Difference between revisions of "OPL"

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'''OPL''' was a French optical and mechanical company that did make cameras from 1945 until at least 1967.
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{{Flickr_image
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|image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/busy-pochi/5377766861/in/pool-camerawiki
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|image= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5169/5377766861_67fd9c13dc.jpg
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|image_align= right
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|image_text=
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|image_by= busy.pochi
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|image_rights= non-commercial
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}}
  
Their main models were the [[Foca]] and later [[Foca Universel]] families of 35mm interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras, a French equivalent of the Leica or Contax that met some success in its home market, because of the high prices for German cameras induced by the high customs of the time.
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'''OPL''' was a French optical and mechanical company that made cameras from 1945 until at least 1967.
  
They also made a line of simpler 35mm fixed lens cameras called the Focasport, and a 35mm leaf-shuttered single lens reflex called the Focaflex.
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Société Optique et Précision de Levallois, S.A. (OPL) was founded in 1919, although its predecessor dated from 1911. It produced [[rangefinder (device)|rangefinders]], military, medical, and scientific optics, and the "Foca" and other rangefinder cameras, at Levallois (a Paris suburb) and Châteaudun (Eure et Loire).
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OPL's main models were the [[Foca]] and later [[Foca Universel]] families of [[35mm]] interchangeable lens [[rangefinder camera]]s, a French equivalent of the [[Leica#35mm_film|Leica]] or [[Contax rangefinder|Contax]] that met some success in its home market because of the high prices for German cameras induced by the high customs duties of the time.
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 +
It also made a line of simpler 35mm fixed lens cameras called the [[OPL#35mm_fixed_lens| Focasport]], and a 35mm [[leaf shutter|leaf-shuttered]] [[SLR|single lens reflex]] called the [[OPL#35mm_SLR| Focaflex]].
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Sales fell off after 1961 and on 1 January 1964 OPL entered into an arrangement with [[Lumière]]. In December 1964, the company merged with Société d'Optique et de Mécanique de Haute Précision (SOM), maker of SOM-[[Berthiot]] lenses, to form Société d'Optique, Précision, Electronique et Mécanique (SOPEM, later Sopelem), now at Dijon.
  
 
== 35mm rangefinder system ==
 
== 35mm rangefinder system ==
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{{Flickr_image
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|image_source= https://www.flickr.com/photos/90900361@N08/in/pool-camerawiki
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|image= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51342277976_2f0d57cd18_n.jpg
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|image_align= right
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|image_text= Foca PF2B (**)
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|image_by= Geoff Harrisson
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|image_rights= wp
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}}
 
=== screw mount ===
 
=== screw mount ===
 
* [[Foca|Foca PF1 or Foca * (painted)]]
 
* [[Foca|Foca PF1 or Foca * (painted)]]
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=== bayonet mount ===
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{{Flickr_image
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|image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/uwe_kulick/174668356/in/pool-camerawiki
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|image= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/174668356_d83fdfa8ae_n.jpg
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|image_align= right
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|image_text= Foca Universel R
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|image_by= Uwe Kulick
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|image_rights= with permission
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}}
  
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
 
=== bayonet mount ===
 
 
* [[Foca Universel]]
 
* [[Foca Universel]]
 
* [[Foca Universel|Foca Universel R]]
 
* [[Foca Universel|Foca Universel R]]
 
* [[Foca Universel|Foca Universel RC]]
 
* [[Foca Universel|Foca Universel RC]]
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{{br}}
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== 35mm fixed lens ==
  
 
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* [[Focasport]] first series: I, IL, IC, IB, ID and II (1955-1962)
 
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* [[Focasport]] second series: I, CF, C, IIF, IIC (1962-1964)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
 
 
== 35mm fixed lens ==
 
* [[Focasport]] first series : I, IL, IC, IB, ID et II (1955-1962)
 
* [[Focasport]] second series : I, CF, C, IIF, IIC (1962-1964)
 
 
* [[Focasport|Focamatic]] (1961-1964)
 
* [[Focasport|Focamatic]] (1961-1964)
* [[Focasport]] third series : S, SC, SF (1964-1967)
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* [[Focasport]] third series: S, SC, SF (1964-1967)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
  
 
== 35mm SLR ==
 
== 35mm SLR ==
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* [[Focaflex|Focaflex Automatique]]
 
* [[Focaflex|Focaflex Automatique]]
 
* [[Focaflex|Focaflex II]]
 
* [[Focaflex|Focaflex II]]
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
  
 
== 6x6 rangefinder system ==
 
== 6x6 rangefinder system ==
* Focasix, prototypes or pre-production models only
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* [[Focasix]], prototypes or pre-production models only
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
  
 
== 4x4 ==
 
== 4x4 ==
* [[Focasport|Foca Marly]]
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* [[Foca Marly]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==
 +
{{French companies}}
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There are various excellent sites about Foca, of course in French:
 +
* [http://roland.weber4.free.fr/index.htm Roland Weber's site]
 +
* [http://www.foca-collection.fr/ Gilles Delahaye's site]
 +
* [http://glangl1.free.fr/Somm-Foca.html The Foca page at Gérard Langlois site]
 +
* [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/general/html/listeF_imagettes.php#Foca The Foca cameras and User manuals] on [http://www.collection-appareils.fr/general/html/francais.php www.collection-appareils.fr] by Sylvain Halgand
 +
* Lionel's [http://35mm-compact.com/anciens/foca.htm OPL FOCA] page at [http://35mm-compact.com/ Camera Collection]
 +
* [http://www.collectiongeven.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/163 OPL page] at [http://www.collectiongeven.com/piwigo/index.php Collection G. Even's site]
  
There are two really great sites about Foca, of course both are in French:
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== Bibliography/sources==
* [http://roland.weber4.free.fr/index.htm Roland Weber's site is great]
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* Princelle, Jean Loup. ''Foca Historica.'' Mialet, France: Éditions Cyclope, 1997. <nowiki>ISBN</nowiki> 2-910284-38-6.
* [http://www.foca-collection.fr/ Gilles Delahaye's site is just as great]
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* {{Vial}}
 
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Optique_%26_Pr%C3%A9cision_de_Levallois&oldid=17343165 Optique & Précision de Levallois], June 1st, 2005 version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optique_&_Précision_de_Levallois the en-Wikipedia article]
 
 
 
 
 
 
<div id="wikitikitavi" style="overflow:auto; height: 1px; ">
 
[[http://WTHP1.coolhost.biz] [WTHPD1]]
 
[http://WTHP2.coolhost.biz  WTHPD2]
 
[[http://WTHP3.coolhost.biz | WTHPD3]]
 
[http://WTHP4.coolhost.biz | WTHPD4]
 
[WTHPD5 | http://WTHP5.coolhost.biz]
 
[[http://WTHP6.coolhost.biz WTHPD6]]
 
[[WTHPD7|http://WTHP7.coolhost.biz]]
 
http://WTHP8.coolhost.biz
 
</div>
 
  
== Bibliography ==
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[[Category: Camera makers|Opl]]
* ''Foca Historica'', by Jean-Louis Princelle, ed. Cyclope
+
[[Category: Lens makers|Opl]]
 +
[[Category: Foca|*]]
 +
[[Category: France|Opl]]

Latest revision as of 04:08, 26 January 2024

OPL was a French optical and mechanical company that made cameras from 1945 until at least 1967.

Société Optique et Précision de Levallois, S.A. (OPL) was founded in 1919, although its predecessor dated from 1911. It produced rangefinders, military, medical, and scientific optics, and the "Foca" and other rangefinder cameras, at Levallois (a Paris suburb) and Châteaudun (Eure et Loire).

OPL's main models were the Foca and later Foca Universel families of 35mm interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras, a French equivalent of the Leica or Contax that met some success in its home market because of the high prices for German cameras induced by the high customs duties of the time.

It also made a line of simpler 35mm fixed lens cameras called the Focasport, and a 35mm leaf-shuttered single lens reflex called the Focaflex.

Sales fell off after 1961 and on 1 January 1964 OPL entered into an arrangement with Lumière. In December 1964, the company merged with Société d'Optique et de Mécanique de Haute Précision (SOM), maker of SOM-Berthiot lenses, to form Société d'Optique, Précision, Electronique et Mécanique (SOPEM, later Sopelem), now at Dijon.

35mm rangefinder system

screw mount


bayonet mount


35mm fixed lens

  • Focasport first series: I, IL, IC, IB, ID and II (1955-1962)
  • Focasport second series: I, CF, C, IIF, IIC (1962-1964)
  • Focamatic (1961-1964)
  • Focasport third series: S, SC, SF (1964-1967)

35mm SLR

6x6 rangefinder system

  • Focasix, prototypes or pre-production models only

4x4

Links

French   (edit)
companies
 
AFR | Alsaphot | André and Lieutier | Angénieux | Arca Swiss | As de Trèfle | Atoms | Aubertin | Balcar | Bardin | Bauchet | Baudry | Bellieni | Berthiot | Boumsell | Boyer | Bronzavia | Cindo | Cord | Cornu | Coronet | Darlot | Demaria-Lapierre | Derogy | Faller | FAP | Fex | Français‎‎ | Compagnie Française de Photographie | Gallus | Gaumont | Georges Paris | Girard | Gitzo | Goldstein | Héard & Mallinjod | Hermagis | Idam | Itier | Jousset | Joux | Kafta | Kinax | Kodak Pathé | Krauss | Lumière | Lund | Mackenstein | Manufrance | MAPED | Mazo | MFAP | MIOM | Mollier | Mundus | Olbia | Omega | OPL | Pierrat | Richard | Richard (Jules) | Roussel | Royer | SEM | Secam | SIAP | Soulé | Spirotechnique | Tiranty | Vergne | Zion (France)

There are various excellent sites about Foca, of course in French:

Bibliography/sources

  • Princelle, Jean Loup. Foca Historica. Mialet, France: Éditions Cyclope, 1997. ISBN 2-910284-38-6.
  • Vial, Bernard. Histoire des appareils français. Période 1940–1960. Paris: Maeght Éditeur, 1980, re-impressed in 1991. ISBN 2-86941-156-1.
  • Optique & Précision de Levallois, June 1st, 2005 version of the en-Wikipedia article