03/06/2026
Eastman Kodak Tourist (1948-1951)
Vintage 620 Film Camera
RM 399
The Kodak Tourist is a range of vertical folding medium format cameras for eight 6x9 exposures on 620 roll film which were manufactured from 1948 to 1958 by Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, USA. The Tourists were the last in a long line of American-made folding roll film cameras from Eastman Kodak. The original Tourist was replaced by the Tourist II in May of 1951 which featured a redesigned top cover and a new viewfinder. Production was discontinued in July of 1958. The Tourists were available with a variety of lens & shutter combinations and have a die cast aluminium alloy body, covered in black Kodadur synthetic leather, with lens door-mounted shutter release. Top plates are molded gray plastic that Kodak called Tenite. The Tourist's most unusual feature is its back - through the use of cleverly engineered latches, it can be opened on the left side, right side, or removed completely.
This particular piece here is an original Kodak Tourist, made between 1948 and 1951. The camera is fully functional, clean and in overall very good condition, with only minor signs of age and wear, mainly a few tiny spots of missing black paint along the edges and a slightly dented back panel (see picture 5). The bellows are intact, the lenses are clear, the shutter works well at all speeds including B (bulb mode) and T (time), and the focusing ring, film transport and aperture & shutter speed controls work properly, too. The camera has been thoroughly cleaned and the leatherette & bellows have been waxed/polished.
This camera was made for use with 620 film. While 620 film is a rare and hard to find niche format nowadays, the film size is actually identical to 120, only the size of the spool slightly differs in height, so one can easily modify and use 120 film instead which is widely available and can be found on Shopee. One way to use 120 film with this camera is to re-roll the film from a 120 spool to a 620 spool in a dark room or changing bag. Alternatively, one can slightly reduce the height of a plastic 120 film spool on both ends with fine sandpaper until it fits into the camera's 620 film compartment. Instructional videos for this can be found on YouTube. Without case. Tested without film.
Link to photos made with a Kodak Tourist:
www.lomography.com/cameras/3333226-kodak-tourist/photos
Link to the original Kodak Tourist user manual:
www.cameramanuals.org/kodak_pdf/kodak_tourist.
SPECIFICATIONS
Production Year : 1949 - 1951
Manufacturer : Eastman Kodak Co., USA
Body Type : Vertical Folder
Construction : Metal & Plastic
Film Format : 620 Roll Film (or modified 120 Film)
Image No./Size : Eight 6x9 cm Frames
Lens : 3-Element Kodak Anaston
1:8.8/100 mm
Shutter : Kodak Flash Diomatic
Shutter Speeds : 1/25 - 1/100 sec, B (Bulb), T (Time)
Aperture : f/8 - f/32 (Variable)
Focus Range : 3.5 ft / 1 m - Infinity (Variable)
Other Features : Flash Sync, Cable Release
Tripod Socket
Dimensions : 178 x 102 x 51 mm (closed)
Weight : 810 g
Article #673