Which Kodak Six-20 folding camera is this, and when was it made?
Asked 2/1/2016
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I inherited a Kodak Six-20 bellows folding camera and I’m trying to identify the exact version. Inside the lid it says “Kodak Six-20,” but that name seems to cover several similar models.
This camera has metal flat sides, diamond-shaped screws, an Art Deco-style round front lens panel, a red dot on what may be the shutter timer, a shutter speed ring marked “Pronto D.R.P. D.G.R.M.,” and distinctive hand-shaped metal struts that support the lens standard.
I’d like to know which Kodak Six-20 variant this most likely is, roughly when it was made, and whether it was likely sold in Europe or made in Germany rather than the U.S. Also, does “Six-20” refer to the camera model or the film type?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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Six-20, also known as 620, is the film size that fits your camera. The film itself was the same as the more standard 120 film. The only difference is the size of the spool upon which it is wound. A 120 spool will not fit in most 620 cameras. Unfortunately, no one currently produces 620 film. If you have two 620 sized spools you can wind 120 film onto 620 spools (in a totally dark environment) and use it in a 620 camera.
The style of lens rails used for your camera appeared in the mid-1930s. The Pronto shutter indicates it was probably from the German production facility in Stuttgart as those made in the U.S. during that time period normally used a Kodak (Kodom or Diodak) shutter. When a premium European shutter was offered on U.S. made models with higher grade lenses it tended to be a Compur, rather than a Pronto.
In 1931-32 Kodak bought Nagel-Werke in Stuttgart and renamed it Kodak AG. Dr. August Nagel, one of the co-founders of Zeiss who left to form his own company in 1928, continued on as the managing director and design head. During this time he created a film cassette that would fit the successful Leica and Contex rangefinder cameras of the day. In the U.S. Kodak marketed this new packaging as the 135 format which became the small format world standard for the next 70+ years.
DRP = Deutsches Reichs Patent (German Reich Patent)
DRGM = Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster (German Reich Registered Design)
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
“Six-20” primarily refers to the film format: Kodak’s 620 roll film. It uses the same film width as 120, but on a different spool, so standard 120 spools usually won’t fit unless the film is re-spooled onto 620 spools.
From the features you describe—especially the Pronto shutter and the style of the folding struts—this is most likely a mid-1930s Kodak folding camera, probably from Kodak’s Stuttgart, Germany production rather than a U.S.-made version. Community info notes that U.S. cameras from that period more often used Kodak-branded shutters such as Kodom or Diodak, while a Pronto shutter points toward German manufacture.
So the camera is best described as a Kodak Six-20 folding camera for 620 film, likely dating from the mid-1930s, and probably a European/German-market model. “D.R.P.” and “D.G.R.M.” are German patent markings commonly found on German-made shutters and fittings from that era.
Without a full front and shutter/lens engraving, it’s difficult to pin down the exact sub-model, but the shutter and hardware strongly suggest a German-made Kodak Six-20 variant rather than a single separately named model.
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