OPL

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

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.

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.

35mm rangefinder system

screw mount

• Foca PF1 or Foca * (painted)
• Foca Standard or Foca * (engraved)
• Foca Standard S
• Foca PF2 or Foca ** (painted)
• Foca PF2B or Foca ** (engraved)
• Foca PF3 or Foca *** (engraved)
• Foca PF3L

bayonet mount

• Foca Universel
• Foca Universel R
• Foca Universel RC

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

• Focaflex
• Focaflex Automatique
• Focaflex II

6x6 rangefinder system

• Focasix, prototypes or pre-production models only

4x4

• Foca Marly

Links

There are two really great sites about Foca, of course both are in French:

• Roland Weber's site is great
• Gilles Delahaye's site is great too
• The Foca page at Photoptic
• The Foca page at Gérard Langlois site

Bibliography

• Foca Historica, by Jean-Louis Princelle, ed. Cyclope
• Histoire des appareils français, B. Vial, ed. Maeght