6x6 folders to 4.5x6 folders and Mike gave his recommendation on one of the best Japanese 4.5x6 folding rangefinder cameras, the Konica Pearl IV.  In addition, Mike also recommended an unlikely 6x9 folding camera as a value champion that still punches above its weight with a great lens.

Paul shares some recent cameras he's dug out of his crypt and Theo talks about his recent adventures with a Nikon S2 and Olympus Pen FT and how he accidentally redscaled some film without knowing it.  We briefly discuss the merits of prism based viewfinders and what would happen if you purposely loaded black and white film backwards.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

Episode 79 will be all about medium format SLRs.  If you're interested in Bronica, Mamiya, Kowa, Norita, Praktisix, (but hot Hasselblad) SLRs, this is the episode for you!  We will record on Monday, October 14th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

• Only Three Hosts / AJ Working on His New Blog / Paul is Still Doing Long Trips for Cameras
• Johnny Martyr is Exploring Medium Format / Voigtländer Perkeo Inspired Him
• Welta Weltur / Zeiss Super Ikonta B and Fast f/2.8 Lenses
• Paul’s Loves the Plaubel Makina 6x7
• Viewfinders Made with Prisms vs Beamsplitters / Kodak Medalist has a bright viewfinder
• Mike Randomly Sends Cameras to Johnny / Miles Had an Ensign Selfix 820 Special 
• Super Ikonta 6x4.5 / Strap Lugs / Paper Thickness Can Cause Transport Issues in Some Cameras
• Welta Weltini is Too Complex / Semi Leotax
• Konica Pearl II, III, or IV Are All Great 4.5x6 Cameras
• The Voigtlander Bessa 66 is Nice / Gallus Delux is a French Foth Derby / Voigtländer Perkeo 127
• Kodak Tourist / Voigtländer Bessa III 667 /  Fujifilm GF670 Professional / Balda Super Baldax
• Theo has been shooting the Nikon S2 and the Olympus Pen FT
• Highlight is the Robot II which accidentally used to red scale film
• Does anyone know what happens in putting B&W film backwards?
• Very Easy to Put Film Backwards in a Mamiya RB67
• Mike got a Zeiss-Ikon Hexacon / Pentacon FM
• The Mamiya 6 is Just As Good as the Mamiya 7
• Mike Wants to Shoot Cameras to Just Enjoy Them Now
• Miles is Testing an Uncoated Biogon on a Prewar Contax
• A Brief History of the Contax and Why We've Never Done a Zeiss-Ikon Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Johnny Martyr - https://johnnymartyr.wordpress.com/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/