Drépy

The Drépy was a series of 6x9 folding cameras made by the French maker Pierrat from the mid 1940s to the mid 1950s. All could use both the 120 and 620 rollfilm.

First series

The first series had a folding optical finder. Some early models had metal instead of black trimming, or a bellows with large folds instead of narrow folds. All had a body release and were equipped with a self timer. Most had double exposure prevention and dual format capability: they had a mask integrated in the viewfinder and could take 4.5 x 6 cm pictures with a mask inserted in the exposure chamber.

The original Drépy, from about 1946 was dual format, had a Pierrat Drestop shutter from 1s to 1/250 with no flash sync and a Pierrat Anastigmat Série IV four element lens. From about 1949, a version appeared with M/X dual flash sync.

In 1950, the range was extended: a single format body was launched, as well as a three element Pierrat Drestyl 105/4.5 lens and a synchronized Pierrat Drestop I shutter from 1/10 to 1/150 (mistaken 1/100 in some ads). At the same time, the Série IV four element lens was renamed Drestar, and the Drestop 1-250 shutter was synchronized and renamed Drestop II (still marked Drestop). The range became:

• single format (unsure if they had the double exposure prevention)
  • Drépy B, with uncoated Drestyl and synced Drestop I
  • Drépy BT, same with a coated lens (T for Traité)
• dual format
  • a model with Drestyl and synced Drestop I, dual format, is reported here
  • maybe a model with Drestyl and synced Drestop II, (mentioned as Drépy DT here, probably taken from an ad but the pictures do not correspond)
  • a continuation of the original model, with Drestar and synced Drestop II (also called Drépy DT [1], but maybe it is the uncoated Drépy E and coated Drépy ET mentioned on a 1950 ad shown here)
  • Drépy FT, with Drestar and dual (M/X) synced Drestop II

Some have white face shutters and other black face shutters, repartition is unknown.

Second series

From 1953, the second series had a long top plate integrating the optical finder. A rangefinder version appeared called the Drépy GT. It had an uncoupled rangefinder, combined with the viewfinder. You had to read the distance on a ring on the top plate, then transfer the setting to the lens front element. On the other models, the same ring was used as a depth of field indicator. An ad reproduced in Vial shows the Drépy GT 3.5 with a top plate engraved Drépy, but all the known models have a riveted plate with the Drépy name, probably because Pierrat was beginning to sell the Drépy under distributor names. Some late models had no pod to hold the camera vertically.

Here are some variants marked Drépy:

• Drépy GT, uncoupled R/F, Drestop II shutter from 1s to 1/250
  • Drestar 100/3.5, mentioned in Vial, was it ever sold?
  • Drestar 105/4.5, exists with black or white shutter plate
• model with Drestar 105/4.5, Drestop Pansynchro from 1s to 1/250 (probably a later name for the M/X synced Drestop II), shown here with no pod
• model with Drestyl 105/6.3, Drestop Synchro B-25-50-100-150, no self timer, shown here

Here are other variants marked Standard 6/9, with no Pierrat markings, even on the lens:

• exists with uncoupled R/F, Drestar 105/4.5 and Drestop from 1s to 1/250
• mentioned with Coronar 105/4.5 here
• Drestyl 105/6.3, Drestop Synchro B-25-50-100-150, shown here with and without a pod, and mentioned here with 1/100 top shutter speed, probably by mistake
• meniscus lens, B-25-75 synced shutter, no self timer, no body release, no double exposure prevention, no pod, shown here
  • the same with no markings at all is shown here

Here are variants marked Fotic, distributed by Photoptic Paris:

• Fotic 105/6.3, Atos I 25-125 shutter marked Photoptic Paris, shown here
• Boyer Topaz 105/6.3, same shutter, different Photoptic Paris markings, black top plate, pictured in Vial's book

Bibliography

• Histoire des appareils français, B. Vial, Ed. Maeght

Links

• The Pierrat page at ClicClac
• The Pierrat page at Photoptic
• The Pierrat page at Gérard Langlois site
• Pierrat flash units at Gérard Langlois site
• Pierrat at Sylvain Halgand's site
• Pierrat page at Amaryllis
• A Drépy at G. Even's site
• A Drépy at Das Klappkamera-ABC by Oliver Corff
• A Drépy at Stereocollection