Having used a couple of 1950s 6×6 folders (see my earlier posts) and been impressed with the results, I thought I would give a 6×9 folder a try. A bit of research on eBay landed me a Voigtlander Bessa 1 from around 1957. The camera came from a dealer, cost me £60, and is in good cosmetic shape.
Mention Leica and most photographers think of their legendary ‘M’ rangefinder cameras. In contrast, Leica’s ‘R’ SLR film cameras are more forgotten. Which means they are cheap(er) to buy and, just as importantly, the R lenses are also considerably cheaper than their M counterparts, even though they offer the same great optical and build quality.
According to Wikipedia Franka Kamerawerk produced cameras between 1909 and 1967 in Bayreuth, Germany. At its height the factory produced about 650,000 units in 1958. So I was surprised I had never heard of the brand until I was searching for a useable but pocketable 6×6 camera.
Folders like the Kodak 66, which dates from the mid 1950’s, are excellent examples of how compact and useable the 6×6 format can be in spite of the film’s size. I had wanted to try folders for a while and managed to pick up a couple of examples (a model II and a model III) on eBay for around £20-25 each (complete with cases). Both were in great shape for their ages. I was slightly surprised to find, though, that they had foam light seals which had perished, but these were easily and quickly replaced.
