OPL Foca camera family list

OPL Foca family list
OPL Foca PF1
OPL Foca PF2
OPL Foca Universel
OPL Focaflex

OPL Foca camera family list

A specific online camera research project is unpredictable. I have looked at over 300 cameras, focusing on less popular, obscure models. For the Leicas, Canons, and Nikons, there are piles upon piles of articles; adding one more write-up is redundant. The last cameras I reviewed were French, and on most of them, there was hardly any information, either in print or online. Little did I know when I drew the Foca models off the shelf. The camera seems much more popular than I anticipated, at least in France, while it is almost unknown in North America. It may take a front-end loader to handle the information, which appears to keep flowing the deeper I dig in.

The OPL models were the epitome of French high-end cameras, but, as with other post-war global camera makers, they vanished once the Soviets, East Germans and Japanese entered the market. The East Block makers cut their way in with mid-quality, little creativity, and low prices, being foreign-exchange generators for their respective countries, and the Japanese killed them all with high-quality, cutting-edge technology at affordable prices.

In France, the fledgling photographic industry was protected by import restrictions that had ended in the 1960s, opening the door for imported models.

Many camera makers attempted to offer high-end, 35mm cameras in the immediate pre- and post-war years. However, most were inspired by the market royalty, Leitz and Zeiss, and were either dead ringers or closely copied. The OPL models were designed and produced as a unique camera from the ground up. There were similarities with other cameras in that all cameras share the same basic components, but it was clearly marching to its own drum. There is a view that Leitz gave their blessing and remotely guided OPL in its early steps, but I see no further references to that.

The company was established in the early 1920s by a minor French nobility, Armand de Gramont, a Renaissance man with interests in diverse disciplines. Named Optique & Precision de Levallois, it manufactured survey equipment and scientific and military optics. As the art of photography caught up, the company dipped its toes into the industry, with the first model planned before the occupation and matured after the war ended. The plant was impressive, occupying a whole block in Levallois, a Paris suburb, and employing 1,200 people, complete with all social services, schools, and clinics. A second plant was in Chateaudun, a two-hour drive south of Paris. This brings to mind another French company of the time, Royer, which at its height employed 50 technicians, a far cry from OPL.

The company had presented several camera groups. The early models were well-made, on par with the best made elsewhere. Nonetheless, the cameras were hardly sold outside France, and with protective measures removed, OPL cameras were just another local brand in a global market, lacking the aura of the majors. Within half a decade, the company scaled down its products to a mid-market line, the Focasport, and then even lower, to the Focasport second generation, all-plastic, mass-market cameras. Their local advertising stressed that cameras are ‘world-class’, a term that reminds me of the same term used in Canada for industry, arts and culture.

Yet, to align with the SLR wave, they offered three models of the Focaflex, a compact, mirror-based SLR that could well be the inspiration for the Pen F line. Oddly, where the industry used a focal-plane curtain shutter, the Focaflex offered a leaf shutter. Later generations of the PF rangefinder, under the Universell name, did not help much, and in 1964, the company merged with SOM-Berthiot, with its descendants still active today.

The model naming convention was uncommon. The early models were named PF, for Petit Format, probably influenced by the German KB for Kleinbild, meaning ‘small picture’. The PF was followed by stars, i.e., 1, 2, or 3 stars. This line was refreshed under the Universel name. Later models were lumped under Fcasport. There were variations galore for later historians to name each variant. As always, there are different naming conventions. The commonly used names are based on the Foca Historica book by Jean Loup Princelle, which is the OPL bible.

Most OPL cameras used 35mm media; see the outliers section below for more.

OPL camera groups

Early FOCA: two, one, and three-star

Focal-plane cloth shutter. The number denotes the stars marked at the bottom-left body corner. Interchangeable lenses are 36mm thread mount, uncommon.

Foca PF2, 1945, rangefinder compact camera, collapsible/interchangeable lens. Several sub-models differ cosmetically; there is no real interest beyond Foca connoisseurs.
Foca PF2B, 1947, similar to the PF2, 9 lenses offering, higher top speed and sync. See dedicated page.
Foca PF2B Marine Nationale, 1947. For French Navy use, similar to PF2B. A rare model; fakes offered for sale, similar to FED and Zorki-to-Leica conversions.
Foca PF1, 1946, viewfinder, fixed lens, knob winder.
Foca PF1B, 1947, viewfinder, interchangeable lens. See dedicated page.
Foca PF1 PTT, 1952, viewfinder for exchange recording, one speed, similar concept to the MDA.
Foca PF3, 1956, knob winder, slow speed dial.
Foca Standard, 1953, same as PF1.
Foca PF3L Air, 1959, for the French air force use, lever winder.

Second generation, Universel models

focal-plane shutter, interchangeable lenses, proprietary bayonet mount.

Foca Universel, 1948, rangefinder, knob winder, slow-speed dial. See dedicated page.
Foca Universel R (UR), 1956, lever winder, slow-speed dial.
Foca Universel RC (URC), 1961, with self-timer, lever winder, large and bright viewer; only 2,000 made.
Foca Universel R Marine Nationale, 1958, similar to UR.
Foca Universel RC , Marine Nationale, 1962, similar to URC.

Focasport, AKA Foca Sport, Ffirst generation.

Compact viewfinder cameras, metal body, leaf shutter.

Focasport, 1956, viewfinder, knob winder.
Focasport I, 1956, viewfinder, lever winder.
Focasport Ic, 1957, viewfinder, selenium meter.
Focasport Il, 1958, rangefinder, fixed lens, lever winder.
Focasport Id, 1961, rangefinder, fixed lens, bright viewer, selenium meter.
Focasport Ib, 1961, rangefinder, fixed lens, bright finder.
Focasport II, 1961, rangefinder

Focasport, second generation

Compact viewfinder cameras, plastic body, leaf shutter.

Focasport CF, 1962, rangefinder, selenium meter, bright viewer.
Focasport IIf, 1962, rangefinder, selenium meter, bright viewer.
Focasport C, 1963, viewfinder, selenium meter, bright viewer.
Focasport IIc, 1963, viewfinder, selenium meter, bright viewer.

Focasport, third generation

Compact plastic bodies, attempting to punch higher than the earlier Focasport.

Focasport SC, 1963, viewfinder, selenium meter.
Focasport S, 1963, viewfinder, selenium meter.
Focasport Plus, 1963, viewfinder, selenium meter.
Focasport SF, 1964, viewfinder, selenium meter, bulb socket on top.

Focaflex, SLR cameras

Focaflex, 1959, fixed lens, leaf shutter. Not to be confused with Meopta Focaflex. See dedicated page.
Focaflex Automatic, 1961, fixed lens, leaf shutter, selenium coupled meter, shutter priority, no auto return mirror.
Focaflex II, 1962, interchangeable lens.
Foca Reflex prototype with a focal plane shutter did not pass the prototype stage.

Outliers

Aerial Camera, 1923.
Micro Foca 2, 1957.
Focamatic, 1961, bright viewer, selenium meter, automatic exposure. A rare model, offered in black or white.
Focasport Nachet, 1962, scientific/microscope camera.
Foca Marly, 1964, viewfinder, a cheap #127 format camera, not sure what the rationale was behind it, as the industry was going full swing towards #135.
Focasix, #120 format rangefinder, only prototypes are known.
Gastrophot, colonoscopy camera.

For the collector, the Foca cameras are a prized possession. Not many were made, compared to the millions made by the industry mainstays. The early models were well-made, beautiful cameras, different from the run-of-the-mill era cameras.

Foca models family list

The table below could be incomplete. I aim to cross-reference data from several sources, which in this case seems a herculean task. The available sources do not agree with each other, so the goalposts kept moving. When time allows, I may return to this page to proof and correct.

Image	Model	Year	Type	Lens	Lens	Mount
	Aerial Camera	1923	Niche
	Foca PF3	1949	Rangefinder	Oplar, Oplex	2.8/50, 3.5/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca PF3L	1959	Rangefinder	Oplex	3.5/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca PF3L AIR	1959	Rangefinder	Oplex	3.5/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca PF2	1945	Rangefinder	OPL-Foca	3.5/50	interchangable
	Foca PF2B Marine Nationale	1953	Rangefinder	OPL-Foca	3.5/50	interchangable
	Foca PF2B Model 1	1947	Viewfinder	OPL-Foca	3.5/50	interchangable
	Foca PF1	1946	Viewfinder	Oplar	2.8/50	interchangable
	Foca Marly	1964	Compact
	Foca Standard	1954	Viewfinder	Oplar	2.8/50	interchangable, fixed
	Foca Universel	1948	Rangefinder	Oplar	1.9/50, 2.8/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca Universel R [UR]	1956	Rangefinder	Oplarex	1.9/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca Universel R [UR] Marine Nationale	1958	Rangefinder	Oplarex	1.9/50	interchangable	Slow speed dial
	Foca Universel RC [URC]	1962	Rangefinder	Oplarex	1.9/50	interchangable
	Foca Universel RC [URC] Marine Nationale	1962	Rangefinder	Oplarex	1.9/50	interchangable
	Focaflex	1959	Compact SLR	Oplar	2.8/50	Fixed
	Focaflex Automatic	1961	Compact SLR	Oplar	2.8/50	interchangable
	Focaflex II	1962	Compact SLR	Neoplex	2.8/50	interchangable
	Focamatic	1961	Viewfinder	Neoplar	2.8/45
	Focasport	1956	Viewfinder	Neoplar	3.5/45
	Focasport C	1963	Viewfinder	Neoplar	28/45, 3.5/45
	Focasport CF	1962	Rangefinder	Neoplar	28/45
	Focasport I	1955	Viewfinder	Neoplar	28/45
	Focasport IL	1958	Rangefinder	Neoplar	2.8/45, 3.5/45
	Focasport Ib	1961	Rangefinder	Neoplar	2.8/45, 3.5/45
	Focasport Ic	1957	Viewfinder	Neoplar	3.5/45
	Focasport Id	1959	Rangefinder	Oplar	2.8/45
	Focasport II	1961	Rangefinder	Oplar, Oplex	2.8/45
	Focasport IIc	1963	Rangefinder	Neoplar	28/45
	Focasport IIf	1962	Rangefinder	Neoplar	28/45
	Focasport S	1963	Viewfinder	Neoplar	2.8/45
	Focasport SC	1964	Viewfinder	Neoplar	28/45
	Focasport SF	1964	Viewfinder	Neoplar	28/45		Flash bulb socket
	Focasport Nachet	1962	Niche	N/A
	Focasport Plus	1963	Viewfinder
	Foca PF1b	1948	Viewfinder
	Foca Standard S	1953	Viewfinder
	Foca PF2N	1951	Rangefinder
	Foca PF1 PTT	1952	Viewfinder
	Micro Foca 2	1957	Niche	Miocroploar	6.3/500