Cameras made in Germany (West or East)
What is it? This is an AGFA Billy-Clack No. 74 folding camera built in Germany from 1934 – 1940. It makes eight 6cm x 9cm exposures on a roll of AGFA B2 or 120 roll film. There was also a Billy-Clack No. 51 that took 6cm x 4.5cm exposures. The…
What is it? This is a Kodak Retina IIc rangefinder camera built by Kodak AG, the German subsidiary of the Eastman Kodak company. The IIc was the successor to the Retina IIa and while on the surface is a very similar model, there are many cosmetic and functional improvements that…
What is it? This is a Super Sport Dolly medium format camera made by Certo Camera Werk out of Dresden, Germany. Certo was a maker of medium to high end folding cameras who saw it’s greatest success prior to World War II. They had a long line of medium format…
What is it? This is a Leidolf Lordomat interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder camera made by the Leidolf company out of Wetzlar, Germany around 1953. Wetzlar was home to Leitz who made the famous Leica camera. Leidolf originally started as a subcontractor of Leitz making microscopes and binoculars. Their foray into…
What is it? The AGFA Karat was a series of strut folding compact cameras made from the mid 1930s through the mid 50s. The earlier models used a unique type of Rapid film made by AGFA for this camera. It differed from Kodak’s 135 format 35mm in that the cassettes…
This is a Watson 35mm scale focus folding pocket camera made by Welta-Kamera-Werk based out of Freital, Germany. The Watson was an export variant of the Welta Welti which is a very similar camera. Although the Welti/Watson line of cameras were not high end, they were not low end either.…
What is it? This is an Exakta VX 35mm SLR made in 1954 by Ihagee Kamerawerk based out of Dresden, Germany. The Exakta was in production from 1933 through 1970. The Exakta was notable as being the first ever Single Lens Reflex camera for both 127 roll film (1933), and…
What is it? This is a Wirgin Edinex II from 1951, built in Wiesbaden, West Germany. It is a scale focus 35mm camera with a relatively simple 3 speed + bulb shutter, and a relatively fast f/2.8 50mm lens. The Wirgin camera company has a confusing, but fascinating history that is…
What is it? This is a Kodak Retina IIa rangefinder camera built by Kodak AG, the German subsidiary of the Eastman Kodak company. Kodak released a series of German built Retina cameras starting with the original Retina in 1934, all the way through the non-folding Retina S2 in 1969. Throughout…
What is it? The front plate on this camera says it is an AGFA B2 Commander, which is a folding camera from the 1940s that takes 120 roll film and uses scale focus. Beyond that, I have struggled to find more information about this little camera online. What little I…
