Kodak Recomar 18 (1932–1940)
The Kodak Recomar 18 is a 2¼ x 3¼ compact folding plate camera. Kodak built it in its Stuttgart plant from 1932 to 1940. It started as a Nagel design - Kodak had acquired Dr. Nagel-Werk in Stuttgart - and the craftsmanship shows it. The Recomar was a sophisticated instrument aimed at serious amateurs. Matt's Classic Cameras has called it the world's smallest technical view camera.
It took plates or sheet film in individual holders or film packs, giving 6.5 x 9cm negatives. Roll film backs were also available, so you could run 120-format film. The lens is a Kodak Anastigmat f/4.5/105mm in a Compur shutter, with speeds from 1 to 1/250 seconds plus T and B. The lens board shifts laterally and vertically. There is no front or back tilt. Three viewing systems were offered: a ground glass back, a wire-frame finder with a pop-up eyepiece, and a swiveling reflex finder with an attached bubble level. The bellows racks out far enough for a subject-to-image ratio of nearly 1:1, which makes it well suited to close-up work.
Owner reports call the camera compact - folded, it is not significantly larger than a Leica copy FED-1g - and it weighs 1 lb 13 oz with the ground glass back. One owner says results can be inconsistent. He puts that down to the camera demanding "a somewhat higher level of concentration and attention to detail" than a typical folder, and calls it "this elegant little view camera." The same owner found a junker example to source a missing reflex finder. He also notes that a user manual for the Recomar Nos. 18 and 33 is available at the Butkus site.
Surviving auction examples vary in lens fitting. One carries a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/4.5 105mm instead of the Kodak Anastigmat. Several listings include a roll-film back. An original price of "40" appears in the record, though the currency is unspecified.
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