Tony Kemplen on the... Zeiss kon s Koliori

Asmall film camera that’s manually operated and takes 127 film

This little offering from Zeiss dates from the early 1930s and uses 127 film, a smaller obsolete version of the still widely available 120 roll film. acquired mine in 2011 when became interested in 127 cameras from that era. Many of these are very similar in design, but the Kolibri stands out from the crowd in terms of its appearance.

In order to allow a camera to fit into a pocket or small bag, some way of collapsing the lens has to be found. Folding bellows were a popular solution, but instead, Zeiss went for a rigid metal tube, which collapses into the camera body. This is a more robust design, but adds to the weight.