Zeiss Ikon Ercona 1956-1958

My first contact with a folder camera was probably the outing with Fionis and Hollie at the Riders Club. Back then, i knew very little about this camera and we uses it as a prop.

The 2nd contact with this folder camera was during the Rochor photowalk where Eddy was carrying a very nice Zeiss Ikonta that allows him to shoot a 6x9 format on the 120mm film. I was a little surprised to see how small and compact the camera was especially with the ability to do a 6x9 format. It triggered an immediate comparison with the Fuji GW690 which had been imprinted in my mind all these while when i think about a 6x9 format.
Of course i do not know about the quality of the prints from these 2 but what i was comparing was the size of the camera.

To be frank, I wasnt really interested in these cameras and with the many different system that i owned, i thought i should stay away from these folders. Especially so when they are mostly half a century old.

It was only last week, when i was having a dilemma on whether i should bring a medium format camera for my coming trip to China. It seems impossible especially with my DSLR and RF in the list. Although im not bringing alot of lenses on this trip, It still seems rather heavy to have one more TLR in the bag. This was when the folder camera came floating in my mind.
Instead of searching for a 6x6, i took the chance to pick a 6x9 format and i came across this listing on a Zeiss Ikon Ercona..which allows both a 6x6 and a 6x9 format.
The price was low for its condition and i just bought it straight away. Here's a little write up of this camera from the camerasite.net
"The somewhat rare Ercona , which dates from about the late 1950s, was produced in the Zeiss factory in the former East Germany by VEB Pentacon, Dresden. Ercona takes optionally 6 x 6 or 6 x 9 negatives on 120 film. Similar clone is also russian Moskva I. They both are almost identical to the Stuttgart-made Ikonta 523/2 cameras. Shutter is Prontor -S, 1 - 1/250. There are some Erconas with Tempor shutter."

More write up on the camera below
http://www.thecamerasite.net/03_Folder_Cameras/Pages/zeisercona.htm http://www.certo6.com/cameras/zeiss-ercona

 I opted for an EMS delivery and i received it within 5 days from Bulgaria. It came as a complete set with case and manual(Sadly its in German)
For a 50 years old camera, the condition was very minty.





 Just nice to test out the camera tomorrow and practise on zone focusing before my trip.