ICA /Tessar/Sony Colours

Love it.

Taken with 100 years old German view camera and NEX-F3 digital back :)

Thanks,
vkphoto

Picture of the day (2012-08-10)

NEX-F3 + Tessar 135mm 1:6.3 (circa 1910), hack details are here.

Thanks,
vk

Flowers with ICA Toska 215

Some of you might know that I am learning and testing my cameras and lenses mostly in the garden. No graphs or charts, just plain flowers. Lately I realized that 100 years old ICA A-G produces some interesting results with NEX-F3 assistance. The lens is Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 1:6.3  F=13.5 cm. It is sharp and contrasty wide opened, excellent performance for the lens that was designed and built when colour photography even didn’t exist. With APS-C size sensor this lens becomes about 200 mm long but thanks to camera bellows the rig is almost perfect for close up photography. You can see my hack here.

* 2012-07-03 update: more pictures added

A Stormy Lake Project (with ICA A-G 1912)

This project was about capturing "life by the lake" with a 100 years old camera and NEX-F3 "digital back" attached. I was concerned if my skills would be adequate to capture the spirit of the cottage life with  this strange camera setup.

All images were shot on the tripod with an old folding camera and Sony NEX-F3 attached. You can see my gear setup here. Sometimes colours were off (easy fix) and I missed more than 50% of fast moving objects, but I had a lot of fun!

ICA A-G (Toska 215) history

In 1909, the four German camera makers Hüttig AG, Kamerawerk Dr. Krügener, M Wünsche AG and Carl Zeiss Palmos AG joined forces to become the Internationale Camera Actiengesellschaft (ICA AG)  in Dresden. Later in 1926 the company joined Zeiss Ikon. 

ICA A-G Toska 215 (full name) was manufactured sometime between 1911 and 1921 and cost around $25.   That’s all I know.

 

ICA Tessar 135/6.3: image quality

I am testing my new rig (NEX-F3 with a 100 years old ICA camera) and like results a lot.

Tiny old Tessar 135/6.3 performs very well, delivering excellent sharpness and vivid colours.

100 Years Apart

Finally, with the help of my friend Jim, I managed to mount NEX-F3 (2012) on ICA A-G Dresden (circa 1912). I was so excited to test this combo that didn't even dust the camera off :) The lens is Carl Zeiss Tessar 13,5 cm 1:6.3

Still-life with retro camera

In picture, large format ICA A-G Dresden, circa 1912.

 Canon 5D MII : Canon 50 mm @ ISO 50

Thanks,
vkphoto