This is a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 6x9 medium format camera. I'm going to take you through all the different functions in this camera so you can start shooting wonderful, super large-size negatives in medium format.
To open up this camera, push the button at the top and make sure your hand is across the front so that the bellows don't just pop open. These cameras can be up to 70 or 80 years old, therefore make sure that you are treating it gently. That way you'll get to use it for a long time as well.
Almost all the controls can be found at the front of the camera. The shutter speed control, as well as the aperture priority control as well. You will also have to manually calculate the distance between you and your subject before taking a shot.
To set the distance between you and the subject, you have to rotate the dial at the front of the camera until you find the desired distance between you and your subject. This is measured in feet, so make sure that if you're shooting somebody, a person or your pet, for example, carefully measure the distance between you and them, otherwise it will be defocused and it's not going to be helpful for you. If you're shooting landscapes, stick it straight onto infinity mode and you will be good to go.
There is a separate dial for setting the shutter speed. It ranges between 1/125th a second, all the way through 1/200th a second, which covers most grounds if you're shooting on film.
To change the aperture, you have this little triangular thing here that you have to pull across. This goes from f/6.3 all the way to f/32. So if you really want to close the aperture down in, you know, very bright, sunny conditions, then you can do so.
To get the camera ready for the next shot, once you have all the dials set in, pull on the silver latch found on the lens until depressed. You have two options to release the shutter. One, which is the wonderful leaf mechanism found underneath the lens. This allows you to shoot handheld in low light conditions without. Alternatively you can press the button found at the top on the left hand side.
I recommend whether shooting in low light conditions indoors or outdoors, that you use a cable release. First, mount the camera on a tripod put in the shutter release cable and then shoot at your heart's content.
The way you close the camera is by holding the two sides down to press them gently and then pull slightly on those silver levers there and then gently put the camera back together until it shuts.
At the top of the camera, you have a cold shoe, so you can't really use flash unless, of course, unless using a specific remote trigger. Also at the top, you have got the dial to advance the film.
At the back of the camera, you've got the red window gate, which you can open up to let you know what frame you are on.
To open up the full-on back, all you have to do is just pull on this bit here very gently and then it will slightly open and can just pull that apart like so. And there you have it. Make sure that you've got a spare spool for you to kind of load your film onto and your actual film will go in here, on the right hand side of the camera.
To load the film, you will have to pull down on the silver tab found at the base of the camera. Once firmly in place, drag your film across and make sure that it sits into the splice and the spool on the other side. Then all you have to do is rotate clockwise at the top here.
It can be a little tricky to make the film tongue catch so you may need to advance the film by hand until you see the film wrap around the spool completely before closing the back and rotating to the first frame.
I always like to line up the arrows with the viewfinder in the middle before closing the back. Once the back is closed advance the film slowly until you get to frame number one. You can check this on the red window at the back. You're going to go through some sundials until you get to the first one. Just be careful when you are winding on this film because it is very easy to skip frame number one.
Once you're framed up, some people like to close the shutter gate at the back of the window gate. This isn’t necessary on Medium Format film, however, if you have loaded 35mm film on this camera you absolutely must cover the red window. Otherwise you have a red haze appear on your final negatives!
Once you have shot your final 8th frame carefully rotate your dial until you hear the film come off. Just be extra careful, do some extra spins at the top, and then you're good to release it. Once confident it has offloaded, open the back and release the film carefully by pulling down on the silver tab in the bottom left hand corner.
The Zeiss Ikon Nettar 6x9 medium format camera is a wonderfully designed camera. If you want the largest negative size that you can get on medium format, 6x9 is the way to go. It is an incredibly cost-effective way of doing super large medium format photography. You will get this camera for about £20 to £30 online.
Traditionally, they have been well kept, so make sure that you get one with bellows, which are really clean and you've got a clear lens, and you'll be good to go for a long time. Crucially, this camera is the most budget-friendly in comparison to the most popular one, which is the Fuji GSW range, which will cost you upwards of seven, £800, or £900 . If you want to get started on medium format and you want to get super large negatives, then this could be a really cost-effective way to do so.
If you are a hobbyist photographer, this camera is a perfect introduction to large negatives. My suggestion would be to shoot landscapes and urbanscapes with it. Put it on infinity mode, and you're good to go. Although you can shoot portraits with it, you're going to have to be very, very careful. Make sure that you measure the distances between you and your subject carefully. By default, 6x9 cameras have traditionally been used for fashion photography and portrait work. Why not use it for that too?
The only condition might be how well the lens has been kept, how well the bellows have been kept, and how good the quality images will be. My suggestion would be to start off by using film stocks such as black and white ones. Ilford to do some fantastic black and white film in particular, although you might want to try other colour negative films too. Slide film might be a little bit more tricky to shoot on this, but with practice, it is certainly possible too.
I hope you found this blog/video helpful in getting started with the Zeiss Ikon Nettar 6x9 camera. It's a wonderful piece of kit, which very few people know about. You can certainly start shooting much larger medium format negatives in a very short period of time! Good luck!