# Zeiss Ikon box-tengor



## bighatphotography (Sep 20, 2015)

I was at the thrifty shopper yesterday and saw what I thought was just a cool box camera. Then... I did some googling and found its more then just one of the millions of box cameras out there. It looks like this: Vintage Camera ZEISS IKON BOX TENGOR 56/2 (1948-56) W/ original case and its in similiar shape. It has some paint missing in a few places, and there is dust in the viewfinder. 

How much is it worth? Should I put it in a shelve as a decoration(what I bought it for to be honest) Or should I try to make some profit off it, keep in mind I spent $4 in total at goodwill.


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## unpopular (Sep 20, 2015)

I cannot give you a really accurate price. But here are some things that you should keep in mind:

1) While the box says "Zeiss" on it, the lens is an f9(!) Goerz Achromat. I'm going to spend a lot on a box camera that says "Zeiss" on it, I'd rather it have a genuine Zeiss lens.
2) The fact that it has a Goerz lens makes me worry that it's not really Zeiss. I don't know when Zeiss started licensing their name out to anyone willing to pay for it, but that does seem odd to me being that Zeiss is an optics company.
3) What kind of film does this take? Cameras that take 620 spools are worth less than 120, since the film is harder to come by. Maybe this is less an issue now that medium format film isn't readily available and usually is mail ordered anyway.
4) It's a box camera. I think a lot of people think they can get a lot for it because it says "zeiss", and as far as boxes go, this looks FAR better than most - but bottom line is, it's a box camera. They're positively horrible to use, and, as above, camera collectors tend to like using their gear. I don't think i'd spend more than maybe $45 on a box, but that might be just me. Still, box cameras aren't particularly valuable as a general rule.


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 20, 2015)

There may be collectors interested but I'm not sure how much it would be worth. You could at least get your $4 back + some, but I did a quick search on ebay on sold Zeiss box Tengors and seems like they went anywhere from $15-25 for some models up to $45-50 for others, depending on condition.

Would be nice to display and/or use, I have some that I do both. Or try the Pittsburgh Camera Exchange (on ebay they're onlinephotostuff).


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## Derrel (Sep 20, 2015)

LOOKS LIKE a very nice sample, reasonably well cared for, but not "great". The wear/thread issues on the carrying case seem to indicate that it was probably carried and used a fair bit back in its day. I do not think there is a huge collector's market for this camera, but it *is* a nice example of a late-era, higher grade box camera; it has three f/stops to choose from, and a three-position lens focusing system, which elevates it from the bottom end of boxies. I'd plop it onto my camera shelf as  a handsome camera to have and admire, but it could also go on e-Bay if you'd like.


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## bighatphotography (Sep 21, 2015)

unpopular said:


> I cannot give you a really accurate price. But here are some things that you should keep in mind:
> 
> 1) While the box says "Zeiss" on it, the lens is an f9(!) Goerz Achromat. I'm going to spend a lot on a box camera that says "Zeiss" on it, I'd rather it have a genuine Zeiss lens.
> 2) The fact that it has a Goerz lens makes me worry that it's not really Zeiss. I don't know when Zeiss started licensing their name out to anyone willing to pay for it, but that does seem odd to me being that Zeiss is an optics company.
> ...


I did quite abit of googling and found that it was released after WW2, When Georz, and ICA become one to form zeiss. So thats why it has labels for zeiss, georz, and ICA And its the last box to have the Box-tengor name. Its also one of the more sophisticated box cameras out there. From what I can tell its probably worth alittle more then your average box.



vintagesnaps said:


> There may be collectors interested but I'm not sure how much it would be worth. You could at least get your $4 back + some, but I did a quick search on ebay on sold Zeiss box Tengors and seems like they went anywhere from $15-25 for some models up to $45-50 for others, depending on condition.
> 
> Would be nice to display and/or use, I have some that I do both. Or try the Pittsburgh Camera Exchange (on ebay they're onlinephotostuff).


Yea, Its a fun camera to use. I cleaned it up and sent a roll through it. Definitely not as much control as the SLRs I am used to but still a fun challenging camera.



Derrel said:


> LOOKS LIKE a very nice sample, reasonably well cared for, but not "great". The wear/thread issues on the carrying case seem to indicate that it was probably carried and used a fair bit back in its day. I do not think there is a huge collector's market for this camera, but it *is* a nice example of a late-era, higher grade box camera; it has three f/stops to choose from, and a three-position lens focusing system, which elevates it from the bottom end of boxies. I'd plop it onto my camera shelf as  a handsome camera to have and admire, but it could also go on e-Bay if you'd like.


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## timor (Sep 21, 2015)

For $89.00 I would rather go with this:
176636 ZEISS IKON IKOFLEX TLR 120 FILM CAMERA TESSAR 75MM F/3.5
For box camera do not expect more than $40 - 50 and only if in perfect condition as a display item. I see tones of this box cameras on photo exchanges, most of them damaged, if not by use then by time, after all they were cheap cameras to begin with, built not to endure. Sellers ask for $10, no one cares.  This Ebay example doesn't generate any interest as well. No single bid, 4 hours left...


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