Adox POLO 1S (1959–1964)

A very light 35mm viewfinder camera with a Schneider lens that punches well above its price, if you can forgive the plastic body and soft focus.

Overview

Pick up an Adox POLO 1S and the first thing you notice is how little there is of it. It weighs under 300 grams. It is built like a child's toy, with a Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar L 45mm f/2.8 bolted to the front like a luxury engine in a go-kart. That lens is the reason the camera still gets talked about. The plasticky body, the stiff focus ring and the viewfinder that makes you press your nose into the leatherette all feel like afterthoughts. The glass is the real deal, a lens that could have cost twice as much on another brand's body. The POLO 1S isn't a precision instrument. It's a modest, mass-market German camera from the early '60s that happened to get a lens worthy of a Leica accessory.

It's easy to mix up the POLO 1S with its siblings - the base POLO, the POLO 1, even the later POLO 1B - but the 1S is the sweet spot. It sits just above the entry-level models. It drops the cheaper Adoxar f/3.5 lens and limited shutter for the Schneider Radionar and a full range of speeds from 1/30 to 1/250 second, plus Bulb. The Pronto shutter isn't the flashiest, but it's synchronized and reliable, and having 1/250 lets you shoot faster films in daylight. The viewfinder is basic but has frame lines, which the no-frills finder on the original POLO lacks. There's no rangefinder, no meter, no automation. You set everything by hand and guess the exposure. It's a simple tool for slow, deliberate photography.

Specifications

Manufacturer	Dr. C. Schleussner Fotowerke GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany
Production Years	1959–1964
Original Price	82.50 DM (West Germany)
Camera Type	35mm viewfinder (rangefinderless)
Film Format	135 (35mm), 24x36mm frame
Lens	Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar L 45mm f/2.8 or Adoxar 45mm f/2.8
Aperture Range	f/2.8 to f/16
Shutter Type	Pronto (mechanical, leaf)
Shutter Speeds	B, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 second
Shutter Synchronization	PC socket, X-sync at all speeds
Focusing	Manual, via lens barrel (estimated distance)
Viewfinder	Direct optical viewfinder with parallax-corrected frame lines
Exposure Metering	None
Flash	PC sync socket
Hot Shoe	No
Self-Timer	Yes, mechanical
Film Speed Reminder	Rotating dial on rewind knob (ASA 8–800 / DIN 10–30)
Film Transport	Lever wind, manual cocking via film advance
Frame Counter	Countdown type, manually resettable
Power Source	None (fully mechanical)
Body Material	Plastic chassis with steel top and bottom plates
Weight	280 g (9.9 oz)
Dimensions	130 × 86 × 67 mm (5.1 × 3.4 × 2.6 in)
Mount	Fixed lens (non-interchangeable)
Accessories	Optional cable release (threads on shutter button), original leather case

Key Features

The Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar L Lens

Most people don't buy a POLO 1S for the body. They buy it for the lens. The Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar L 45mm f/2.8 is a four-element, three-group design that gives a soft, dreamy rendering wide open. It isn't clinically sharp, and the blur flatters portraits and street scenes alike. It's not a Planar or a Summicron, but for a budget camera it's a shockingly good fit. Stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8, it tightens up considerably, with decent center sharpness and a gentle fall-off toward the edges. The bokeh is smooth, and the lens compresses tones in a way that works well with black-and-white film. Some examples came with an Adoxar 45mm f/2.8 instead. It's functionally similar, but collectors prefer the Schneider badge. Either way, the optics outclass the camera's humble construction.

Lightweight Plastic Construction

The POLO 1S is built for the pocket, not the studio. Most of the chassis is injection-molded plastic. That keeps it light but gives it a slightly toy-like feel. The top and bottom plates are steel, and key wear points like the film pressure plate and winding mechanism are metal, but the lens barrel, focus ring and body shell are mostly plastic. After 60 years, that can mean brittle parts, cracked focus rings or stripped threads. The plastic tripod socket is notorious for stripping if you screw a tripod in too hard. The lightness has its perks, though, and it makes a good walkaround camera that's easy to carry all day. Just don't treat it like a tank.

Manual Everything, No Distractions

There's no light meter, no rangefinder and no automatic exposure. You get shutter speeds, aperture, focus and film speed, all set by hand. The viewfinder has brightline frame markers but no parallax correction beyond basic etching. You estimate distance, set the aperture and shutter, and fire. The self-timer is a mechanical lever on the front, a rare feature at this price point. The shutter release accepts a cable, which helps with Bulb or long exposures on a tripod. The film advance is smooth, and the shutter cocks automatically with winding. The one real quirk is the countdown frame counter. You set it manually to 36 (or 38, to be safe) when loading film, and it ticks down to zero. Miss the reset and you'll either double-expose or cut your roll short.

Historical Context

The POLO 1S emerged in 1959, when German camera makers were churning out compact 35mm viewfinders to feed the growing appetite for snapshot photography. Adox wasn't a household name like Leica or Zeiss, but it had pedigree. It was born from Wirgin's Wiesbaden factory, which was seized during WWII and repurposed under Nazi rule. After the war, Adox re-emerged as a film and camera brand, leaning toward affordability without completely sacrificing quality. The POLO line was their answer to the Kodak Retina and Braun Paxette: simple, stylish, and just good enough for amateur photographers. The 1S was the mid-tier model, sitting between the basic POLO 1 and the more advanced Polomat series, which added selenium meters and auto-exposure. The 1S struck a balance with a better lens, a better shutter and no meter to fail, which made it a quiet standout. It was also rebadged and sold as the Gnome 35 and Ward I-A in some markets.

Collectibility & Value

Today the POLO 1S trades in the $40 - $80 range for a clean, working example. It goes higher with the Schneider lens and original case. Mint specimens with box and paperwork can hit $100, but they're rare. The value hinges almost entirely on condition and lens provenance. A fogged or scratched Radionar will tank the price, while a clean one with smooth mechanics holds value well. Common failures include stiff or seized focus mechanisms (often fixable with careful lubrication), disintegrating light seals (easy to replace) and a plastic film advance lever that cracks with age. The self-timer can gum up, and the shutter may need cleaning if speeds are inconsistent. Because it's fully mechanical, there's no battery to worry about. The plastic construction does mean checking for stress cracks, especially around the lens mount and film door. When buying, test the shutter at all speeds, check the lens for fungus or haze, and make sure the film advance fully cocks the shutter. Avoid any with a stripped tripod socket, since that ends tripod use. The POLO 1S has a cult following among film shooters who like its portability and that Schneider lens.