Scale-focusing full frame 35s: A cherished bygone breed. Part 1
Simple, ubiquitous, and charming, they flourished for over a century!
By Jason Schneider
The camera most historians credit with being the first full frame (24 x36mm format) still picture camera is the Simplex Multi Exposure Model B of 1914. Developed by the Multi Speed Shutter Company of New York. it provided a choice of 18 x 24mm (cine frame) or 24 x 36mm formats on standard double perforated 35mm film and was produced in limited quantities—perhaps 27 units in total- and only a handful known to exist. Nine years later, in 1923, E. Leitz Wetzlar turned out a preproduction series of 31 cameras now known as Null-Series Leicas, that became (with a self-capping focal plane shutter and other improvements) the production Leica I (Model A) of 1925. According to Leica-Wiki, Leitz produced 58,486 Leica I (Model A) cameras from 1925 to 1930, making it the most successful 35mm still camera of its day. Both these landmark cameras can be considered full-frame, scale focusing 35s—35mm cameras with coupled rangefinders and interchangeable lenses did not appear until the Leica II (Model D) and the Contax I, both introduced in 1932.
Simplex Multi Exposure Model B of 1914: This ultra rare American classic gave a choice of 18 x 24mm or 24 x 36mm formats, making it the world's first full frame 35!
Scale-focusing full-frame 35mm cameras offered an attractive option for shooters seeking a compact, elemental, affordable camera for at least 105 years, from 1914 to about 2019 when last of the breed (either the Lomo LC-A+ or the Cosina CX-2 that inspired it) ceased production. While scale-focusing full-frame 35s can perform quite well for general shooting, “guess focus” can challenging when shooting at wide apertures, especially at distances closer than about 5 feet when depth of field is very shallow. Using a separate, uncoupled shoe-mount rangefinder such as the Leitz FOKOS is one workaround, but it’s far less convenient than opting for a coupled rangefinder 35.Presently there are no scale-focusing full-frame 35s being made, though there are several fixed-focus reloadable models, and the Pentax 17, an attractive, beautifully made (and expensive!) scale-and-zone-focusing half framer with built-in flash that retails for $496.95.
Leica I (Model A) No, 22245 with collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens: Released in 1925, it was the first widely distributed 35mm still camera and established the form factor.
All I-series Leicas from the Leica I (Model A) to the Leica Ig of 1957-1960 are full-frame scale-focusing 35s, as are all folding Kodak Retina I- and Ia-series cameras from the Retina I (Type 117) of 1934 to the Kodak Retina Ia of 1951 to 1954.
The Kodak Retina I (Type 117) of 1934 was the first Kodak Retina and it set the stage for the entire line. It was the first camera designed to accept the standard Kodak 35mm cartridge.
Other long-running series of scale-focusing full-frame 35s:
Rollei. The engaging, collapsible-lens Rollei 35s that debuted with the original Rollei 35 announced at Photokina in 1966, continued with the Rollei 35S with unit-focusing 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens of 1968, the Rollei 35T with Tessar lens, the Rollei 35 TE and SE of 1979. All had built-in CdS meters coupled to the cameras' aperture and shutter speed dials and used a match-needle system with the meter needle and a "follower" on the top plate, or in the 35 TE and SE, a series of 3 LEDs in the viewfinder, to set the exposure. The last of the breed, the Rollei 35 Classic introduced in 1990, was a successor to the Rollei 35S. Initially the world’s smallest full frame 35 (before being upstaged by the slightly smaller Minox 35 and MinoltaTC-1) the Rolllei 35 line, which was produced in both Germany and Singapore, finally went out of production in 2015. Over 30 years, about 2 million Rollei 35s (all models) were produced, making it one of the most successful full frame scale-focusing 35s of all time.
Rollei 35 Classic, the last of the breed, had a special silver finish and an outstanding unit focusing 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens. A mint example in box can run $1,500 and up!
Voigtländer of Braunschweig, Germany was a renowned and prolific lens and camera manufacturer founded in 1756 that today continues as a trademark for innovative, high-quality cameras and lenses made by Cosina in Japan. In addition to such masterpieces as the interchangeable lens Voigtländer Prominent and folding Vitessa, both ingenious and beautifully crafted rangefinder 35s, the company produced a slew of compact, scale-focusing full frame 35s including the folding Vito, Vito II, and Vito IIa, the rigid bodied Vito B, Vito BL and Vito BR, the Vito C, Vito CD and Vito CL, and the Vitoret, Vitoret F, Vitoret L, Vitoret LR, and the Vitrona of 1964 to 1967,possibly the first 35 with a built-in electronic flash.
Welta, a German camera company based in Freital near Dresden, was founded in 1914. Before World War II they made several nicely crafted iterations of folding, scale-focusing full frame 35s with unit-focusing lenses under the names Welti, Watson, and Weltix. Some of these continued (albeit now with East German Cludor shutters and C.Z. Jena lenses) in the immediate postwar years after the company had been absorbed into the VEB empire as a state-controlled company, VEB Welta-Kamera Werk. After the war Welta also designed and produced the Belmira, an innovative rigid bodied rangefinder 35, and the cute little half frame Penti with a 35mm f/3.5 Meyer Trioplan lens. Any Welti, Weltix or Watson is a fine user collectible but the prewar and immediately postwar models tend to be better finished, although their lenses may be uncoated. You can snag a clean, working Welti or Watson online for under 100 bucks, but look for one with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens rather than a 50mm f/2,9 Steinheil Cassar, a triplet design.
Balda, founded in Dresden in 1908 by (who else?) Max Baldeweg, the company initially made medium priced 35mm and medium format folding cameras including the Baldina a popular series of 35mm folding cameras first announced in 1935, and the similarly configured Balda Jubillete of 1938. After World War II, the founder fled to Wast Germany and restarted Balda-Werk in Bünde while the East German factory was nationalized into Belca-Werk. Both companies made interesting scale focusing full frame folding 35mm cameras, including the Baldina and rhe Belca Beltica, both worthy user collectibles available online in clean working condition at under $100. If you’re so inclined, those with Schneider Xenar lenses deliver better image quality, but the Meyer Trioplan (a triplet design natch) is no slouch either.
Certo was a German camera maker based in Johannstadt, a suburb of Dresden, founded in 1902 by engineer Alfred Lippert and Karl Peppel. It mainly produced medium-priced folding cameras. In 1917, the company was bought by Emil Zimmermann, and prior the Second World War, under the leadership pf Zimmermann's son-in-law Fritz von der Gönna, the company developed and produced Certo’s flagship product, the very successful Super Dollina a high-spec folding rangefinder 35 that debuted in 1936. A spinoff of the Dollina was the Certo Durata, an elegant scale focusing full frame 35 that unfolded in a scissors strut mechanism liker the Dollina. The relatively uncommon Durata was mostly produced in the immediate postwar era, hence its Compur-Rapid shutter and T coated 50mm f/3.5 Carl Zeiss Jena lens. Other Certo scale focusing 35s produced after the East German company became 30% state owned after 1958 include the Certo KN35, Certo Matic 35 with built -in selenium meter, both rather pedestrian, but nevertheless collectible. In 1972 the remainder of the company was taken into state ownership, becoming the VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden, and then became part of the VEB Pentacon conglomerate in 1980. The last cameras under the Certo name were made in 1982; after that, the factory was used to expand production capacity for the EXA Ic, the 'c' denoting cameras made in the once proud Certo works.
Zeiss-Ikon is a German company that was formed in 1926 by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz, and ICA), financed by an infusion of capital by Zeiss. The company formed one part of the Carl Zeiss Foundation and understandably most Zeiss Ikon cameras were equipped with Carl Zeiss lenses.
Zeiss-Ikon became one of the largest companies in the photo technology capital of Dresden, with plants in Stuttgart and Berlin. It continued producing several products of its component companies for a while, but also created new ones, such as the high quality Ikonta and Super Ikonta medium format folding cameras. After World War II Zeiss Ikon was split into a West German and an East German part. It was reconstituted in West Germany, and trademark disputes soon followed with the East German branch. The West German branch was based in Stuttgart, and in the mid ‘60s it merged with merged with Voigtländer forming (what else? Zeiss-Ikon- Voigtländer, commonly known as ZIV.
Zeiss-Ikon produced numerous scale-focusing 35mm full frame folders, some of which are great user collectibles. Examples: The cute low-end Colora of 1960 that devolved into the uglier and more cheaply made Colora F of 1963; the Huberet Nerwin-designed folding Contina of 1948 to 1954 (my personal favorite) with front cell focusing 45mm f/3.5 Tessar or Xenar lens; the Contina I of 1951 to 1955 with 45mm f/3.5 Novar or 45mm f/2.8 Tessar lens, the rigid bodied models, Contina Ia of 1954 to 1952, IIa of 1954 to 1956, Contina III of 1955 to 1958, the cute, minimalist (unmarked Contina Ib of c.1956 and (front inscribed) Contina Ic of 1958 to 1960. Other rigid bodied Contina models with more modern styling and built-in selenium meters include the Contina-matic II of 1958 to 1959, the Contina-matic III of 1959 to 1960, the Contina L of 1963 to 1965, the coupled meter Contina LK of 1963 to 1965, and the spiffy Contina J of 1964 to 1965 which deleted the self-timer. And we can’t omit the stylish meter-less rigid bodied Continette of 1960 to1961, which has a 45mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Lucinar lens (a classic Cooke triplet)) and a 1.30- 1/250 sec Prontor shutter with self-timer. Note: Folding 35mm Continas (especially the first model) are often listed as Ikontas, so check the photos and specs.
The Zeiss Ikonette is a scale focusing full frame 35mm camera made by Zeiss Ikon in Germany, c.1958-60. It has an unusually shaped curved body made of gray plastic and metal with a large front-mounted combined shutter release and film advance lever. Allegedly marketed to women, some sources state that the Ikonette was recalled because of the Shutter Release/Film Transport Lever mechanism was unreliable and easily damaged and not surprisingly many are offered in “As Is” condition. Lens: Novar-Anastigmat, 45mm f/3.5/ Shutter: Pronto with speeds of 1/25 to 1/200 sec plus B, with self-timer. The Ikonette is cute and collectible, but it’s not recommended as a shooter. For some odd reason many sellers are asking crazy prices ($150-$300) for Ikonettes, but if you’re patient you can snag one for $50 or less.
The Zeiss Symbolica of 1960 to 1962. As its name suggests, focusing the front-cell-focusing 50mm f/2,8 Zeiss Tessar lens is aided by distance symbols imprinted onto the front side of the lens barrel. The first model, the Symbolica I, introduced in 1959, has a body similar to the 1956 Contina II; the later Symbolica II, similar to the more automated Tenax Automatic, has a very bright inverse Galilean optical bright-frame viewfinder with parallax compensation marks, and its match needle selenium meter readout is mirrored into the finder, and also visible through a window in the top. The Zeiss Symbolica is a solid camera capable of outstanding imaging performance thanks to its fine Tessar lens, and it’s a steal with current online prices in the $20 to $50 range. Just make sure the meter’s working.
The Zeiss Ikon Tenax Automatic of 1960. Zeiss reprised the revered Tenax name on this compact scale focusing viewfinder 35. It features automatic exposure that employs a selenium cell and provides manual override to set the aperture for flash. The Prontomatic S shutter provides flash sync via a PC socket hidden under a rotating cover on the top plate. It has a fixed 50mm f/2.8 Tessar lens, marked with focusing zone symbols on the top and a distance scale underneath. It’s a well made fine performing camera that’s currently available online at bargain prices in the $20 to $55. Again, make sure the meter’s working.
The Zeiss S310, or Contessa S310, was a small, fixed-lens, scale-focusing 35mm camera produced by Zeiss Ikon (and made by its subsidiary Voigtländer) for a short period in 1971 to compete with the Rollei 35. It featured a 40mm f/2.8Zeiss Tessar lens and an electronically controlled leaf shutter. Its bulky battery compartment holds four button batteries to power the shutter and CdS metering system. The S310 is robust and a fine picture taker, but was unsuccessful due to its high price, high power consumption, and hidden provenance (it was designed Voigtländer). A rangefinder version, the Zeiss S312, was also promising but ultimately unsuccessful. Online prices for a clean Zeiss S310 in working condition vary wildly, from just over $100 to just under $800, so caveat emptor.
The Minox 35 series: Minox, long associated with ultraminiature “spy cameras” evolved from the original 1936 Minox by Walter Zapp, began offering 35 cameras in 1974 with the introduction of the folding Minox 35 EL. At the time the Minox 35 EL was the world's smallest 35mm camera and it went on sale in 1975. Over the next two decades, Minox released approximately 18 variations of the 35mm compact camera, including the 35 GL (1979) and the 35 GT (1981), and the last model was discontinued in 2004—an amazing run of 30 years! All full frame 35mm Minox cameras had retractable lenses, aperture-priority AE controlled by a CdS cell, manual scale focus, and Makrolon (fiber reinforced plastic) construction, which contributed to their light weight (6 to 7 ounces depending on model) and high impact resistance.
Minox 35mm timeline:
1974: The Minox 35 EL was introduced at Photokina and presented as the world's smallest 35mm camera.
1975: Sales of the Minox 35 EL began in the spring of 1975. The camera had a retractable lens, a fold-up lens cover, and was a manual-focus camera with an aperture-priority autoexposure system.
1979: The Minox 35 GL was the second model in the Minox 35 line, released four years after the EL. It added a self-timer and exposure compensation, and like its predecessor, it featured a scale-focusing 4-element, 3-group Color Minotar 35mm/f2.8 lens.
1981: The Minox 35 GT was introduced, featuring an electronic self-timer with a flashing LED indicator, a new feature for the line.
Like the GL and EL, it was an aperture-priority, manual-focus camera.
1985-2004: Minox continued to produce various models and special editions, distinguished by features like different exposure systems or colors. Examples include the 35 ML (1985) that offers a choice of aperture priority and programmed autoexposure and has LED shutter speed readout in the finder, the Minox 35 PL (1982), which offers programmed automation and has a slow shutter warning LED atop the camera and visible in the finder, the Minox 35 AL (1987), the 35 AF (1988), the 35 MDC (1992), the GT-X (1995), and the Minox 35 GT-E which was launched in 1981 and was the last Minox 35 in production when the line was discontinued in 2004. It had a backlight compensation switch which increased the exposure by 1 stop, aperture priority auto exposure, an electronic self-timer, and a needle scale in the finder to display the selected shutter speed etc.
Minox 35 cameras are excellent picture takers and fun walkaround cameras that are great for travel ore casual shooting. All models are readily available online in clean working condition at prices ranging from $50 to $150; special editions and mint examples in original packing typically command higher prices. Note: Minox 35s were designed to be powered by a 5.6v PX27 mercury cell, which is no longer available. Workarounds include: an adapter that holds 4 SR44 or LR44 button cells; a singlePX27A cell (which has a short lifespan and dropping voltage), and two CR-1.3 N (2L76) 3v lithium cells. Battery adapters that will let you use modern button cells are widely available.
The Kodak 35, released in 1938, was the first Kodak 35mm camera made in the U.S.A. Best model to shoot with is fitted with a Tessar-formula 50mm f/3.5 Kodak Anastigmat Special lens.
Last of the breed: The Cosina CX-2, and the Lomo LC-A and LC-A
The Cosina CX-2 is a Japanese compact scale-focusing full frame 35mm camera that was a the inspiration for to the cult-favorite LOMO LC-A camera, which is similar to but not a true copy of the CX-2.Introduced at Photokina 1980 alongside its simpler stablemate, the CX-1, the CX-2 was produced for about three to four years before being succeeded by other CX models, but it had a lasting thanks to the Lomography movement, a cultural phenomenon that embraced imperfect, experimental photography with compact cameras that began in the 1990s.
The CX-2’s most distinctive feature is its rectangular faceplate that twists 90 degrees to the side, opening the lens cover and making it ready for use. The CX-2 uses zone focusing, where the user sets focus zones based on distance, rather than relying on autofocus. The camera features a sharp 35mm f/2.8 five-element Cosinon lens, known for its good color rendering, contrast, and mild vignetting effect, employs a computerized system that automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture based on available light, and includes a built-in mechanical self-timer. Technically, the CX-2 was part of a “system” with accessories including a dedicated a flash and a motor winder.
An Enduring Legacy: the Lomo LC-A and LC-A +
While attending Photokina 1980, a Soviet vice minister of defense, Igor Petrovich Kornitsky, saw the Cosina CX-2. He was so Impressed with its design he ordered Soviet camera designer Mikhail Kholomyansky to create a copy. The result was the LOMO LC-A which went into production in 1985. Then, in 1992, two Austrian students discovered a LOMO LC-A at a store in Prague, sparking the worldwide Lomography movement. This made the CX-2, the camera that inspired it, the “Godfather of Lomography.”
The Lomo LC-A is a compact, full-frame, scale-focusing 35mm viewfinder camera featuring a fixed 3-element Minitar-1 32mm f/2.8 lens, CdS cell controlled programmed automatic exposure with shutter speeds from 2 minutes to 1/500 sec and apertures from f/2.8 to f/16, zone focusing for distances of 0.8m, 1.5m, 3m, and infinity, and a hot shoe for flash .The camera is powered by three SR/LR44 batteries (it can also use current SR-44P silver-oxide cells) and has a plastic body with a standard ¼ x 20 tripod socket and rewind crank.
Other feature: Programmed AE mode, with option to set the shutter speed to 1/60 sec and manually select an aperture, viewfinder with frame outlines and exposure indications, film speed settings ISO 25 to 400, built-in hot shoe. The successor model, the LC-A+ , introduced in 2006 and phased out around 2019 added a multiple exposure switch enabling multiple exposures on a single frame, expanded the ISO settings from ISO 100 to ISO 1600, and added a cable release thread to facilitate hands-free long exposures. Regrettably the manual aperture
selection option cited above was deleted. On the plus side, the LC-A+ is compatible with additional accessories, such as a wide-angle lens and the LC-A+ Splitzer.
Side view of Lomo LC-A showing color-coded distance setting scale and tab. It's a fun camera but its lens and construction are not up to the standard of the Cosina CX-2
What’s a Lomo LC-A+ Splitzer, you ask? It’s a masking filter accessory for the Lomo LC-A+ camera that allows for creative multiple exposures by using two spinning blades to selectively block light and expose only parts of a frame. By sliding the Splitzer into the camera's front grooves and adjusting the blades, photographers can divide the image into halves, quarters, or even smaller segments, offering total control over what appears on the final image. This unique tool enables photographers to combine different scenes or create artistic, fragmented compositions on a single frame!
Cosina CX-2 cameras in clean working condition are readily available online from auction sites and dealers at hefty prices ranging from around $200 to $500, and as high as $1,000 and up for mint condition examples with all the accessories in original boxes. However, you can sometimes snag one for a lot less, so keep your eyes peeled. In comparison, a working Lomo LC-A in nice shape is a bargain at around $75 to $125, though mint or like new examples can run higher. The Lomo LC-A+ is noticeably harder to find and one of the few currently listed online (by a Japanese seller) is priced at $199.00 plus $40 shipping. And remember, most foreign sales now incur a tariff, which is unspecified and not included in the purchase price.
Frankly it’s literally impossible to cover every scale-focusing full frame 35 in existence in a single article, but herewith a brief list of worthy contenders, some of which qualify as genuinely weird or exotic. We’ll be covering all of them in punctilious detail in (you guessed it) two more follow-up articles on scale-focusing full-frame 35s.
Chinon Bellami
Ricoh FF-1s
Petri Color 35, 35E
Minolta TC-1 (it features both AF and manual focus)
Agfa Silette etc.
Olympus 35, 35 Wide E, Trip 35
Pigeon 35 II
Samoca 35 III
Kodak S100 EF S, Retinette, Kodak 35
Yashca ME, Diary
Ilfiord Sportsman
Druopta Vega
Pontiac Baby Lynx 35 (France)
Cornu Ontobloc (France)
Norca Model B (France)
Argus A series (A, A2B, A2F AA,A3, AF, B, CC, and AF)
Regula I-F
Wirgin Edixa and Edinex 35s
Smena 2, Smena 6 (USSR)
Beauty 35
Simflex 35
Beier Beirette Junior II
Simple, ubiquitous, and charming, they flourished for over a century!
By Jason Schneider
The camera most historians credit with being the first full frame (24 x36mm format) still picture camera is the Simplex Multi Exposure Model B of 1914. Developed by the Multi Speed Shutter Company of New York. it provided a choice of 18 x 24mm (cine frame) or 24 x 36mm formats on standard double perforated 35mm film and was produced in limited quantities—perhaps 27 units in total- and only a handful known to exist. Nine years later, in 1923, E. Leitz Wetzlar turned out a preproduction series of 31 cameras now known as Null-Series Leicas, that became (with a self-capping focal plane shutter and other improvements) the production Leica I (Model A) of 1925. According to Leica-Wiki, Leitz produced 58,486 Leica I (Model A) cameras from 1925 to 1930, making it the most successful 35mm still camera of its day. Both these landmark cameras can be considered full-frame, scale focusing 35s—35mm cameras with coupled rangefinders and interchangeable lenses did not appear until the Leica II (Model D) and the Contax I, both introduced in 1932.
Simplex Multi Exposure Model B of 1914: This ultra rare American classic gave a choice of 18 x 24mm or 24 x 36mm formats, making it the world's first full frame 35!
Scale-focusing full-frame 35mm cameras offered an attractive option for shooters seeking a compact, elemental, affordable camera for at least 105 years, from 1914 to about 2019 when last of the breed (either the Lomo LC-A+ or the Cosina CX-2 that inspired it) ceased production. While scale-focusing full-frame 35s can perform quite well for general shooting, “guess focus” can challenging when shooting at wide apertures, especially at distances closer than about 5 feet when depth of field is very shallow. Using a separate, uncoupled shoe-mount rangefinder such as the Leitz FOKOS is one workaround, but it’s far less convenient than opting for a coupled rangefinder 35.Presently there are no scale-focusing full-frame 35s being made, though there are several fixed-focus reloadable models, and the Pentax 17, an attractive, beautifully made (and expensive!) scale-and-zone-focusing half framer with built-in flash that retails for $496.95.
Leica I (Model A) No, 22245 with collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens: Released in 1925, it was the first widely distributed 35mm still camera and established the form factor.
All I-series Leicas from the Leica I (Model A) to the Leica Ig of 1957-1960 are full-frame scale-focusing 35s, as are all folding Kodak Retina I- and Ia-series cameras from the Retina I (Type 117) of 1934 to the Kodak Retina Ia of 1951 to 1954.
The Kodak Retina I (Type 117) of 1934 was the first Kodak Retina and it set the stage for the entire line. It was the first camera designed to accept the standard Kodak 35mm cartridge.
Other long-running series of scale-focusing full-frame 35s:
Rollei. The engaging, collapsible-lens Rollei 35s that debuted with the original Rollei 35 announced at Photokina in 1966, continued with the Rollei 35S with unit-focusing 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens of 1968, the Rollei 35T with Tessar lens, the Rollei 35 TE and SE of 1979. All had built-in CdS meters coupled to the cameras' aperture and shutter speed dials and used a match-needle system with the meter needle and a "follower" on the top plate, or in the 35 TE and SE, a series of 3 LEDs in the viewfinder, to set the exposure. The last of the breed, the Rollei 35 Classic introduced in 1990, was a successor to the Rollei 35S. Initially the world’s smallest full frame 35 (before being upstaged by the slightly smaller Minox 35 and MinoltaTC-1) the Rolllei 35 line, which was produced in both Germany and Singapore, finally went out of production in 2015. Over 30 years, about 2 million Rollei 35s (all models) were produced, making it one of the most successful full frame scale-focusing 35s of all time.
Rollei 35 Classic, the last of the breed, had a special silver finish and an outstanding unit focusing 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens. A mint example in box can run $1,500 and up!
Voigtländer of Braunschweig, Germany was a renowned and prolific lens and camera manufacturer founded in 1756 that today continues as a trademark for innovative, high-quality cameras and lenses made by Cosina in Japan. In addition to such masterpieces as the interchangeable lens Voigtländer Prominent and folding Vitessa, both ingenious and beautifully crafted rangefinder 35s, the company produced a slew of compact, scale-focusing full frame 35s including the folding Vito, Vito II, and Vito IIa, the rigid bodied Vito B, Vito BL and Vito BR, the Vito C, Vito CD and Vito CL, and the Vitoret, Vitoret F, Vitoret L, Vitoret LR, and the Vitrona of 1964 to 1967,possibly the first 35 with a built-in electronic flash.
Welta, a German camera company based in Freital near Dresden, was founded in 1914. Before World War II they made several nicely crafted iterations of folding, scale-focusing full frame 35s with unit-focusing lenses under the names Welti, Watson, and Weltix. Some of these continued (albeit now with East German Cludor shutters and C.Z. Jena lenses) in the immediate postwar years after the company had been absorbed into the VEB empire as a state-controlled company, VEB Welta-Kamera Werk. After the war Welta also designed and produced the Belmira, an innovative rigid bodied rangefinder 35, and the cute little half frame Penti with a 35mm f/3.5 Meyer Trioplan lens. Any Welti, Weltix or Watson is a fine user collectible but the prewar and immediately postwar models tend to be better finished, although their lenses may be uncoated. You can snag a clean, working Welti or Watson online for under 100 bucks, but look for one with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens rather than a 50mm f/2,9 Steinheil Cassar, a triplet design.
Balda, founded in Dresden in 1908 by (who else?) Max Baldeweg, the company initially made medium priced 35mm and medium format folding cameras including the Baldina a popular series of 35mm folding cameras first announced in 1935, and the similarly configured Balda Jubillete of 1938. After World War II, the founder fled to Wast Germany and restarted Balda-Werk in Bünde while the East German factory was nationalized into Belca-Werk. Both companies made interesting scale focusing full frame folding 35mm cameras, including the Baldina and rhe Belca Beltica, both worthy user collectibles available online in clean working condition at under $100. If you’re so inclined, those with Schneider Xenar lenses deliver better image quality, but the Meyer Trioplan (a triplet design natch) is no slouch either.
Certo was a German camera maker based in Johannstadt, a suburb of Dresden, founded in 1902 by engineer Alfred Lippert and Karl Peppel. It mainly produced medium-priced folding cameras. In 1917, the company was bought by Emil Zimmermann, and prior the Second World War, under the leadership pf Zimmermann's son-in-law Fritz von der Gönna, the company developed and produced Certo’s flagship product, the very successful Super Dollina a high-spec folding rangefinder 35 that debuted in 1936. A spinoff of the Dollina was the Certo Durata, an elegant scale focusing full frame 35 that unfolded in a scissors strut mechanism liker the Dollina. The relatively uncommon Durata was mostly produced in the immediate postwar era, hence its Compur-Rapid shutter and T coated 50mm f/3.5 Carl Zeiss Jena lens. Other Certo scale focusing 35s produced after the East German company became 30% state owned after 1958 include the Certo KN35, Certo Matic 35 with built -in selenium meter, both rather pedestrian, but nevertheless collectible. In 1972 the remainder of the company was taken into state ownership, becoming the VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden, and then became part of the VEB Pentacon conglomerate in 1980. The last cameras under the Certo name were made in 1982; after that, the factory was used to expand production capacity for the EXA Ic, the 'c' denoting cameras made in the once proud Certo works.
Zeiss-Ikon is a German company that was formed in 1926 by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz, and ICA), financed by an infusion of capital by Zeiss. The company formed one part of the Carl Zeiss Foundation and understandably most Zeiss Ikon cameras were equipped with Carl Zeiss lenses.
Zeiss-Ikon became one of the largest companies in the photo technology capital of Dresden, with plants in Stuttgart and Berlin. It continued producing several products of its component companies for a while, but also created new ones, such as the high quality Ikonta and Super Ikonta medium format folding cameras. After World War II Zeiss Ikon was split into a West German and an East German part. It was reconstituted in West Germany, and trademark disputes soon followed with the East German branch. The West German branch was based in Stuttgart, and in the mid ‘60s it merged with merged with Voigtländer forming (what else? Zeiss-Ikon- Voigtländer, commonly known as ZIV.
Zeiss-Ikon produced numerous scale-focusing 35mm full frame folders, some of which are great user collectibles. Examples: The cute low-end Colora of 1960 that devolved into the uglier and more cheaply made Colora F of 1963; the Huberet Nerwin-designed folding Contina of 1948 to 1954 (my personal favorite) with front cell focusing 45mm f/3.5 Tessar or Xenar lens; the Contina I of 1951 to 1955 with 45mm f/3.5 Novar or 45mm f/2.8 Tessar lens, the rigid bodied models, Contina Ia of 1954 to 1952, IIa of 1954 to 1956, Contina III of 1955 to 1958, the cute, minimalist (unmarked Contina Ib of c.1956 and (front inscribed) Contina Ic of 1958 to 1960. Other rigid bodied Contina models with more modern styling and built-in selenium meters include the Contina-matic II of 1958 to 1959, the Contina-matic III of 1959 to 1960, the Contina L of 1963 to 1965, the coupled meter Contina LK of 1963 to 1965, and the spiffy Contina J of 1964 to 1965 which deleted the self-timer. And we can’t omit the stylish meter-less rigid bodied Continette of 1960 to1961, which has a 45mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Lucinar lens (a classic Cooke triplet)) and a 1.30- 1/250 sec Prontor shutter with self-timer. Note: Folding 35mm Continas (especially the first model) are often listed as Ikontas, so check the photos and specs.
The Zeiss Ikonette is a scale focusing full frame 35mm camera made by Zeiss Ikon in Germany, c.1958-60. It has an unusually shaped curved body made of gray plastic and metal with a large front-mounted combined shutter release and film advance lever. Allegedly marketed to women, some sources state that the Ikonette was recalled because of the Shutter Release/Film Transport Lever mechanism was unreliable and easily damaged and not surprisingly many are offered in “As Is” condition. Lens: Novar-Anastigmat, 45mm f/3.5/ Shutter: Pronto with speeds of 1/25 to 1/200 sec plus B, with self-timer. The Ikonette is cute and collectible, but it’s not recommended as a shooter. For some odd reason many sellers are asking crazy prices ($150-$300) for Ikonettes, but if you’re patient you can snag one for $50 or less.
The Zeiss Symbolica of 1960 to 1962. As its name suggests, focusing the front-cell-focusing 50mm f/2,8 Zeiss Tessar lens is aided by distance symbols imprinted onto the front side of the lens barrel. The first model, the Symbolica I, introduced in 1959, has a body similar to the 1956 Contina II; the later Symbolica II, similar to the more automated Tenax Automatic, has a very bright inverse Galilean optical bright-frame viewfinder with parallax compensation marks, and its match needle selenium meter readout is mirrored into the finder, and also visible through a window in the top. The Zeiss Symbolica is a solid camera capable of outstanding imaging performance thanks to its fine Tessar lens, and it’s a steal with current online prices in the $20 to $50 range. Just make sure the meter’s working.
The Zeiss Ikon Tenax Automatic of 1960. Zeiss reprised the revered Tenax name on this compact scale focusing viewfinder 35. It features automatic exposure that employs a selenium cell and provides manual override to set the aperture for flash. The Prontomatic S shutter provides flash sync via a PC socket hidden under a rotating cover on the top plate. It has a fixed 50mm f/2.8 Tessar lens, marked with focusing zone symbols on the top and a distance scale underneath. It’s a well made fine performing camera that’s currently available online at bargain prices in the $20 to $55. Again, make sure the meter’s working.
The Zeiss S310, or Contessa S310, was a small, fixed-lens, scale-focusing 35mm camera produced by Zeiss Ikon (and made by its subsidiary Voigtländer) for a short period in 1971 to compete with the Rollei 35. It featured a 40mm f/2.8Zeiss Tessar lens and an electronically controlled leaf shutter. Its bulky battery compartment holds four button batteries to power the shutter and CdS metering system. The S310 is robust and a fine picture taker, but was unsuccessful due to its high price, high power consumption, and hidden provenance (it was designed Voigtländer). A rangefinder version, the Zeiss S312, was also promising but ultimately unsuccessful. Online prices for a clean Zeiss S310 in working condition vary wildly, from just over $100 to just under $800, so caveat emptor.
The Minox 35 series: Minox, long associated with ultraminiature “spy cameras” evolved from the original 1936 Minox by Walter Zapp, began offering 35 cameras in 1974 with the introduction of the folding Minox 35 EL. At the time the Minox 35 EL was the world's smallest 35mm camera and it went on sale in 1975. Over the next two decades, Minox released approximately 18 variations of the 35mm compact camera, including the 35 GL (1979) and the 35 GT (1981), and the last model was discontinued in 2004—an amazing run of 30 years! All full frame 35mm Minox cameras had retractable lenses, aperture-priority AE controlled by a CdS cell, manual scale focus, and Makrolon (fiber reinforced plastic) construction, which contributed to their light weight (6 to 7 ounces depending on model) and high impact resistance.
Minox 35mm timeline:
1974: The Minox 35 EL was introduced at Photokina and presented as the world's smallest 35mm camera.
1975: Sales of the Minox 35 EL began in the spring of 1975. The camera had a retractable lens, a fold-up lens cover, and was a manual-focus camera with an aperture-priority autoexposure system.
1979: The Minox 35 GL was the second model in the Minox 35 line, released four years after the EL. It added a self-timer and exposure compensation, and like its predecessor, it featured a scale-focusing 4-element, 3-group Color Minotar 35mm/f2.8 lens.
1981: The Minox 35 GT was introduced, featuring an electronic self-timer with a flashing LED indicator, a new feature for the line.
Like the GL and EL, it was an aperture-priority, manual-focus camera.
1985-2004: Minox continued to produce various models and special editions, distinguished by features like different exposure systems or colors. Examples include the 35 ML (1985) that offers a choice of aperture priority and programmed autoexposure and has LED shutter speed readout in the finder, the Minox 35 PL (1982), which offers programmed automation and has a slow shutter warning LED atop the camera and visible in the finder, the Minox 35 AL (1987), the 35 AF (1988), the 35 MDC (1992), the GT-X (1995), and the Minox 35 GT-E which was launched in 1981 and was the last Minox 35 in production when the line was discontinued in 2004. It had a backlight compensation switch which increased the exposure by 1 stop, aperture priority auto exposure, an electronic self-timer, and a needle scale in the finder to display the selected shutter speed etc.
Minox 35 cameras are excellent picture takers and fun walkaround cameras that are great for travel ore casual shooting. All models are readily available online in clean working condition at prices ranging from $50 to $150; special editions and mint examples in original packing typically command higher prices. Note: Minox 35s were designed to be powered by a 5.6v PX27 mercury cell, which is no longer available. Workarounds include: an adapter that holds 4 SR44 or LR44 button cells; a singlePX27A cell (which has a short lifespan and dropping voltage), and two CR-1.3 N (2L76) 3v lithium cells. Battery adapters that will let you use modern button cells are widely available.
The Kodak 35, released in 1938, was the first Kodak 35mm camera made in the U.S.A. Best model to shoot with is fitted with a Tessar-formula 50mm f/3.5 Kodak Anastigmat Special lens.
Last of the breed: The Cosina CX-2, and the Lomo LC-A and LC-A
The Cosina CX-2 is a Japanese compact scale-focusing full frame 35mm camera that was a the inspiration for to the cult-favorite LOMO LC-A camera, which is similar to but not a true copy of the CX-2.Introduced at Photokina 1980 alongside its simpler stablemate, the CX-1, the CX-2 was produced for about three to four years before being succeeded by other CX models, but it had a lasting thanks to the Lomography movement, a cultural phenomenon that embraced imperfect, experimental photography with compact cameras that began in the 1990s.
The CX-2’s most distinctive feature is its rectangular faceplate that twists 90 degrees to the side, opening the lens cover and making it ready for use. The CX-2 uses zone focusing, where the user sets focus zones based on distance, rather than relying on autofocus. The camera features a sharp 35mm f/2.8 five-element Cosinon lens, known for its good color rendering, contrast, and mild vignetting effect, employs a computerized system that automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture based on available light, and includes a built-in mechanical self-timer. Technically, the CX-2 was part of a “system” with accessories including a dedicated a flash and a motor winder.
An Enduring Legacy: the Lomo LC-A and LC-A +
While attending Photokina 1980, a Soviet vice minister of defense, Igor Petrovich Kornitsky, saw the Cosina CX-2. He was so Impressed with its design he ordered Soviet camera designer Mikhail Kholomyansky to create a copy. The result was the LOMO LC-A which went into production in 1985. Then, in 1992, two Austrian students discovered a LOMO LC-A at a store in Prague, sparking the worldwide Lomography movement. This made the CX-2, the camera that inspired it, the “Godfather of Lomography.”
The Lomo LC-A is a compact, full-frame, scale-focusing 35mm viewfinder camera featuring a fixed 3-element Minitar-1 32mm f/2.8 lens, CdS cell controlled programmed automatic exposure with shutter speeds from 2 minutes to 1/500 sec and apertures from f/2.8 to f/16, zone focusing for distances of 0.8m, 1.5m, 3m, and infinity, and a hot shoe for flash .The camera is powered by three SR/LR44 batteries (it can also use current SR-44P silver-oxide cells) and has a plastic body with a standard ¼ x 20 tripod socket and rewind crank.
Other feature: Programmed AE mode, with option to set the shutter speed to 1/60 sec and manually select an aperture, viewfinder with frame outlines and exposure indications, film speed settings ISO 25 to 400, built-in hot shoe. The successor model, the LC-A+ , introduced in 2006 and phased out around 2019 added a multiple exposure switch enabling multiple exposures on a single frame, expanded the ISO settings from ISO 100 to ISO 1600, and added a cable release thread to facilitate hands-free long exposures. Regrettably the manual aperture
selection option cited above was deleted. On the plus side, the LC-A+ is compatible with additional accessories, such as a wide-angle lens and the LC-A+ Splitzer.
Side view of Lomo LC-A showing color-coded distance setting scale and tab. It's a fun camera but its lens and construction are not up to the standard of the Cosina CX-2
What’s a Lomo LC-A+ Splitzer, you ask? It’s a masking filter accessory for the Lomo LC-A+ camera that allows for creative multiple exposures by using two spinning blades to selectively block light and expose only parts of a frame. By sliding the Splitzer into the camera's front grooves and adjusting the blades, photographers can divide the image into halves, quarters, or even smaller segments, offering total control over what appears on the final image. This unique tool enables photographers to combine different scenes or create artistic, fragmented compositions on a single frame!
Cosina CX-2 cameras in clean working condition are readily available online from auction sites and dealers at hefty prices ranging from around $200 to $500, and as high as $1,000 and up for mint condition examples with all the accessories in original boxes. However, you can sometimes snag one for a lot less, so keep your eyes peeled. In comparison, a working Lomo LC-A in nice shape is a bargain at around $75 to $125, though mint or like new examples can run higher. The Lomo LC-A+ is noticeably harder to find and one of the few currently listed online (by a Japanese seller) is priced at $199.00 plus $40 shipping. And remember, most foreign sales now incur a tariff, which is unspecified and not included in the purchase price.
Frankly it’s literally impossible to cover every scale-focusing full frame 35 in existence in a single article, but herewith a brief list of worthy contenders, some of which qualify as genuinely weird or exotic. We’ll be covering all of them in punctilious detail in (you guessed it) two more follow-up articles on scale-focusing full-frame 35s.
Chinon Bellami
Ricoh FF-1s
Petri Color 35, 35E
Minolta TC-1 (it features both AF and manual focus)
Agfa Silette etc.
Olympus 35, 35 Wide E, Trip 35
Pigeon 35 II
Samoca 35 III
Kodak S100 EF S, Retinette, Kodak 35
Yashca ME, Diary
Ilfiord Sportsman
Druopta Vega
Pontiac Baby Lynx 35 (France)
Cornu Ontobloc (France)
Norca Model B (France)
Argus A series (A, A2B, A2F AA,A3, AF, B, CC, and AF)
Regula I-F
Wirgin Edixa and Edinex 35s
Smena 2, Smena 6 (USSR)
Beauty 35
Simflex 35
Beier Beirette Junior II
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