BREAKING NEWSPieds et radar de la préhist... par Bernard Muraccioli | Agrandisseur "lumière d... par Sylvain Halgand | François arago le daguerréo... par Jm Gol | [priox] tireuse contact 13x18 par Jm Gol | Qui en sont les fabricants ? par Jm Gol | Présentation par Frédéric SEC | Td2024-03 par Cédric KB | Nikonos v par Claire |
Foth Foth-Spring
France Version française
Photos by Sylvain Halgand text by Sylvain Halgand. From the collection of Sylvain Halgand. Last update 2023-11-07 par Sylvain Halgand.

Manufactured or assembled in Germany from 1936 to 1936.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 270

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Foth 

The folding cameras manufactured by Foth (C. F. FOTH & Co Gmbh) come in 6 x 9 or 6.5 x 11 formats on flexible film. However, one model allows for dual use of film or plates.
All the models share a family resemblance. The shape of the strut is a common feature across all models.

The range is quite straightforward:

Foth-Film (or Rollfilm): The extraction of the lens and shutter is manual. You need to pull towards yourself, and the block moves on a rail.
The shutter is described as a "simulated Vario" or a "vario type" in 1927 and 1928. From 1929, the shutter gains a self-timer and is named Foth (whose logo can be confused with that of F. Deckel).
The early models have a single viewfinder with a swiveling erecting lens.

Foth-Film (Luxe): It's identical to the previous model but with reptile-style covering. This nomenclature has not been found in catalogs. Several times, a Havana-colored covering is mentioned (without a name change) but not the use of a reptile-style covering.

Foth-Film Derby: This is a Foth-Film with a Derby shutter. Only a few catalogs present it by this name. Others consider it a variant of the Foth-Film.

Foth-Mixte
: It resembles the Foth-Film but can also be used with 6.5 x 9 plates.

Foth-Spring: The lens and shutter deployment is automatic upon opening the bellows. The shape of the struts is specific to enable this deployment.

Foth-Special: This model is also automatic, but the struts have a very different shape.

    Size Years Lens Shutter Opening Viewfinder  

Foth-Film
Foth-Film   6 x 9 1927 Foth 6.3 Simili Vario
1/25, 1/50, B, T
Manually Brilliant Finder Photo-Plait also offers it with Splendor 6.2 or Stylor 6.3
Foth-Film   6 x 9 1928 Foth 4.5/105 Foth
1/25 to 1/100, B, T
Manually Brilliant Finder  
Foth-Film 6 x 9 1929 Foth 4.5/105 Foth 1/25 to 1/100, B, T with timer Manually Brilliant Finder  
Foth-Film 6 x 9 1930-34 Foth 4.5/105 Foth 1/25 to 1/100, B, T with timer Manually
Brilliant Finder+ Second finder Radial Focusing
also in havana
Foth-Film  

6,5 x 11

1931-34 Foth 4,9
Foth-Film (Luxe) 6 x 9 ?   Foth 1/25 to 1/100, B, T with timer Manually Brilliant Finder+ Sportif Uncertain designation
Foth-Film Derby   6 x 9 1930-32 Foth 4.5/105 Foth Derby
1 to 1/300
Manually Brilliant Finder+ second finder  
Foth-Film Derby   6,5 x 11 1932-33 Foth 4.9

Foth-Mixte
Foth-Mixte 6 x 9 et 6,5 x 9 1933-1937 Foth 4.5/105 Foth 1/25 to 1/100 with timer Manually
Brilliant Finder+ second finder Radial Focusing

Foth-Spring
Foth-Spring 6 x 9 1933-37 Foth 4.5/105 Foth 1/25 to 1/100, B, T with timer Automatically Brilliant Finder + Finder on body Model A : Timer with adjustable duration
Model B : fixed duration
Foth-Spring 6 x 9 Foth 1/25 to 1/100, B, T with timer Automatically Brilliant Finder + Finder on body

Foth-Special
Foth-Special   6 x 9 1935 Meniscus P, I Automatically Brilliant Finder  

__________

This camera was passed down to me by my grandmother as a cherished heirloom, in the most noble sense of the term. It belonged to my grandfather, who departed too soon. It's so commonplace that when journalists at every exhibition inevitably ask me what sparked my passion, I answer that I don't know. Just because one owns their grandfather's camera doesn't mean they start collecting hundreds, and yet... But to avoid any superficial psychological analysis, I keep that garden to myself.

If my memory serves me right, I believe my grandparents bought it for their honeymoon, in Paris, during the 1937 exposition. Revered far beyond what its qualities deserve, it's a classic, well-crafted folding camera. The lens is an anastigmat 4.5/105 mm, and the shutter offers speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, Bulb, and Time (two-stroke). The combination of this type of lens and this type of shutter is extremely common in folding cameras from those years.

This particular decoration on the front face is only found in the 1936 catalog.

Foth Foth-Spring





Cameras from Ebay France (Foth) (Uploaded each 3 hours)