Zeiss Ikon Volta with Rol-Bak Film Back Rare c. 1920s

Rare Zeiss Ikon Volta 135/7 with a Rol-Bak Film Back

The Volta is a folding bed (folding plate) camera for 9 x 12 cm film plates or sheet film. The focus is by the single extension bellows by sliding the front on the rail.The shutter is a Derval Shutter with speeds 1/15, 1/50, and 1/100 sec. plus T and B mode, the lens is a Novar Anastigmat 1:6.3 f = 13.5 cm lens. It was originally introduced in 1920 and production continued by Zeiss Ikon until 1929.

This very rare, very vintage, very collectible camera has an even rarer Rol-Bak (film back) that reads: “Rol-Bak Wilmar Electronics Inc. NY, NY USA” with a little sticker that states: “Burke and James Solar Enlargers – Cameras – Photo Supplies Since 1897 Chicago USA” . This used Zeiss Ikon Volta Camera and Rol-Bak Film-Back are both in very good vintage condition and sold as is. All knobs, levers, dials, buttons move freely and shutter clicks, no further testing was performed. Purchase Here

What is a Camera Obscura?

The camera obscura (Latin; camera = vaulted chamber | obscura = dark, thus darkened chamber or room) is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced, upside-down, but with color and perspective preserved. The image can be projected onto paper, and can then be traced to produce a highly accurate representation. Using mirrors, as in the 18th century overhead version (illustrated in the History section below), it is possible to project a right-side-up image. Another more portable type is a box with an angled mirror projecting onto tracing paper placed on the glass top, the image being upright as viewed from the back. As a pinhole is made smaller, the image gets sharper, but the projected image becomes dimmer. With too small a pinhole the sharpness again becomes worse due to diffraction. Some practical camera obscuras use a lens rather than a pinhole because it allows a larger aperture, giving a usable brightness while maintaining focus.