C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Voigtländer Perkeo II (1952) is a folding medium-format camera producing 12 frames of 6×6 cm on 120 roll film. The defining characteristic of the Perkeo series is its size: the folded body is notably smaller than contemporary 6×6 folders such as the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta or Agfa Isolette, achieved by mounting the lens standard on a compact collapsing bellows with a reduced travel distance. This compact geometry is made possible by the 80mm focal length — slightly short for "normal" on 6×6 (which would conventionally be ~75–80mm, making 80mm a mild long-normal) — requiring a shorter bellows extension than a 105mm lens.
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Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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About this camera
A remarkably compact West German 6×6 folder — the Perkeo II packs a sharp Color-Skopar 80mm lens into a body that folds flat enough to slip into a coat pocket.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120 film, 6×6 cm (12 exposures) |
| Lens | Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5, Tessar-type |
| Years | 1952–1956 |
| Shutter | Compur Rapid, 1s – 1/400s + B |
| Flash sync | X-sync |
| Focus | Scale (distance ring on lens) |
| Viewfinder | Optical (no rangefinder) |
| Weight | ~420 g |
| Dimensions | ~120 × 80 × 40 mm folded |
Voigtländer introduced the Perkeo in 1952 specifically to address the market for a truly pocket-sized 6×6 medium-format camera. The Agfa Isolette and Zeiss Ikonta were established competitors but both were larger in the folded state. The Perkeo's radical size reduction — achieved through careful optical and mechanical engineering — made it the smallest 6×6 folder of its era.
The name "Perkeo" was borrowed from a famous court jester of Heidelberg, a tiny figure known for outsized capacity — a nod to the camera's deceptively large film format in a small body.
The Perkeo I and II were produced at Voigtländer's Braunschweig factory, the same facility producing the Bessa and Vito lines. The Color-Skopar lens fitted to the Perkeo was a step below the premium Apo-Lanthar or Heliar used on top Voigtländer folders, but well above entry-level Vaskar lenses; it is genuinely sharp at f/5.6 and above.
The Perkeo II was discontinued in 1956 as Voigtländer shifted its medium-format investment toward the rangefinder-equipped Bessa II and eventually the Vitessa line. No Perkeo with a built-in rangefinder was ever produced.
The Perkeo II offers something genuinely unusual: a 6×6 medium-format negative — 55 × 55 mm effective image area, roughly 15× the area of a 35mm frame — in a camera that slips into a jacket pocket. For photographers who value the tonal range and enlargement potential of medium format but are deterred by the bulk of system cameras, the Perkeo II is a compelling proposition.
The absence of a rangefinder limits it to subjects at measured or estimated distances, but for landscapes, architecture, and street work at mid-distances (3–10 metres), the scale focus is adequate. The Color-Skopar at f/5.6–f/8 provides depth of field comfortable enough to cover scale-focus imprecision at these distances.
Lens fixed (Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5). Accessories: Voigtländer clip-on close-up lens kit; filter adapter for 28.5mm front thread; PC flash sync cable; leather ever-ready case (original; reproductions available). No interchangeable-lens option in the Perkeo series.
BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Voigtländer Perkeo II
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