Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex IIa: It's Almost as Good as a Rolleiflex - Camera Talk 

This Ikoflex model just feels right in your hands. I just wish that the camera's designer hadn't put the shutter release on the top of the camera.

Zeiss-Ikon IS Karl Zeiss, it was the camera-division of the company. The legendary Contax 35mm range-finders where also manufactured by Zeiss-Ikon, and the price for a Contax II with the 5cm Sonnar f=1.5 was USD 300 in 1935. In todays money, that's USD 6,717!! The Zeiss-Ikon medium format range-finder folding cameras are "absolute Spitzenklasse", and unlike a TLR they'll fit in a coat pocket. Here in Europe, you can still get lucky at flea-markets and in charity stores and pick one up for 15-30 bucks..

Ziess Ikons are really the underdogs! Love them, they seem to be very unique and have a quirky trick up thier sleeve 😅. They didnt cheap out even with accessories. Great video 🎉

As usual - a very good camera presentation on the this channel. Also, Zeiss Ikon went with a couple of well thought out designs with regards to the polarizer and Ikoprox attachments, especially the latter. I noticed that the Ikoflex does not use bayonet mounts for its lens attachments.

Except the Coffee Can, all Ikoflex cameras had either a condenser lens, or Fresnel bright screen. Your camera like all postcwar models have a Fresnel under a ground glass. Oh, comparing it to an Ikoflex to an Automat MX is very unfair, as it cost less, and was comparable to the Rolleicord.

I've recently acquired the Ikoflex IIA type 2 shown in this video (it was my dad's from the late 50's), and was looking forward to using it, but the shutter button internal plunger locked or jammed down the first time it was pressed (with film in place), and now will not spring back up. The outer portion of the shutter button just moves freely up or down - it has no resistance. I'm already planning to remove the side plate on the right to see what might be jammed, but wonder if anyone else has an idea about what might be happening inside. I had already sent it off for a CLA, so all the winding, focus, shutter speed and aperture adjustment knobs were working fine until the first roll of film was installed. Except that I could never get the shutter to fire until the film was added. I have the original instruction booklet for this model, but it has no troubleshooting topics included.