Norca (35mm)

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The Norca is a series of cameras made by the French society FAP just before and just after the war. They were inspired by the Argus A.

The original Norca, or Norca A, was launched in 1938 and was the first 24x36 camera made in France. It had a 50/3.5 Boyer Saphir or Berthiot Flor lens, and a T-B-25-50-100-300 shutter marked Norca Paris. The lens and shutter assembly was mounted on a spring-loaded telescopic tube. The Norca had a black plastic body with leather covering, and a metal removable back. It had a tubular optical viewfinder molded with the body, an exposure counter at the top right, an advance knob at the top left and a rewind knob at the bottom right. The metal front plate was attached by four apparent screws. The production was stopped by the war.

The production was resumed in 1945 as the Norca B. It was the same model but the telescopic tube was no longer spring loaded and there was a shutter release inside the exposure counter. Known lens/shutter combinations:

  • FAP Paris Anastigmat 50/3.5 & Norca Paris T-B-25-50-100-300

The Norca Cmt was the same camera with an aluminium body instead of the black plastic body. The top, bottom and front plate were in polished aluminium finish, and the rest was leather covered. An accessory shoe was added between the finder and the advance knob. Some models nicknamed Norca C de luxe, have brown leather covering and a brown shutter plate.

Bibliography

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