ISO Duplex Super 120

Thinking about Italian cameras, what comes to mind are the mid-20th-century cameras for the masses, such as Bencini or Ferrania, which was my first-ever camera, circa 1962. Nonetheless, Italy was one of the few European countries that produced cameras since the late 1800s. The hard-to-read book Made in Italy lists over 100 manufacturers. Most early manufacturers did not make a splash, as the market was not there and the art of photography was the domain of a few. Post-WWII, numerous manufacturers offered Leica-inspired cameras that fetch a nice penny today. Sadly, most have survived a decade or two, probably affected by the East Block flooding of cheap cameras and the technically advanced Japanese brands. See more information on nadir.it.

ISO, short for Industria Scientifica Ottica, literally “scientific industrial industry,” was established in Milan in 1947. Northern Italy, home to Milan, is an industrial hub on par with the best in Europe. I can vouch for that, as I used to source cutting tools and precision equipment in that region.

As a side note, researching the ISO name is cumbersome as it overlaps with one of three major industrial standards: ISO, DIN, and ASA. ISO stands for International Standards Organization, which is based on the DIN, Deutsches Institut für Normung – German Standards Institute. ASA stands for American Standards Association. For good measure and to further confuse online search, ASA and DIN are used to denote film speed, and AGFA had a list of ISO-named cameras.

The first camera made by ISO was the Lux of 1948, a graft of a Leica onto a Contax, or vice versa, a compact rangefinder with the 2nd lens under the viewer. The elongated extinction meter window by the viewer may be confused with the rangefinder 2nd window. It was fully equipped to compete with the majors, featuring a focal-plane horizontal shutter, a bottom-mounted speed winder lever, and an interchangeable lens. Collectiblend mentions a viewfinder-only Lux model, but it is not seen elsewhere in print or online, so I suspect it was confused with the Publica.

In 1950 came the Bilux, a very similar camera, without the extinction meter and the rangefinder window at a conventional place. It was made in a very short run, just a few hundred.

In 1953 came the Senior and Junior, later renamed Reporter and Standard. Both were very similar to the Bilux. The standard had done away with the bottom cocking lever and offered fewer shutter speeds, and was sold as a budget model. Both were sold in Germany by Hensoldt, as Henso Reporter and Henso Standard. Hensoldt had one other camera, the rare Publica, the origin of which is unclear, whether it was made by them or imported from ISO or another maker in Italy.

For the above cameras, Iso offered a set of lenses under the Iriar, Argon and Arion names. It is unclear whether the lenses were homemade or made by Hensoldt in  Germany.

The last two models made by ISO before closing down in the early 1960s were the Duplex sisters. Both are stereo cameras that use #120 format film: the Duplex 120 has fixed-focus lenses and three shutter speeds, and the Duplex 2120 Super has focusing lenses and five shutter speeds.

The Duplex Super 120 is a pleasure to look at, hold, and use. I don’t want to sound like a cliché, but this is a true example of Italian design, well blended with practicality and industrial ability. It easily competes for top design rank as the Olympus Pen F and the Rollei 35. It looks much like the Stereo Rocca, a stereo camera from Japan introduced at the same time. The similarity could be incidental or a copy; I cannot say for sure, as all vintage camera dates are fluid.

The camera uses #120 format, whereas most stereo cameras use 35mm format. The feeder roll loads at the bottom, and the frames slide up. It produces twin images, side by side, each measuring 24x25mm. The camera was sold in a kit that included a hand-held viewer and slide-mounting kit. The side by side mode makes more sense than the way other stereo models using the Realist convention had to skip frames and reassemble later.

A unique feature was added mid-production run: a single image option. A lever on the left side alternates between right/left or both lenses.

• The body is all metal, finished in parts with smooth and rough textures. Compared to the other stereo cameras I have looked at recently, it stands out for its design, size, weight, and practicality. It is well-balanced in one hand, and at 430 gr it is about half the weight of the famed Realist. It is simple to use, with no mystery settings or levers. It looks like a product of well-thought-out design, not a feature out of place. The camera on my desk is immaculate, in appearance and functionality, an evidence of the build quality.
• The top and bottom have no user settings, as it is a vertical model.
• The left side has a large winder button that turns clockwise only.
• The right side has two pull-out grips to secure both spools. This is the only feature I would have modified, as it is not fingernail-friendly, however practical. Two PC sync ports, marked X and M, retire the need for a toggle switch.
• The fully removable back is released via a tab at the top, one of the smoothest I have seen on a camera. It is easy to grasp, and it discharges a latch that holds onto the body. It is spring-loaded, as about all other pulls or latches in this camera.
• In the back, two red lenses, one on top of the other, show the frame number on the paper-backed #120 film. They are protected by a pull-down slider, well, spring-loaded. Since the image pair uses half the frame height, move the frame number from lens to lens.
• In the camera hollow are the spool holders, kept in place by the spring-loaded catches. In the middle, side by side, are the image masks, each 24x25mm.
• The viewfinder is tiny, but it seems that so were most compact cameras of the time.
• The front is where all the settings are:
  • The top has the front viewer window.
  • Two thumb screws at this level secure the camera strap.
  • On the left is the trigger bar, the only feature of the camera that is not centred or in a balanced pair.
  • Under the nameplate is the trigger cocking lever; push right to cock the shutter, and it swings back. Did I say spring-loaded?
  • In front of it is the focusing cogwheel, easy to use and smooth. It turns both lenses, each on its own helix, with distance markings in meters on the right lens. The depth-of-field scale is marked on the body around the lens ring.
  • The lenses are mounted at 30mm centers, about half of the 60mm common US-made cameras, which is the average human pupil distance. As it does not correspond to natural depth perception, it could have been corrected either by the lens or by the viewer.
  • Below the lenses are two neat dials, serrated and easy to handle. The right is the aperture settings; the left is the shutter speed dial. The bulb setting is marked P, assumed for ‘posa’, Italian for exposure.
  • An extra touch is a lanyard connector in the middle, to keep the lens covers from running away.

For the collector, this is a sterling example of Italian precision industry. ISO cameras are not cheap, and this model is at the bottom of this brand’s value range. The rangefinders go for thousands, so here is an opportunity to enjoy this brand at a reasonable cost.