This is the Kodak Vigilant Six-20 camera, a classic folder that was made around 1946. This was a relatively simple machine for a time when there were already very complex cameras like the Medalist or the Monitor available. There is no protection against double exposures and the Dakon shutter can fire multiple times on the same frame.
The model shown here has the cheaper f8.8 lens which cost $24 at the time, roughly $400 dollars in today’s money. Kodak built this camera over a ten year period until 1949 with almost a dozen different lens/shutter combinations, probably depending on war time supply limitations and rapid lens innovation cycles.
Like many other Kodak cameras from this period, the Vigilant is a 620 format camera, which means that modern 120 medium format film has to be re-rolled onto vintage spools to be used in this camera.
What makes this camera attractive to modern enthusiasts is the simple, robust build which makes this a great medium format folder to bring along casually without worry, the very low price charged in auctions, and the huge 6×9 centimeter exposure format (2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches), which allows for very high resolution film scans.
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Hello,
I recently inherited a vigilant six-20 from my grandfather…. It is in great shape– still has the box, the manual, everything. And I just dropped my first roll of film in it tonight.
You mention several shutter combinations: do you know of a website or guide to help me date mine? Or more immediately, is the timeline simple enough you could write it out?
Hi Pierce,
Here’s a brief overview from the Collector’s Guide to Kodak Cameras:
Shutter/Year
Kodex/1939-40
Kodamatic/1939-48
Supermatic/1939-48
Diomatic/1940-48
Dakon/1946-48
Flash Kodamatic/1946-48
Flash Dakon/1947-49
Let me know if the pictures come out ok! It’s always quite exciting to see the first new pictures from a vintage camera.
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Is there anyone out there that does restoration (minor) on these cameras? My daughter bought one and really likes it. The knob used to advance the film is very sticky and wobbly. It looks like there are three springs around the shaft and at least one of the springs is rusted and broken.
Does anyone have a source for these parts?
Thanks for any help.
Iis it possible to find film for this camers. I also have a Kodak No 2 Brownie that I would like to find film for.
Hi Rosemary,
Yes, you get film for these cameras in several ways. The film itself is actually not the problem, since it is standard 120 medium format film which is still being sold in professional camera stores and online. However, the size of the spools has changed slightly over the last 70 years and the new film comes on plastic spools (120 film) that won’t fit into most old (pre-1950s) cameras (620 film – same film, but on metal spools).
You can either try and buy ready-made, new film with modified spools (“fits 620″) on ebay – there are always a few offers for that, but there is of course a few dollars added to the price of the film – or if you know you will shoot more often with this camera, you can buy empty 620 spools on ebay and buy 120 film at B&H online or in your neighborhood camera store. If you want to roll your own, the best instructions I’ve found are here: http://www.inficad.com/~gstewart/respool.htm
I bought a bunch of 620 spools for $10 on ebay, then got a film change back on ebay ($15) and have been re-rolling my own 620 stock for years now. When you drop the film off for development, just make sure to tell the lab with a written note on the envelope to “RETURN 620 SPOOLS WITH FILM” – the labs get these requests still pretty often and I haven’t lost a single spool that way.
My mother still has this camera of my fathers. Kodak Vigilant Six-20. Can anyone tell me a value on this camera. Do I need extra insurance, etc.
Thanks,
Pamela
I recently found a Brownie Hawkeye Six-20 at my grandparents house. It is still in great working order. I was wondering if you could still find film for this camera. I read that you can use 120 film in it, but on the inside it says to only use 620 film. I looked on the B&H but I didnt really know what I should be looking for. Help!
What is DAK shutter on a Kodak Vigital Junior 20 camera?
I have recently inherited one of these from my Grandfather as well. You mentioned a cheap f8.8 lens….mine seems to have f6.3 No 1. Diomatic. Is that lens any better or worse? Also, I can’t seem to find anything that says the year it was made, only a sticker once opened that says No. 69171….based on that is there a way to guess a year?
Thanks you!
Hi Louis,
The Vigilant Six-20 with the f6.3 lens and Diomatic shutter was made between 1940 and 1948 at a list price of $17 (in 1940s dollars). My guess is that your camera was made in the early 1940s – the Vigilant has unfortunately no date stamp like some later cameras.
The f6.3 lens should be better than the f8.8, specifically in low-light situations, but the difference will not be huge.