If you want to take a medium format camera somewhere where size and weight matter, in my case, the Goodwin Sands, the Voigtländer Perkeo is ideal. With this camera, Voigtländer managed to miniaturise roll-film photography without miniaturising the negative. As a result, compared to most other medium-format cameras, it is extremely light and compact. Equipped with its best lens option, the Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5, and fitted with one of the faster leaf shutters (1/300 or 1/500), it is a practical proposition and perfectly capable of taking excellent pictures with plenty of detail.
Perkeo = Small
The name Perkeo first appeared on a compact magazine camera called the Perkeo N°140, produced by Rudolf Krügener, a chemist, in the late 19th century. He had experience in developing small cameras, as one of his models was Dr Krügener’s pocketbook camera, one of the smallest cameras of its time at 45×100×140mm.
Voigtländer’s first Perkeos were a range of small 3×4 cm self-erecting folders for 127 film in the early 1930s. The company resurrected the name for a series of 120-film 6×6 folders in 1950, and these later cameras are the subject of this article.
The name Perkeo is associated with diminutive proportions. It is most often associated with the nickname of Giovanni Clementi (1702–1735), a court jester and wine steward of short stature at Heidelberg Castle. The nickname was apparently derived from his response perché no? (“why not?”) when offered more wine, which he seldom declined. He was celebrated for his prodigious wine consumption despite his small figure, and became a local legend. Ironically, he was in charge of the largest wine barrel in the world, the massive Heidelberg Tun; Perkeo is not German for dwarf, as is frequently suggested. I have also seen it attributed to the Pygmy Batis (Batis perkeo), which is not a bat, but a tiny bird from the savannahs of north-eastern Africa. Whatever the origin, we can be sure it is intended to convey smallness.
The post-war Perkeo cameras are the subject of this article, specifically the uncoupled rangefinder model, known variously as the E, III or IIIE. I’ve also seen IIIe. The Perkeos are compact vertical folders made by Voigtländer of Braunschweig in the early to mid 1950s, taking 6×6 cm exposures on 120 film. All models use a small reverse-Galilean telescopic finder in a metal top housing with a cold shoe.
Measurements depend on whether controls are included, but the ranges in the table below are a fairly safe bet.
| Model | Width | Height | Depth, folded |
| Perkeo I | 125–127 mm | 85–89 mm | 40–43 mm |
| Perkeo II | 125–127 mm | 85–89 mm | 40–43 mm |
| Perkeo E | 125–128 mm | 91–96 mm | 42–48 mm |
Weights vary by lens and shutter, with the light end of the spectrum being a triplet Vaskar with a Pronto shutter. At the other end is a four-element Color-Skopar with a Prontor-SVS or Synchro-Compur shutter with a rangefinder housing on top. The spread across the range is 480-560 grams.
Zeiss Ikon’s Super Ikonta and Balda’s Super Baldax are probably the closest lightweight alternatives, though both 6×6 folders offer a coupled rangefinder. The 6×6 Super Ikonta weighs around 660 grams and measures about 138 × 103 × 43 mm folded; the Super Baldax is a little heavier at 700 grams and 135 × 101 × 47 mm.
The Perkeo I, II and E (III) models
The design appears to descend from the Bessa 66 of 1938, and the Perkeos are among the smallest, lightest 6×6 folders ever built. Despite the light weight it feels very solid in the hand.
Perkeo I provides a finder, scale focusing, and double-exposure prevention interlock (except for the early models). The film is advanced manually by turning the numbers through the red window on the back of the camera. Lens options were the Vaskar 75mm f/4.5, the Vaskar 80mm f/4.5, or the faster Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5. A range of shutters were fitted: Vario, Pronto, Prontor-S, Prontor-SV, Prontor-SVS, Compur-Rapid, and the top-tier Synchro-Compur. Double exposure is lacking in early bodies.
Perkeo II. Adds an automatic frame counter and wind stop. The red window is needed only to set frame one; after that, the winding knob stops itself at each frame. This produces tight, consistent spacing, which is why a Perkeo II may yield an additional thirteenth frame on a modern roll of film. Almost all Perkeo IIs were fitted with the Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5. The shutters fitted were the Prontor-S, Prontor-SV, Prontor-SVS, Compur-Rapid, Synchro-Compur.
Perkeo E (AKA III and IIIE): The final, less common variant, which adds an uncoupled rangefinder in the top housing and moves the Voigtländer name to the front of the body. To my eyes, this is the best-looking design. Once the rangefinder patch is aligned, you read the range from the top scale and then transfer it to the focusing scale.
As it was built using the Perkeo I’s film-transport system, there wasn’t enough space for the automatic counter, so you need to wind on using the red window. The E was fitted with the Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5 and Prontor-SVS (to 1/300) or the faster Synchro-Compur (1/500).
| Feature | Early Perkeo I | Later Perkeo I | Perkeo II | Perkeo E |
| Double-exposure prevention | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Red-window film advance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic frame counter | No | No | Yes | No |
| Automatic film advance stop | No | No | Yes | No |
| Uncoupled rangefinder | No | No | No | Yes |
Dating the Perkeo models
The best dates I can find for the range is 1950 to 1955 for the Perkeo I, 1952 to 1955 for the Perkeo II, and 1955 to 1957 for the Perkeo E. McKeown’s Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras seems to be the best authority. No factory production records survive, so all dates come from catalogues and price lists. The bodies don’t carry a serial number, though the shutter and lenses do. The serial number on my Perkeo E is on the outer edge of the lens. As far as I can tell, the lens was made in 1954 for a camera introduced in 1955.
The rise and fall of the 6×6 Folder
The square 6×6 became popular in the mid-1930s. It was simpler to use, since there was no distinction between landscape and portrait orientation, and it suited contact printing and small enlargers. However, by the late 1950s the 6×6 folder’s day was over. Coated lenses and improved emulsions had made 35mm negatives ‘good enough’ and folders were costly to build. Professionals and serious amateurs moved to twin lens reflexes and the Hasselblad 500C, and the rest of the market moved to 35mm. The Pereko E was one of the last generation of folders and arrived just as the market had moved on.
The Lens
My Perkeo E has the Color (spelled thus) Skopar lens. Skopar was Voigtländer’s name for their four-element Tessar-type lens. Color refers to the lens coating, which was considered better for colour photography. It is a quality, sharp lens, with just a bit of softness in the corners wide open, though that was only evident on the one photo that came out sharp in the roll I tested critical focus on.
Shooting with the Perkeo E (III)
Open the front door by pressing a small button on the base of the camera. Next, pull the door open until it gives a loud, positive click after it erects the lens. To close the door, depress the two buttons on the inside of the door at the front. If you need it, there is a small stand at the base of the door, marked with a red arrow.
Loading
Open the back by depressing the two buttons on the left (wind) side of the camera and pulling out the film advance knob, then swing the hinged cradle on the right-hand side (lens away from you) out.
Move the empty take-up spool, usually in the camera, into the cradle on the wind side, and put the fresh roll into the opposite chamber. Pull the paper leader across the film gate and slot its tip into the take-up spool, then turn the knob a couple of times until the paper is straight and taut.
Swing the cradle back in and close the back until it latches. Close the cover. Lastly, open the red window cover and wind steadily, watching for the warning dots and then the figure 1. Stop the moment it sits centred in the window. On a Perkeo II, you stop at step five in the same way, then close the cover, flip the counter reset lever, and let the auto-stop advance handle the remaining frames.
Setting the exposure
With no meter, you’ll need to use a handheld meter, a phone app, or the Sunny 16 rule, after which you can set the exposure on the shutter housing at the front of the camera. The speed ring runs round the barrel, giving you one second to 1/300 plus B on my E’s Prontor-SVS. The aperture has its own small lever near the bellows, running f/3.5 to f/16 with the Color-Skopar, and you read it against the scale on the lens barrel.
There is a third ring on the camera on the SVS, which is a synchro switch for flash:
- M for M-type flashbulbs, which you can use at speeds between 1/50 and 1/300.
- X for electronic flash at any speed, and for bulbs at 1/25 or slower.
- V for the self-timer, which also works with electronic flash up to 1/300 and bulbs up to 1/25. Its synchronisation matches X.
I’ve never used flash with the camera and leave the ring on X. If needed, a flash plugs into the PC socket on the shutter barrel.
Focusing
Focusing using an uncoupled rangefinder was new to me, and I didn’t find it particularly easy when I tried it. Being uncoupled, it requires two separate movements. First, you focus the rangefinder by aligning the images in the rangefinder patch from the rangefinder window. This has higher magnification than the viewfinder to help achieve focus.
Next, you read the distance from the indicator on the top of the camera, and then finally transfer that figure to the lens. Composition is done through the second window, which has lower magnification. I couldn’t find accurate figures for magnification online, but after a fairly quick-and-dirty home test, I estimate 0.7 for the viewfinder and 1.1 for the rangefinder.
The rangefinder patch isn’t particularly bright, so I’ve moved to zone focusing, which is what you would do on the Perkeo I and II. There are focusing aids that assist with this. Set the aperture to f/8, then rotate the lens barrel to the triangle symbol on the lens, which is set just past the 3m metre mark (3.35m). Everything from 2.5m to 5m should be sharp. Set the focus to the circle symbol at 10.06m, and everything will be sharp from 5.05m to infinity. The circle is particularly useful for landscapes.
Setting and Firing The Shutter
The shutter is cocked using the cocking lever on the shutter housing beside the lens and fired with the button on the top plate. Open the red window cover again to wind on to 2, and repeat for the rest of the roll. At the end (12 or 13 frames), wind on until the paper trailer clears, then open the back in the shade and seal the roll.
Winding on and The Red Window
All three Perkeo models count frames through a small red window in the back door, and all but the earliest Perkeo I models are fitted with a rotating cover, marked with an X when closed.
The purpose is to keep light from fogging the film. The ruby-coloured glass passes only red light, which the orthochromatic and slow panchromatic stocks were less sensitive to. Our faster modern emulsions and thinner backing papers are less forgiving, and a window left open throughout the roll may well fog the roll through the paper. On the Perkeo II, the cover is needed only briefly because the window is used only to position the first frame before the auto-stop advance takes over. The Perkeo I and the rangefinder-equipped Perkeo E have no frame counter, and the cover needs to be opened each time you wind on. I found this mildly tedious, and had I known that the Perkeo II’s design alleviated it, I might have chosen a different model.
The Winding and Cocking Sequence
Wind the film on fully, until the mechanism clicks, before cocking the shutter. I found cocking against an unwound frame makes the shutter stick, though it didn’t jam, and winding on fully cleared it. Wind, cock, then fire is the sequence, which is necessary anyway to avoid losing track of whether the frame in the gate has already been exposed.
An Excursion to the Goodwin Sands
I took my Perkeo E on a trip to the Goodwin Sands. We were taken to the sands (and back!) by Dover Sea Safari, who were excellent. The crew were both extremely professional and personable, and the boat was well equipped. The journey from Dover takes about 30 minutes in clear weather, which is what we enjoyed. All my gear had to fit into a small Peli-type watertight case, and I had a Nikon Zf, a 24-120 mm zoom, and a 100- 400 mm zoom to take. The Perkeo was the only option for medium format.
Shooting the Voigtländer Perkeo E was easy enough. I didn’t have to worry about focus as I was always set to infinity, as I needed the horizon as sharp as possible for the East Goodwin Lightvessel, which you can see as a distant spec. We visited on the 1st of August 2026, just before it was permanently withdrawn and decommissioned by Trinity House on August 14th. She was last withdrawal of the historic lightship station markers. It was an event we wanted to mark, and the reason I took Nikon’s excellent 100-400mm zoom on my Nikon Zf.
I would have worried about having only 1/300 on a digital camera, but black-and-white film has so much latitude that it wasn’t a consideration. At f/8 I needed about 1/500 most of the time, and the 1/300 I had available turned out to be sufficient to ensure the exposure was OK. The only drawbacks of shooting with the Pereko were the slow wind-on and the need to remember to cover the red window between frames. I was glad I took it.
