Foca camera
Encyclopedia
The Foca camera was a French
-built brand of rangefinder camera
s made by Optique & Précision de Levallois
.
The camera was designed in 1938, but the Second World War prevented its release, which finally occurred in 1945. The first Foca models were named "PF" (for petit format, "small format") and distinguished by the number of stars. They had focal plane shutter and interchangeable lenses on a screw mounting. The "PF1" (one star), later named "Standard", was the basic version without rangefinder. After 1949, the company developed a bayonet mount
version, called "Universel", with a series of lenses all coupled to the rangefinder. Optique & Précision de Levallois (in short OPL) made its own lenses under the brand "Oplar" and derivatives ("Oplarex", "Oplex"...).
Like the Contax II
, the Foca had the rangefinder integrated in the viewfinder. In 1961, the viewfinder became wider (magnification 1:1), collimated and corrected from parallax
.
The company also made 35 mm models for amateur market:
The production ceased in 1965.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-built brand of rangefinder camera
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
s made by Optique & Précision de Levallois
Optique & Précision de Levallois
Société Optique et Précision de Levallois, S.A. was founded in 1919, although its predecessor dated from 1911. It produced rangefinders, military, medical, and scientific optics, and the "Foca" and other rangefinder cameras, at Levallois and Châteaudun .Sales fell off after 1961 and on 1 January...
.
The camera was designed in 1938, but the Second World War prevented its release, which finally occurred in 1945. The first Foca models were named "PF" (for petit format, "small format") and distinguished by the number of stars. They had focal plane shutter and interchangeable lenses on a screw mounting. The "PF1" (one star), later named "Standard", was the basic version without rangefinder. After 1949, the company developed a bayonet mount
Bayonet mount
A bayonet mount or bayonet connector is a fastening mechanism consisting of a male side with one or more pins, and a female receptor with matching L slots and spring to keep the two parts locked together....
version, called "Universel", with a series of lenses all coupled to the rangefinder. Optique & Précision de Levallois (in short OPL) made its own lenses under the brand "Oplar" and derivatives ("Oplarex", "Oplex"...).
Like the Contax II
Contax II
The Contax II was released in 1936 and was the successor of the Contax I. It was the first camera with a rangefinder and viewfinder combined in a single window. Its chief designer was Hubert Nerwin...
, the Foca had the rangefinder integrated in the viewfinder. In 1961, the viewfinder became wider (magnification 1:1), collimated and corrected from parallax
Parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
.
The company also made 35 mm models for amateur market:
- "Focasport": viewfinderViewfinderIn photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
cameras which were rather popular in France. The rangefinder versions were numbered II. - "Focaflex": SLR cameras of special design using central shutter.
The production ceased in 1965.