Kodak Duo Six-20 Series II

Specification

Art Deco Credentials

Significant: Pronounced and self evident

• Produced during the main Art Deco period.
• Concentric arcs, black and chrome faceplate design.
• Black & chrome struts with vertical and horizontal embossed pattern.
• Angled ends to body.
• Chrome edging to body.
• Chrome top plate.
• Bellows embossed with lines.
• Body leatherette embossed with linear pattern.
• Wavey design on shutter body.
• Concentric stepped circles on spool centres.
• Concentric stepped circles on front door release.
• Concentric circles on chrome winder.
• Chrome tripod boss and film door latch.
• Chrome line embossed base plate latch.
• Chrome pop-up optical finder

Description

The Duo Six-20 is a self erecting folding rollfilm camera that takes 16, 2¼ x 1⅝ inch exposures on 620 rollfilm. It has a f/3.5, 75 mm Kodak Anastigmat lens. The iris diaphragm gives a range of f/3.5 to f/22. It has a variable focus and will focus down to 3.5 feet by the use of a helical focussing mount. It has a rim-set Compur shutter with speeds 1 - 1/500s, B, T. It has a body mounted shutter release but it is uncoupled to the film advance, so double exposure is possible. It has two red windows which are used to get 16 exposures from 620 film. The film is advanced until a number appears in the first window and an image is taken. Then the film is advanced until the same number appears in the second window. Then it's back to the first window for the next number.

The metal body is covered in leather and it has leather bellows. It has a direct optical finder on the body. There is a chrome baseboard release bar at the front under the lens. An accessory shoe is provided. On the top of the camera is a depth of field calculator.

There are three versions of this camera. The one shown was the second model.

The first version of this camera appeared in 1933. It had a lined enamelled top plate rather than chrome and a key to wind on rather than a knob. It had un-adorned struts and there was no baseboard release bar and no accessory shoe. It had a f/4.5 lens which was focussed by the front cell. Get more info about Series I here:- Kodak Duo Series I

From Sept 1939, the third version arrived which was fitted with a combined viewfinder/rangefinder, with the shutter and wind-on interlocked. There is no depth of field calculator.

Several lens and shutter combinations were available. These were:-

• Kodak Anastigmat f/4.5: 1933-34 : Pronto S shutter. 1933 -1939: Compur shutter. 1935-1936 : Kodak S shutter. 1935-1939 : Compur Rapid shutter.
• Kodak Anastigmat f/3.5: 1933-1939 : Compur shutter. 1935-1939: Compur Rapid shutter
• Schneider Xenar f/3.5 or f/4.5: 1933-1939 : Compur shutter. 1935-1939 : Compur Rapid shutter.
• Zeiss Tessar f/3.5: 1933-1939 : Compur shutter. 1935-1939 : Compur Rapid shutter.
• Zeiss Tessar f/4.5: 1934 : Compur shutter.

How to Use

This camera takes 620 film which is still available from selected photographic outlets. Although the actual film is the same as 120 film, the spools are different. The 620 spools are slightly shorter and have a smaller diameter. Do not use 120 film in this camera because it will jam and may snap. It is possible to cut down a spool of 120 film to fit or to re-spool some 120 film onto 620 spools in a darkroom or changing bag.

If you don't want to bother with an exposure meter, follow the guide shown, using shutter speeds of 1/25s, 1/50s and 1/100s only. It is based on the 'Sunny 16' rule. Film is so forgiving and will produce acceptable results even when overexposed by 2 or 3 stops or underexposed by 1 stop.