This is my first roll through the Zeiss Ikon Signal Nettar 518/16 and I’m impressed! Until I bought this camera, I didn’t think folding cameras were anything special, but I was wrong. The Signal Nettar features a sharp lens, is easy to use, and was a lot of fun to shoot.

The Signal Nettar is a medium format camera that takes 6×6 photos on 120 film. It was originally sold in a variety of lens and shutter combinations. The 75mm f/4.5 Novar-Anastigmat lens on mine is sharper than I expected. Not bad for a 3-element design manufactured for Zeiss Ikon by Rodenstock! My Signal Nettar also came with a Velio shutter and has speeds up to 1/200th of a second. Like any old folding camera, the slow shutter speeds need a CLA, but the faster speeds are still pretty accurate. My one disappointment with the Velio shutter is that it doesn’t have a self-timer.

The name Signal Nettar comes from the fact that this camera features automatic double-exposure prevention. There’s a circular indicator on the top plate that turns grey after you snap a photo. Until you wind the film to the next frame, you can’t fire the shutter. Once you have advanced the film, the double-exposure prevention mechanism is reset and the indicator turns red to signal that a fresh frame is ready to be exposed. Then you just cock the shutter and shoot.

Other than the sharp lens, which I love, I really like the built-in viewfinder. It is easy to look through without having to squint — like on my Balda Baldix, and that made it a breeze to frame my photos and snap away. It’s almost like using a point & shoot.

These photos were taken at Harvie Passage using Kodak Ektar 100, a great choice for a bright sunny day. I fell in love with this camera after seeing these photos and decided to take it with me on a recent trip to New Zealand to visit my wife’s family. I haven’t yet developed those photos, but I can’t wait to see what the Zeiss Ikon Signal Nettar 518/16 managed to capture.