Zeiss Ikon Nettax

The Zeiss Ikon Nettax, produced in 1936 was a very high-end device. It was a very expensive camera, making it a very desirable collectible today.

It is beautifully built out of light chromed metal and sheathed in very soft black Saffiano veal leather. The objectives are interchangeable using an odd mount with a lobe at about 11 o’clock containing the rangefinder window.

For many Zeiss Ikon fans, the Nettax is a mystery as it does not seem to fit in any of the company product lines of the times. Or rather it seems to be the improbable mix of various camera elements like the foldable Super Nettel body, the Contax shutter and the rotating wedge rangefinder from the Super Ikonta, all made it into a single camera.

Commercially the Nettax was not a success also because all of the above mentioned cameras were being sold concurrently by Zeiss Ikon at the time. It was discontinued in 1938 but remains a very interesting collectible today.