Dacora Dignette – The Story of a old Colleague’s Camera – By Jordi Fradera

On November 7, 1964 Conxita and Josep got married. You will see that, according to the typical professional studio photo of that time, they made a good couple and, of course, they continue to do so.

At that time I did not know them. It was in 1973 when I started working as an Engineer in the company where Josep had been Head of Workshop for years. We shared the stage for more than 25 years and except for minor work discrepancies, the relationship was good. Sometimes we told each other family anecdotes and this is how I learned about his wife Conxita, his son Albert, his parents and their hometown of Artesa de Segre (Lleida) – a place I had visited on several occasions.

Around 2000 we both retired and lost contact, but shortly thereafter and by chance we ran into each other at the neighborhood doctor’s office. We then remained in touch, and so I recently asked him if he had an old camera for me to shoot to make an article for 35mmc. He offered me nothing less than the DACORA camera that he bought to immortalize his honeymoon. He also passed onto me some photos he had taken with the camera on the honeymoon and after.

The most normal honeymoon trips back then were to Mallorca or Madrid. They chose Madrid, the photos that follow are from that trip.

They did not take too long to increase their family and almost a year later their son Albert arrived, this is the photo of the christening with the little one in the arms of his grandfather.

Scenes photographed with the DACORA camera from then on featured Albert as the protagonist – including some color photos

And… brave – DACORA

Of course this is just a sample of the photos that Josep took, enough to illustrate the article.

Today, Albert is an adult, but the story of the camera continues. With the DACORA camera in my hands, I decided to try it with a KODAK ColorPlus 200 Film. Unfortunately, all the photos were out of focus. Examining the DACORA I discovered that the focus ring had slipped from its correct position. The ring fell to the ground while I was trying to adjust it.

After painstaking removal and adjustment, I repeated the session in the Can Mercader Park – Cornellá (Barcelona) with great hopes. Thankfully, the result was satisfactory, focused photos and correct lighting (thanks to my Sony A58 camera that I used as a light meter).

Surprisingly, this simple camera despite its age (1964) takes excellent photos: good resolution, adequate color, and no dark or out-of-focus corners. All in all a wonderful surprise.

I thank Josep for his trust in giving me the camera and especially his family photos. For my part and as always I assure you that I have enjoyed this work and especially telling this story. Conxita and Josep: keep being happy!

I also want to thank FotoJoma for their collaboration in developing, scanning and sending the film by Wetransfer, a very effective job.

I hope you liked the article