​Technically, the Belco has little going for it: single shutter speed of about 1/30-1/50sec released by a lever on the side of the body, fixed focus 4.5cm lens with a fixed aperture, probably about f/11  – not much more than a snapshot camera really. And yet it’s an intriguing collector’s item.

 

It’s one of only four very similar models made in France by Industrie d'Appareils Mécaniques, otherwise known as IDAM. The other cameras were the Roc, Clic and Ervey. The body, cast in two parts held together by metal clips and separated for film loading, is made from a material called Zamac, an alloy of zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper. This makes it surprisingly yet pleasantly heavy for its 8x6x4.5cm size. The camera uses 127 film.

 

The Belco’s unusual feature is the use of two viewfinders. The main one, for shooting purposes, is square. But beside that is another oblong-shaped finder, four times the width of the other. Some sources claim this was to house an extinction meter, but that’s doubtful. The manufacturer’s original literature suggested the oblong finder was there to preview the overall scene from which the best composition could be chosen, while the square one was for accurately aiming the camera. Twin viewfinders probably weren’t much of a selling point originally, but it’s the kind of thing that today tends to appeal to collectors today.