The Camera Man

Here are the cameras marketed by Certo in my collection, with date of introduction and film type.

The Categories ⓘ

The Art Deco cameras on this site are divided into 5 Deco categories - Proto Deco, Classic Deco, Streamlined Deco, Deco Influenced and Post Deco.

Star System ⓘ

I use a star system to show Deco strength. Each camera is rated by how strongly it embodies Art Deco style, from iconic five-star classics to those with incidental Deco elements.

Certo

	Model	Date	Film
	Dolly	1932	127

 

History

Certo was a German camera maker based in Johannstadt, a suburb of Dresden, founded in 1902 by engineer Alfred Lippert and Karl Peppel. The company started making plate cameras during the first years. Eventually, it made mainly medium-priced folding cameras.

In 1917, the company was bought by Emil Zimmermann, who added the Certonet 6x9 rollfilm camera to the product range. Its flagship product was the Super Dollina.

During the War, von der Gönna hid the machines for the Super Dollina's production in the houses of loyal employees. When Certo restarted the Super Dollina's production in 1946 all cameras had to be delivered as part of war reparations to the Soviet Union.

From 1950 to 1958 the company was a private company. After this, it became 30% state-owned.

In the 1960s and '70s Certo produced only cheap and simple viewfinder cameras. The last cameras under the Certo name were made in 1982.