Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16

Searching on the internet, i was surprised to see how few resources you can find about the Zeiss Ikon 518/16 which has been such a popular model during the '50s.
After working for almost half a year with my Zeiss, i thought that maybe it would be a good idea to write my own personal review about this great performer.

I got this one as part of an exchange deal in a price that i feel ashamed to write. The guy sold me a Agfa Box camera which didn't work properly and since it was still in warranty i decided to give a couple of pounds extra and go for it. And i am glad i did.
The camera seems to be in a very good condition. Size wise it is in the same league with the Zenit 12XP when unfolded but fold it up and you can put it in your coat's pocket. And that's not all. I am not exactly sure about the difference in weight, but it does feel much less heavy that the mighty Zenit. And remember, this is a 6X6 medium format camera.

The lens on the camera is a 75mm - f/4.5 Nettar coated. It is not of course in the same league with its Tessar siblings but it doesn't have a £200 price tag either. And i am not sure it is a £200 worst lens. Later on i provide some pics taken with it. Stay tuned.
So, as you probably know, a 75mm lens in 6X6 format is equivalent to a 50mm lens in 35mm photography. What you might not know, is that as a 75mm, it has the DOF characteristics of a 75mm lens and not of a 50mm. To explain myself a bit, setting it to f/4.5 the depth of field for a subject on 5 meters is only 1.83 m as opposed to almost 3 meters in 35mm photography. This means that when working with aperture wide open, precise focusing is required. And this is bad news because the Nettar 518/16 doesn't have a rangefinder. You can override this annoyance with any external rangefinder that you can add to the cameras' hot shoe, as i did. Or you can guesstimate the distance if you are good at it. The markings on the lens are on feet, so...good luck.The extra focal length combined with the bigger image format give a very special characteristic to the out-of-focus elements of the picture. Here are a couple of pictures to show you what i mean (Pic1 Pic2 Pic3). I think the bokeh is beautiful. The nettar is a really sharp lens, maybe as sharp as the takumar 50 f/1.4 in the centre although you can notice a fall in details at the corners and when used wide open, it vignettes. That shouldn't put you off thought, it has it's own quality and the medium format provides lots of detail anyway. And i am talking about the corners of the picture, which can really go unnoticed. Here are some pics to show you what i mean. (Pic1 Pic2) Unfortunately i do not have a high resolution scan from Zeiss, hopefully i will be able to provide you with better ones.

A 400 ASA film is best advised when using the Nettar 518/16. And that is because the speed range is rather limited by today's standards. Speeds range from 1/10 to 1/200 plus B.You should always remember that the lens is a 75mm, so shooting at 1/50 involves a risk of shaking the camera. This leaves you with two speeds that you can work safely with, 1/100 and 1/200. These will be sufficient for most occasions but i cant help thinking that a 1/400 would have been a bless under some (sunny) circumstances. The reason is that, at f/22 the image quality is less than perfect.
The aperture range goes from f/4.5 to f/22. Good news: You can select any aperture as the aperture ring is completely stepless.

The Nettar 518/16 has a double exposure prevention mechanism which is very handy. A red flag appears in the finder and you cannot press the shutter button without winding the film. You'll love that, believe me. I have bitter experience from my box camera where double exposures are more than often.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for an inexpensive entry to medium format photography, this is the way to go. Image quality is really really good between f/5.6 - f/11, it is build like a tank with very few things that can break and you can always have it with you due to it's small size. My only complain is the limited speed range and the lack of a rangefinder, so it might be a good idea to buy and external one.
All in all, a very nice camera and if you find it for anything less than £50 buy it and you won't regret.