Kodak Medalist I courtesy of Rick Soloway
Toronto. It was massive, heavy, and awkward to use, but with a great lens. It was the Medalist I 620 camera. Kodak built it for the US and British military after Germany cut off the German supply of cameras including the precision Leicas, Zeiss-Ikons, and Kodak’s own Retinas (made in German factories bought from August Nagel in the 1930s). Medalist I cameras were made beginning in 1941 with the Medalist II version marketed after the war. For a few years Kodak made high quality precision cameras in the States.
While the cameras were rugged and very heavy, they had a couple of weaknesses. Settings done in the wrong sequence could materially damage their shutters; and the cameras used the 620 film with skinny reel cores, now long out of manufacture (recently revived, but not by Kodak). 620 film lost out to 120 film (same film size) on a thick wooden reel core and used by all non-Kodak professional medium size cameras. 620, while it lasted, was relegated to the cheaper cameras manufactured by Kodak and many others.
The larger image, by Rob F, (click on the Medalist image at left) is from the June 12, 2017 article, “The Mighty Medalist 620 Camera!“, by Leslie Lazenby on the “Film Photography Project” website.
