Kodak Six-20

The Art Deco Folder

A few years after the Kodak No. 2 came out, it was the start of the 1930s. The style taking over at that time was the Art Deco movement, and a lot of consumer goods styled their products within that; Kodak was no exception. They released a handful of these styled cameras, most notably the Bantam Special and brownie models, but discontinued the style in the late 1930s. One such camera was the Kodak Six-20 folding camera. They came in a few variations of design, but all had the same specifications. My particular model seems to be a later release with an updated design on the outside body.

The body is made up of very hard and textured leather or leatherette. Everything here is metal, and chrome accents are all around the camera. On the sides of the camera, there are metal plates that are painted with chrome Art Deco patterns. With the camera open, they continue that design along the sides of the metal supports. Lastly, the shutter and around the lens is a perfect finish for the Art Deco look. Sporting a polished chrome and black design with a bright red Kodak logo under the lens. A stunningly beautiful camera design, with intricate painting and chrome around every corner you see.

The Six-20 has a couple of viewfinder options around the camera. On top there is a simple metal viewfinder that pops out, giving you a vague area where the photo will be taken. This viewfinder is clever, because if your scouting for a picture you do not necessarily have to open up the camera to see the framing. The other option you have for a viewfinder is the waist level finder on the top of the lens. This viewfinder can also turn, for when your framing in another orientation. The camera features most of the controls on the lens area, but they're still are a few on the body. Two different tripod sockets are present on the body and cover, to help with the two orientations. The only other controls are the film advance knob, the door latch under the strap, the button to open the camera, a sliding cover for the fame numbers on the back, and the stand for when the camera is open.

Featuring a Kodak Anastigmat 100mm lens, you are able to focus as close as five feet away. The numbers are on the side of the lens and have indentations for each number. One of the first Kodak cameras to do that, without having to move the entire lens board. The Kodon No. 0 shutter has speeds of bulb and time up to 1/100th of a second and does not need to be cocked. The aperture is somewhat slow coming in at f/6.3 down to f/32 but works with the slower shutter speeds. Both controls are at the top and bottom of the shutter respectfully, and the shutter release is on the left side along with the cable release socket.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - bulb, time, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100

Aperture - f/6.3 to f/32

Shutter - Kodon No. 0, metal leaf shutter

Lens - 100mm Kodak Anastigmat, focusing - infinity to 5 feet

Flash Option - none, no flash ports

Batteries - completely mechanical

Film Type - 620 Film

Other Notable Features - 620 film (120 needs to be re spooled), 6x9 negative, waist level and metal frame viewfinders, 2 tripod sockets for each orientation, camera stand, cable release socket

The Experience

I truly think all folding cameras are beautiful. Whether it’s the Retina line, Zeiss, Voigtlander or the Kodak folders, they have an unprecedented elegance and design ingenuity about them that draws me in. I’ve used a handful of folding cameras, but have always wanted to use one of the older Kodak folders. When browsing around on the internet I came across one for a great deal and my plan was put into motion. Before I get into the camera, it was not my doing but yes the camera has a different winding knob, which I’m looking to replace. Strangely enough, the knob was from an Agfa PB-20. For now, the loner knob is working well enough as a replacement for the time being.

The only thing needed to fix up the Six-20 was a few cosmetic tweaks. I had to bend the top metal viewfinder back to shape, fix the viewfinder latching mechanism and exercise the shutter and it was good as new. The only real problem with this camera was an incredible amount of pinholes on the corners of the bellows. You can see in a lot of the pictures that the light leaks create vignetting and haze on the images. The first roll I show was in black and white on an absolutely freezing day. I was super impressed that the camera worked like a champ in single digit temperatures, no problems at all. Inside was a different story, It seemed like I got more intense light leaks when I tried to take a picture of myself. I really liked the true focusing lens on this folder, versus notches in a rail like the older ones have. It inspired me to put one more roll through to take some portraits and close up pictures in color while watching not to get too much light on the bellows. I threw a scarf around the bellows and ended up with some really great portraits, for the ones I had in focus.

I really enjoyed using this camera. The only gripes I had, came down to my mistakes. I forgot to focus the lens or could frame correctly because I was rushing a shot. Take note that you do have to reroll 120 film onto a 620 spool so that it will fit inside the camera. The thing that sold me was the focusing lens, the small profile while folded up, and of course the beautiful design. I could throw this in a bag without too much thought of space. This camera is great for landscapes with the 6x9 format and I found it enjoyable for softer looking portraits as well. Replacement bellows are on the list for the future, so I can take the camera on future landscape photography adventures. Is this camera for everyone? Definitely not. You need to work slowly with a folding camera like this, and the results you get may not be sharp enough for your liking. But every camera has a unique look, and if your in the market for a small 6x9 camera that produces great shots stopped down, I would say give the Kodak Six-20 a look.