Kodak Six-201932

History

Kodak introduced the 620 film format in 1932 alongside several new camera models, including the Six-20 box camera. The 620 spool is dimensionally incompatible with 120 spools -- the hub is smaller and the flanges slightly narrower -- meaning cameras designed for 620 cannot accept 120 spools without modification. This proprietary format decision was typical of Kodak's strategy in the 1930s and was applied across its consumer line; the parallel Six-16 model used 616 film, an analogous narrow-hub version of the older 116 format.

The Six-20 box camera was sold alongside more expensive Six-20 folding cameras and remained a low-cost entry point into the Kodak ecosystem through the 1930s and 1940s. Various cosmetic and minor mechanical revisions were made during the production run, but the basic design was stable.

By the postwar period, the Six-20 line was being superseded by more capable folding cameras and eventually by roll-film cameras offering more exposures per roll. 620 film remained in Kodak production until 1995, significantly outlasting many of the cameras it was designed for.

Why It Matters

The Six-20 illustrates two recurring Kodak strategies: format proprietary lock-in and the application of a model name to an entire tier of cameras spanning several price points. The 620 format was mechanically identical to 120 in film width and image size but was made incompatible by the spool change, ensuring that owners of 620 cameras purchased Kodak-branded film rather than the competing 120 supply from Agfa, Ilford, and other manufacturers.

For contemporary film shooters, the Six-20 is significant because 620 film is no longer commercially manufactured in standard emulsions. Shooting a Six-20 today requires either respooling 120 film onto reclaimed 620 spools -- a procedure that can be done in a changing bag -- or modifying the camera's spool chamber to accept 120 spools directly, which some cameras allow with minor shim work. This extra friction makes the Six-20 a project camera rather than a daily shooter.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• The Six-20 box camera was marketed heavily to Depression-era families as an affordable continuation of the Brownie snapshot tradition at a time when discretionary spending was severely constrained.
• Kodak used the Six-20 range in advertising that emphasized the camera as a family keepsake tool, appearing in magazine spreads targeting mothers as the primary domestic photographers.
• Large numbers of Six-20 box cameras survive in attic and estate-sale collections across North America, reflecting the high production volumes of the 1930s consumer camera market.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Kodak Six-20 -- model identification and variant notes

Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.