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Cornu Ontoflex N° 3
France Version française
Photos by Jean-François Weber text by Jean-François Weber. From the collection of Jean-François Weber. Last update 2024-07-02 par Sylvain Halgand.

Manufactured or assembled in France from 1937 to (After) 1940.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 13322

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Cornu 

The Ontoflex cameras are twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras using 620 film and producing 6 x 9 cm negatives. To facilitate landscape photography, the back rotates 90 degrees.
They were produced during the 1930s.

There were three different series of Ontoflex cameras:

Series 6000: A large camera that directly accepts plate holders and a film adapter similar to those used on plate folding cameras.
Series 7000: The film magazine is now also made by Cornu. The film's sensitive surface aligns with the junction level of the camera.
Series 8000 and above: The film is now placed at the back of the magazine, allowing for a slimmer camera design.

It appears that the Ontoflex numbering is not continuous. It starts at 6000, the first available thousand following the Ontoscope. The second series of Ontoflex begins at 7000, even though fewer than a thousand Ontoflex cameras were produced. Similarly, the third series starts at 8000 and continues regularly, incorporating the few Ontoscope film cameras that had already been produced.

The swiveling back is the subject of patents filed by Gustave Norbert Cornu on March 4, 1933 (FR765541) and February 13, 1935 (FR798215).

The first patent describes a swiveling, but non-interchangeable, magazine.


The second patent describes an interchangeable back, allowing the camera to be used with a frame, a plate magazine, or a film magazine.

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The Ontoflex series was produced during the years of crisis preceding World War II and during the war itself. Due to supply difficulties, some Ontoflex cameras are not covered in leatherette but are painted instead, or only the sides are covered in leatherette.

Curiously, for this specimen No. 9130, we see luxury. The body is fully covered in leatherette, and chrome is extensively used on parts usually painted black.

Arnaud Saudax, a specialist of the brand, believes this is a special order for a demanding client or an exhibition piece for a photo fair or a display window.

The rotating back is removable.

Cornu Ontoflex N° 3



Cornu Ontoflex N° 3



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