Description
This is a Bencini Koroll II made by Bencini in Milan, Italy starting around 1962. It is a strange medium format camera designed to use 120 roll film but takes small 30mm x 45mm exposures, which are only slightly larger in size than 3cm x 4cm images shot on 127 roll film. The Koroll series was in production starting in 1951 and ran through the mid-1960s. All Korolls were basic cameras with simple lenses and shutters. Some took 6×6 images on 120 films, and some used regular 35mm film, taking standard 24mm x 36mm shots. Despite their long production run, they rarely were exported out of Italy.
Antonio Bencini started making cameras in Italy in the 1930s. His company continued into the 70s, producing cameras for various film formats, starting with 127 and 120-roll film and moving through 35mm to 126 and 110-cartridge film.
The most instantly recognisable is the rigid-bodied, aluminium roll film cameras, and my own personal love is the Koroll range for 120 films, particularly the half-frame Bencini Koroll II. Obviously, being made of aluminium, it’s not lightweight. And there are no strap lugs, so you’ll need a bag or, better yet, you can just carry it in your hand so you’re always ready to shoot.
https://www.lomography.com/magazine/41951-the-bencini-koroll-ii-feed-your-half-frame-habit-with-the-diana-minis-older-italian-cousin
Bencini Koroll
The Koroll cameras were 120 film and 35mm viewfinder cameras made by Bencini in Milan, Italy starting in the 1950s. The body was based on a single aluminium alloy casting, which included the lens barrel. Each model seems to have gone through a number of facelifts, with minor cosmetic changes.
Koroll II (Koroll 2)
Models with several slight style differences
Introduced c.1961
Lens: Bencini Acromatico 55mm/f8; alternative stop f.16
Shutter: 1/50, 1/100, B or 1/30, 1/60, 1/125
24 3×4.5cm images on 120 film
