Coronet Popular 12
Popular Twelve image by AWCam (Image rights) |
Popular Twelve image by Rick Soloway (Image rights) |
The Coronet Popular Twelve is a Bakelite camera for 2¼-inch (6x6cm) square exposures on 120 or 620 film, made in England by Coronet in the early 1950s.
The Popular 12 has an unusual body, with film spools fitted top and bottom and the film running vertically. It is similar to the Dynamic 12, but with sliding back catches (rather than poppers), a plastic (rather than cord) carry strap, and a viewfinder cover/shade. Viewfinder optics are plastic. The back is decorated with a fluted pattern, and has a central red window with a rotating cover. The shutter release, mounted under the lens to the user's right, is pushed upwards to operate. The lens is a simple meniscus-type, behind the shutter, fixed-focus and fixed aperture, labelled "Coronac". The shutter is single-speed, and oddly there is an I/T marking above the lens, but no control to set T mode. According to McKeown[1], there is an improved model with an I/T synchronised shutter.
Notes
Links
- Coronet Popular Twelve review at Art Deco Cameras
- Popular 12 on Sylvain Halgand's Collection (in French with English translation)