Certo Six
The Certo Six is a horizontal-folding coupled rangefinder camera for 2¼-inch square pictures on 120 film, made by Certo in Dresden, from about 1954.[1]
The lens is often a coated 80 mm f/2.8 Tessar; examples are also seen with an f/3.5 Meyer Primotar. The shutter is a Synchro-Compur or a Prontor SVS, with speeds from 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B', or a Tempor shutter (made by VEB Zeiss Ikon Dresden, soon to become part of Pentacon; the shutter's front plate carries the Ernemann-tower logo); all these are synchronised for flash, with a PC socket, and there is a cold shoe on the top.
The viewfinder has a parallax-error correction mechanism. The rangefinder is combined with the viewfinder. The focused distance is shown in a curved window in front of the accessory shoe. Some examples have a depth of field indicator mounted in the hub of the advance lever; others have a film-type reminder dial there.
Film is advanced by a rapid-wind lever on the left, and there is a frame-counter on the top housing, not a red window. When a new film is loaded, the paper leader is advanced to align the 'start' mark with an index mark at the top of the film chamber; the frame counter is set to a start position; the camera back is closed, and the film advanced with the lever until the counter reaches frame 1. The advance stops automatically (i.e. one cannot over-wind). There is a hole in the back of the top housing, which shows a red indicator when there is a film in the camera (to warn the user not to open the back).
The shutter release is by the top right of the front folding bed; in front of the top housing rather than mounted in it. It has a double-exposure prevention interlock, which shows either a red (locked) or green(unlocked) indicator in a hole by the shutter release; there is a sliding control on the back of the top housing to override this. The socket for a cable release is also on the back.
The camera has a ¼-inch tripod bush in the base. It will also stand on the unfolded bed, with the help of two folding legs at the back.
Notes
- ↑ McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover).} p195.
Links
- User's manual at Mike Butkus' Orphan Cameras. The manual is stamped GERMANY USSR OCCUPIED. It describes the camera with the film-type dial, not the DOF indicator.
- Certo Six page at Jurgen Kreckel's Certo6.com; a number of excellent pictures of the camera, incliding one of the Tempor shutter, and a download of his own instructions for using it.
