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My scuffed ONTOFLEX nameplate.

Cornu ONTOFLEX

February 13, 2024

The Ontoflex is relatively new to my collection, but I knew from the moment I received this camera that it would end up on my camera collection blog just because it's such an odd yet unique camera.

I knew nothing about the camera before I saw it on an online auction. I did some quick research to understand pricing better and discovered it's a rare camera. I won the auction and got it for a reasonable price. It either wasn't working or was not in good physical shape.

 It wasn't until I received the camera that I realized it was in good working condition, but it had something even more surprising and unusual. It was a 6x9 format camera with a rotating back to shoot either vertical or horizontal photos and not have to turn the camera…..WOW! My mind is blown, especially for a camera made in the 1930s.

HISTORY:

Here is the section where I tell you about the person and company that made this camera, The Cornu Co. from Paris, France. I have looked around on the internet, and there's not a lot of information regarding this company or its owner. The company existed from the early 1930s to 1946, closing just after WWII. Like Franke & Heideke, they started manufacturing stereo cameras and moved into other various cameras later. The ONTOFLEX was the only twin-lens reflex camera that I could find. During WWII, they made a reasonably inexpensive compact 35mm camera. One of them has a great name, the Weekend Bob.

THE CAMERA:

Here's the fun part about the blog: using the camera. Overall, the camera is boxier and heavier than the traditional TLR camera of the era. That's due to the extended area on the back that allows the photographer to rotate the negatives from vertical or portrait mode to horizontal or landscape mode. The camera is just under 6.5" tall x 3.5" wide x 4.5" deep, measured from the back of the film door to the front of the lens. The camera weighs just under 3 lbs. at 2 lbs. 15 oz.

 The Ontoflex came in two different models and three different configurations. The Model A, which is what I have, has a fixed rotating back. The Model B has a removable back that can take film plates. You can get the camera with different lens and shutter combinations.

Ontoflex-FW_25.jpg Ontoflex-FW_21.jpg Ontoflex-FW_19.jpg Ontoflex-FW_22.jpg

My camera has a 90mm f3.5 H. Roussel Paris, ORTHO KYNOR lens for the taking lens mounted in a Compur shutter, and a 90mm f3.5 Reflex Ontor lens for the viewing optics. The shutter only goes to 1/250 shutter speed and down to 1 sec. along with B and T for time exposures.

To load the camera with film, there is a switch on the top of the back, which you slide over to open the back of the camera. Like any other TLR camera, you take the empty spool from the bottom to the top and the fresh roll on the bottom. Put the film tab into the empty spool on top and wind a few times until you see the film arrow pointing sideways. Close the back and open the door on the back, exposing the red window. Then wind until you see number 1. The 6x9 format gives you 8 2 1/4" x3 1/4" negs on a roll of 120 film.

Top: Button to open finder. Bottom:Button to open film back Back door open to load film Ontoflex-FW_6.jpg Ontoflex-FW_5.jpg

To open the viewing hood, there is a release button on the backside, which springs the viewfinder open. Looking down into the viewfinder, on the four corners are squares to identify the shooting area if you are photographing in portrait or landscape mode. The focusing screen on my camera is pretty bright, and viewing and focusing is easy. For critical focusing, there is another sliding button on the top of the viewfinder, which is now facing the subject, which releases the magnifier for critical focus.

 On the very top is another sliding bar, which you can turn the viewfinder from the traditional "looking down" viewfinder to a "sports" finder. It allows you to pre-focus and use depth of field to maintain sharpness while viewing your subject more like an SLR, where you put the camera to your eye and frame your subject.

Ontoflex-FW_14.jpg Ontoflex-FW_15.jpg Ontoflex-FW_16.jpg Ontoflex-FW_18.jpg

The focusing knob is on the right side of the camera. To take a photo is very simple: turn the dial to set the shutter speed and aperture on the ring around the shutter. Cock the shutter with the cocking lever, and release with the other lever. On the back of the camera is an extensive depth of field chart, but I cherish the plate attached to the back with the store that sold it, Photo-Plait Paris.

MY EXPERIENCE:

Here are some images I took walking around my neighborhood with portrait and Landscape photos from the same vantage point.

CONCLUSION:

 I had fun shooting a TLR camera with a beautiful 6x9 format AND could shoot both vertical and Horizontal images by rotating the back of the camera. It is similar to the newer Mamiya RB67 and others but with a much smaller camera. What a superb camera and something I was unaware of even a few months ago. I'll use this more often, especially with the film format and the ease of vertical or horizontal shooting.

 Thank you for taking some time to look over this post. Until next time, please be safe.

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Tags Cornu, Cornu Co. Ontoflex, Ontoflex, twin lens reflex, French camera, film camera, 6x9 format
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Camera Collecting Blog

For this camera collecting blog, I want to give you a little background on my interest in anything photographic.

I can still remember when my uncle gave me my first camera. I was nine years old. It was a Univex twin lens camera, and I was mesmerized looking down through the waist level finder. Everything was backward, but my brain quickly figured out left was right, and right was left. I took that camera on vacation to Alaska shooting 620 films and still have the negatives and photos.

Fast forward to when I'm 16. I find myself in the front row at concerts like Traffic, Humble Pie, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and all the classic bands of the '70s. My three friends and I went to see bands at least a couple of times a month. I first was published in Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, Guitar Player, and other publications. In later years, we published a blog on the shows we saw and also have images on my website. I'm in the process of writing a book on my experiences and pictures from this period.

My passion for all things cameras and photographic started when I turned 18 and started working at the local camera store. I worked there for almost 20 years. I sold all the classic cameras of the 1970s and '80s like Canon AE-1, Nikon F, Minolta SRT, Pentax Spotmatic, Topcon Super D, and many large and medium format cameras. To this day, I can tell these camera cameras even from the outline they have. During this time, I started to collect anything photographic, but the real passion is for cameras and lenses.

I've had a great career in the photo industry, which has lead in many different directions. My different positions were, Professional Photo Lab Manager, PrePress and high-end scanner salesman, Representative for Sinar and Broncolor, Leaf Digital back representative. The most recent job was the Profoto Rep for the US, West Coast, for almost 15 years. During these times, I've had the opportunity to travel. I always found some time to seek out cameras or photo items in the town I've gone to. I've also had the chance to meet and work with some fascinating photographers over my career. Mary Ellen Mark, Jim Marshall, Dan Winters, Annie Leibovitz, and many, many others.

Currently, my camera collection is around 500-600 cameras. It includes many exotic and colorful Kodaks like the full line of the Beau Brownies, the very rare, Super-Six Twenty, the 35mm Ektra model and lenses, and the string set models. I also have 10-12 Leica's from the original A, the hockey stick models, into the M4 black paint, and some of the newer digital. I own from the subcompact models through to many 8x10 cameras with exotic brass lenses.

I've devoured the McKeown's camera guides and own most versions of the camera bible going back to 1984. I own a collection of camera collecting books in the neighborhood of about 100, including camera manufacturing books. I collect cameras, but my photographic collection includes 200 or so panoramic images, several hundred Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, original glass negatives, camera advertising, figurines with camera, and many, many more items. I started the Camera Collecting page on Facebook.

When eBay started back in 1996 or so, I was an early adopter using its platform. In 1997 when I joined them, my seller number was 1034 and currently still sell on eBay under Clix, which is my seller name. 

Due to recent tragic events from the Covid-19 lately, my career with Profoto ended, and I'm onto the next chapter. One of the options was to start writing articles on camera collecting, which has always been my passion. 

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