Dacora 1, 120 roll film camera c1952

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Dacora 1 (I), strut braced, self erecting camera for 12 exposures on 120 roll film in 6x6cm format. Dacora-Kamerawerk sprung up in the immediate post war period in Reutlingen, Germany. By the 1950s cameras were commonly constructed around a die cast body onto which the were mounted chrome plated pressed brass housings, the Dacora 1 follows this practice. The main casting and general arrangement is also shared by the Dacora Subita. The back and lensboard/hatch are stamped and pressed steel parts, painted black. The struts, are steel anodized or possibly zinc plated, although they remain bright, rather than dulling over time as zinc often does. Lens mount and sundry assemblies are pressed steel and painted black. The bellows, for this higher specification example, are leather over linen and is deployed with a rather too powerful spring that will suck the film into the bellows if allowed to open unrestrained. Apart from the satin chromed top cover, the finish is black enamel with a linen based faux leather. The Dacora 1 was very much a budget camera, fitted with f/5.6 lenses in Vario shutters or slightly more upmarket f'3.5 mounted in a pronto shutter, as per the example shown here. It shares the same body and design problems of the Dacora, notably the film holders use the film rollers as their pivot point, this tends to make them bind mutilating the film emulsion when the film is wound on. This example was donated in 1998 but the slow speeds and delayed release on the Prontor were very sticky, this was sorted out with a gentle wash of IPA to that part of the shutter mechanism. Most of the Prontors & Varios I've come across develop this problem, but it is rarely terminal. The same basic shell was used for the Dacora Subita.

Donated to the collection by Mr. M. Collins, in 1998.

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