SUPERB! 1937 Certo Dollina II, 35mm Rangefinder camera, Freshly Serviced, CLA’d

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

This is a rather rare Certo Dollina II, it was a coupled rangefinder camera that was produced for a single year in 1936 by “Certo Camera Werk” in Dresden, Germany. It was an expensive folding camera that that helped establish the popularity of the then then new “miniature” 35mm format. It featured a very lovely fit and finish, real leather covering and a coupled rangefinder. Unfortunately it was released during the Great Depression’ and it’s price put it out of reach of many would be owners. As a result, production was discontinued soon after its introduction and this camera was replaced by simpler, less expensive model. Because of the low production numbers and the low survival rate after 82 years, it can be very difficult to find an exceptionally clean, fully functioning example.

It’s an interesting design with finely machined knobs and the intricate looking depth of field chart on the back of the camera. It also has the convenience of a built in coupled rangefinder that never leaves you guessing about the distance or the focus. In addition to this, an interesting feature of this camera is that it is focused via a knob on the top of the camera. This knob features a distance scale and if desired it can also be used to pre-focus the camera even if the camera is closed. This means you set the focus anytime you want and if a great photo suddenly presents itself, all you’ll need to do is unfold the camera, compose and shoot.

The camera has been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. Everything works. The bellows are light tight. The quality Compur shutter works very well. All speeds (T, B & 1 sec.-1/300th) fire smoothly and are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along nicely and the faster ones are clean and snappy.

The lens is a fine 2.9/5cm (50mm) Steinheil Cassar. It’s a is a classic three element design based on the classic Cooke triplet. It’s a design that’s very popular because of the lovely sharpness, rendering and bokeh. The lens is very clean and clear. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks. There is no haze, crystallization, separated elements or other problems and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.

All in all, a very unusual freshly serviced camera that’s ready to use. The perfect photographic companion for people with a historic interest. Load it with your favorite film and you’ll be guaranteed to have a lot of fun!