Gentilmente oferecida pelo Daniel. Muito obrigado!
This photo is from the copy I own
History and technical features
The Baldessa is a range of modestly priced 35mm viewfinder and rangefinder cameras produced by Balda in Germany from c.1957 to the late 1960s.
Baldessas have an unusual folding film advance key in the base - requiring a 180° turn, along with a spring-out rewind crank. On the simpler models, this along with the front-mounted shutter release and the frame counter to the left of the viewfinder ocular leaves the top plate empty except for the accessory shoe. Early models have a removable back; later examples are hinged.
The Balda Baldessa Ia (or Balda Baldessa 1a) is a 35mm rangefinder camera introduced by Balda Kamera-Werk in 1958, about ten years after founder Max Baldeweg fled Socialist Dresden to reestablish his company in the soon-to-be West German city of B ünde. The Baldessa Ia and its sister model the Ib are basically identical to the original Baldessa I with the addition of a coupled rangefinder. The Baldessa Ib then went a step further by also including a built-in light meter.
he Baldessa 1a was introduced in 1958, and adds a coupled rangefinder to the Baldessa I design. It was available with a Color-Westanar or Baldanar 45/2.8 lens in a Prontor-SVS shutter.
I love unusual cameras and am happy to say that the Baldessa Ia boasts a number of peculiar design choices. First off, the Baldessa Ia’s top plate is completely barren apart from the cold shoe. Instead, the shutter button (which has a threaded socket for a cable release on its underside) is adjacent to the Baldanar 45mm f/2.8 lens on the front of the camera. Both shutter speed and aperture control rings are on the lens barrel as expected but a black tab has to be pushed in for either of them to move. Most cameras are focused via a ring on the lens barrel but the Baldessa Ia’s designers decided to use a wheel embedded into the body above the shutter button instead. Also on the front are a flash sync socket just off the lens barrel at five o’clock and an accompanying flash mode selector on the lens barrel at nine.
As we move to the camera’s bottom plate, we encounter more eccentricities. The tiny “kickstand” which allows the camera to balance on a flat surface can also be shifted to the “R” position to release the comma-shaped film rewinding lever. Opposite the rewind mechanism is a winding key which, when unfolded, reveals an automatic film counter while advancing the frame with every half turn. In the middle of it all is a tripod socket which also houses a film speed indicator. Last but not least on the list of oddities are the two silver buttons on the user’s right-hand side which can be simultaneously depressed to open the back of the camera.
During WWII Hubert Nerwin thought about a new 35mm folder. The results of his thoughts were developed after the war to Zeiss Ikon's first completely new postwar product, made since 1948 as Ikonta 522/24. As Zeiss was unable to produce sufficient Tessar lenses (due to war damage to their production facilities), this is one of the few Zeiss models ever to feature a non-Zeiss (Schneider Xenar) lens. The model was continued in 1953 as Contina, as one of the first cameras of the new Contina series of 35mm viewfinder cameras (one was a rangefinder) made in Germany by Zeiss Ikon. The first models were folders, later models were rigid. Some had linked shutter/aperture rings, using the Light-value system. The folding models had knob wind, frame counter and rewind fitted to the bottom; the later ones had top-mounted 180° lever wind, knob rewind and frame counter around the shutter release.
The Beauty Lightomatic is a series of 35mm rangefinder cameras made by Beauty Camera from 1959 to 1963. The early Lightomatics helped pioneer integral coupled metering, following the Mamiya Elca, Minolta Autowide and Konica S, made possible by their use of the Copal SV series of shutters.
List of versions:
Beauty Lightomatic or Beauty LM
Beauty Lightomatic II
Beauty Lightomatic III, Lightmatic III and Beauty Lite III
Beauty Lightmatic SP
It is sometimes said that the "Lightomatic LM" is a name variant of the Lightomatic II, but this is perhaps a mistake. A Beauty LM2 is also reported.
Cosmetic restyle and improvement of Lightomatic / LM chassis.
Addition of brightline finder window at front panel.
Coupled selenium meter with squared match-needle window on top, and magnified match-needle window seen in finder.
Copal-SV shutter with speeds B, 1sec to 1/500s.
Biokor-S 45 mm / f1.9 lens with 5 aperture blades. Rotation for focusing is opposite from earlier lenses.
And again the advance lever must be pulled out to unlock shutter release.
The Beauty Lightomatics are a series of 35mm rangefinder cameras made by the Beauty Camera Company between 1959 and 1963.
Each model shares some common features.
Viewfinder: Integrated coincidence rangefinder/viewfinder with self-correcting bright line.
Focus: Coupled rangefinder with manual ring on lens barrel.
Meter: Selenium meter electro-mechanically coupled to lens barrel aperture, shutter speed settings, and film speed index.
Exposure: Centre-the-needle system with pointer window on the top plate of the camera.
Lens: 45mm f1.9 (6 elements in unknown number of groups) stopping down to f16.
Close Focus: 0.8m / 2'7".
Shutter:. Five blade Copal-SV shutter with speeds: B, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250 & 500 sec,. plus B. Shutter speeds and aperture settings can be interlocked. The shutter release locks when the advance lever is flush with the camera body.
Cable Release: Standard socket in shutter release button.
Filter Size: 55mm screw in.
Flash: Cold shoe and PC terminal. M and X sync.
Film Advance Single stroke lever.
Frame Counter: Counts up. Resets automatically when camera back is opened.
Rewind: Collapsible crank, and rewind selector switch.
The Beauty Lightomatic II was introduced in 1960.
The lens is a Biokor-S.
The meter needle pointer window was re-designed so that it's shape changed from circular to rectangular, and the exposure adjustment graphic was abandoned along with the film type reminder. This was replaced by a table showing film speed setting parameters (e.g. a setting of 100 ASA accommodated films between 75 - 120 ASA.
The viewfinder was changed to Bright-Frame (i.e. projected lines) which required an illumination window, and this along with the rangefinder and viewfinder windows where unified by a singe glass covering.
he early Firstflex-35 model is a leaf-shutter SLR with waist level finder and a special lens bayonet, made starting in 1955 by Tokiwa Seiki. Other names used for that model were Soligor-35, Windsorflex-35 and Lafayette-35.
Two types of the later model exist, the Firstflex 35 and the PLUSflex 35, both with pentaprism finder, flash synchronized shutter, with and Exakta lens bayonet.
And here is an example of the second type Firstflex 35. This model was made around 1958 and has an unusual mix of features. A nicely styled camera with what would have been "clean, modern lines" back at the tail end of the fifties.
The reflex mirror acts as the shutter on this camera and has only two shutter speeds available, 1/125 second and "B". The standard pc flash contact on the front plate has a prominent "M" sign beside it, which I would presume to mean that the synchronization is preset for bulbs rather than for electronic flash.
The lens mount is Exacta bayonet and the standard 45mm f/2.8 Auto Tokinon lens has an auto diaphragm mechanism closing down to the taking aperture with light pressure on the shutter release button. You can see the lens release lever clearly in the picture above.
Something is missing here, can you tell me what it was?.............. I think I've figured it out now that I've seen another example, this threaded hole must have been used to mount an accessory shoe to allow you to use a flash on the camera. Interestingly, there is no mention of an accessory shoe in the instruction manual.
Another 'undocumented feature' is the shutter release lock, the nicely-knurled collar underneath the shutter release button can be easily wound upwards to block unintended release of the shutter. Because the shutter release button has quite long travel, the collar does not have to be raised far to do the job very well.
List price was £24/19/6 according to the "British Journal of Photography Annual 1966" which lists new camera models for 1964 and 1965. In June 1964 this model was being sold at the knockdown price of £15/19/6 by Westminster Photographic in London, according to their advert in the "Amateur Photographer".
The Kodak Retinette is a series of 35mm viewfinder cameras made in Germany by Kodak AG. They were a budget version of the Retina series, without rangefinders. The "B" models had light meters. The models are difficult to tell apart from a distance, but identifying features include EV numbers above the lens, flash sync slot on lens or body, and distance markings in feet (for UK) or meters (continental Europe). Some models also have a button next to the shutter release that enables double-exposures to be made. Pressing it allows the shutter to be cocked when winding on, without the film moving to the next frame.
On Typs 147, 160, 012 and early 017 cameras (including French versions of Typ 017) the serial number is located inside the back door adjacent to the film pressure plate.
The remaining Retinette cameras have the body serial number engraved on the top housing.
Manufactured from 1954 to 1958. This model was the first of the rigid front Retinettes. Fitted with a Schneider Reomar 45mm f/3.5 lens in a Compur-Rapid shutter. There are a few variations of this model about, I have three different ones. Early ones have the flash socket on the shutter body rather than the front plate. A model was also made for the French market with an Angenieux lens in a Kodak shutter.
Body edges
The body edges at top and bottom of camera main casting are finished in black paint/lacquer in early examples and covered with thin chromed brass pressings in later examples.
Front panel
Earliest examples have a simple rectangular grey finished casting with f/stops engraved at top with no flash synch terminal on panel, the second type has a similar casting with a notch on right side for V,X lever, flash terminal on right and black arrow index mark for f/stops, third type is a rectangular chrome plated pressing with a " V" shape to front section and with with similar features to second type.
Shutter housing
The shutter housing itself changes from predominantly black to chrome.
Rewind knob style
Earliest type, flat dial, printing on top( reading anti-clockwise) Infrared/Kodachrome Daylight/Kodachrome-A/Plus X I Super XX
Intermediate type, flat dial, printing on top (reading anti-clockwise) Kadachr.D/Kodachr.F/Ektachr.D/Ektachr.F/Pan X/Plus X/Tri X
Late type, sloping dial, printing on top (reading anti-clockwise)as above.
Flash synch
First type on shutter body, later type on front panel
Rear door
Early type, cast one piece back door, late type two-piece pressing with riveted construction
Frame counter
Early type, chrome top piece slightly smaller diameter and completely round, late type larger diameter with a section of the rim notched on inboard side to allow easy setting.
The Kodak Retinette type 22 is a ‘little sister’ to the Kodak Retina cameras which Kodak made from the mid 1930s up until the late 1960s.
Initially the Retinette series followed the same folding, bellows design that the majority of the Retina cameras had, but this model, the type 22, was the first Retinette to move to a solid body single piece design – a move which later the Retina cameras followed.
The Retinette series were aimed at people who wanted a good camera which was reliable and would take good pictures, but wanted to pay a bit less than the top flight cameras of the day. I guess you could call them a ‘good snapshot’ camera. This model has a good range of shutter speeds for a camera of its vintage and, in common with many of its cousins in the Kodak stable, a very good lens.
Exposure system
Kodak Retinette Type 22 35mm camera - Side view showing flash sync
Side view showing flash sync and EV markings
The exposure system on the Retinette type 22 is based on the EV system, which was a popular option in the mid 1950s. It works on the premise that once you know the amount of light required for the film you are using, you can achieve it with several combinations of aperture and shutter speed. For example if the correct exposure is 1/250 sec at f/8 you can also get the same exposure by setting the speed one stop down and the aperture one stop up i.e. 1/500 sec at f/5.6.
This theory was used to calculate an EV or Exposure Value number and the EV number was engraved on the camera shutter. A light meter was used to measure the light which was a simple number and the camera set to this number. Then the aperture and shutter were locked together and could be rotated by the photographer to get the artistic effect they were after; faster speed to freeze action, wider aperture to blur the background or smaller aperture to keep everything in focus.
It’s a good system and continues to this day with Program Shift which is the modern invocation of the theory.
Film Advance
In common with many cameras in the Kodak range, the film advance is fitted to the bottom of the camera rather than the top. This is quite convenient in use but in my experience of fixing a couple of the Kodak series, it makes the camera more complex and more difficult to repair when it goes wrong.
The frame counter is on the top of the camera above the film advance lever. It’s a count down unit and doesn’t automatically reset so the photographer needed to set the counter to the number of exposures of the film loaded into the camera. When the film advance is used, the counter then shows the number of exposures remaining.
Other features.
There is a film type reminder fitted to the top of the film rewind shaft, a flash sync socket mounted on the front panel and, in common with many of the Retina and Retinette series, an unlock button on the top panel for occassions when you want to change the film mid-roll. This button disengages the film lock allowing the film advance to wind the camera on without cocking the shutter therefore allowing you to advance a film to a point mid-roll.
Kodak Retinette type 22 Specifications
35mm viewfinder camera
Compur rapid shutter
Shutter speeds 1 sec to 1/500 sec + bulb
Schneider – Kreuznach Reomar 45mm f/3.5 lens
Aperture f/3.5 to f/16
Film release button to allow mid-roll film changing
Approx 10 sec Self timer
Flash sync socket
Cold accessory shoe
Film Type reminder on rewind crank
Bottom mounted film advance
Auto frame counter
EV exposure control
Tripod mount
Back door release on base of camera
Manual focus with distance engraved in feet
A sibling of the QL 17, the QL 19 used the same lens as the original Canonet and was priced 3,000 yen less than the QL 17.
The QL (Quick Loading) feature was Canon’s unique way to load film quickly. All you had to do was align the edge of the film leader with the specified mark on the camera and close the camera back. The film winding arm with hard rubber pads then grabbed and wound the film around the take-up spool.
Handsome. Stylish. Solid. This camera has just about anything you could want in a vintage rangefinder, except that it’s not the GIII QL17. Methinks a 1:1.9 is pretty nice, though of course 1:1.7 is slightly better; also instead of 6 elements in 5 groups, this lens — the same one as on the original Canonet — has 5 elements in 4 groups. Still pretty sharp although perhaps not as contrasty as some. Besides the lens, the specs are much the same as the QL17, noting that this is the first generation (early 1965) before the Seiko shutter version (late 1965) and the smaller ‘New QL19’ (1971). Not to mention the later GIII model (1972). Yeesh. This must be where Apple gets its infamous hardware naming scheme. (Ouch.)
It’s significantly larger than the ‘new’ QL series like the GIII QL17 and has a bit more heft to it. In fact it’s as wide as the K1000, though it doesn’t have the SLR feel that the slightly smaller and lighter Yashica Electro does – the difference I think being the prominence of the lens (the 1.7 Yashinon is pretty big glass). The other difference is that like the later Auto S2 and Hi-Matic 7s this camera works in manual or automatic mode, meaning that you can use it without a battery if you don’t need the meter, as long as the shutter blades aren’t stuck!
Type: 35mm Lens Shutter rangerfinder camera with shutter speed-priority EE
Picture Size: 24 x 36 mm
Normal Lens: Canon SE 45mm f/1.9 (5 elements in 4 groups)
Shutter: Copal SV; B, 1 to 1/500 sec. Built-in self-timer. Flash sync enabled with M-X switchable German socket.
Viewfinder: Coincidence rangefinder integrated with reversed Galilean viewfinder. Automatic parallax correction with projected frames and marked finder. 0.7x magnification. Viewfinder bottom features aperture scale (f/1.9 – f/16) and match needle correct exposure window/exposure warning indicator.
Exposure Meter and EE: CdS comb-controlled shutter speed-priority EE. Metering range of EV 2.5 – 19 (at ISO 100). Film speed range of ISO 25 – 400. Manual exposure enabled by disabling AUTO.
Power SourceOne 1.3 V MP mercury cell
Film Loading & Advance: After opening camera back, film leader is aligned at mark then advanced to first frame with Quick Loading (QL) system. Advances with camera-top lever. (120° single stroke)
Frame CounterCounts up. Resets automatically when camera back is opened.
Film Rewind: Camera-top crank
Dimensions & Weight140 x 79 x 33 mm, 800 g
Produced 1965 Canon Camera Co., Japan
Film type 135 (35mm)
Picture size 24mm x 36mm
Weight 24.2oz (686.1g)
Lens Canon SE 45mm 1:1.9
Focal range .8m to infinity
Filter size 55mm
Shutter Copal SV
Shutter speeds B, 1-1/500 automatic or manual
Viewfinder coupled rangefinder
Exposure meter lens mounted CdS with viewfinder needle (aperture)
Auto EV range 2.5-19 at ISO 100
ASA range 25-800
Battery 1.3v mercury (RM1 1st model, 625PX second model)
Canon Quick Load (QL) film loading system
Accessory shoe, PC sync
Fast-action wind lever
The Pentona is a viewfinder camera for 35mm film. It was developed by Zeiss Ikon and produced first by KW and later Pentacon.
The black coated parts of the camera's body and the bottom are one part which has to be removed for film load. Thumb wheels (knurls) on top and bottom serve as film advance/rewind controls. Other elements on the top are the flash shoe, the shutter release and the exposure counter. The viewfinder is a reverse-Galilean type. The metal surround of this has two tooth-like pointers near the top, which are parallax-correction guides for use at close focus.
In the middle of the bottom is a second thumb wheel, the camera lock. Another element on the bottom is a tripod screw thread. The most characteristic part of this camera model is the metal front part of the body, in which the lens tube is mounted. Nearest to that part is the aperture control ring. The middle of the lens tube is the speed setting thumb wheel. In front of that part the tube is narrowed towards the inner part of the lens tube. This inner tube with engraved distance scale which turns for focusing.
Model II
The Pentona II was introduced in 1963 and is properly a Pentacon model. It has a much bigger viewfinder than the first model; McKeown states that this has a bright-line frame, which must be of the albada type. The camera has a film advance lever instead of a knob. The front bodywork is much simpler than the characteristic shaped front of the earlier model.
The Pentacon Pentona is an unusual camera in the Pentacon camera family but it offers some great features, most notably its lens. Read more after the break!
The VEB Pentacon firm in Dresden, which was then East Germany, was the biggest camera and lens factory in the GDR between 1959 and 1990. Best known for its ‘Praktica’ series of SLR cameras, it did however produce a few other more curious gems throughout its relatively long existence, including the Pentacon Six 120-film SLR leviathan, as well as two versions of the camera that I’m going to review here, the 35mm Pentacon Pentona.
Originally produced in 1956 by KW, a camera manufacturer that later got absorbed into VEB Pentacon, the Pentona is a fairly basic little point-and-shoot camera which might well have been aimed primarily at children (the frame counter dial has a lovely little smiley face on it.) It nonetheless has some highly attractive features in both of its two versions (I’m reviewing here the second version which differed only in minor details from the first.)
It has a lovely bright viewfinder positioned right above the lens which if combined with clear correction pointers, reduces parallax error to a minimum. It’s robustly built — mostly of aluminum rather than plastic. The whole of the back slides off to load the film, creating more of a light-tight seal to last. It’s small in the hand, and has an incredibly quiet shutter. The film wind lever is on the left (rather than on the right as is more common) and needs to be wound quite firmly along a short span three times to both prime the shutter, advance the film, and move the frame counter.
Finally, the shutter won’t work without film in the camera — the sprocket holes on the film turn a cocking wheel mounted at the center of the camera. Shutter speeds are limited at B-130-60-125. And aperture settings likewise, it’s between 3.5 and 22. It is an all-manual camera with shutter and aperture setting levers mounted on the front lens itself. There is no rangefinder or another way to get exact focus — you have to rotate the lens barrel to the range that you want. This will probably all sound relatively familiar to anyone with a Smena but I think the Pentona has better general build quality and a knockout lens.
Specifications
Type: viewfinder camera
Manufacturer: KW
Year of launch: 1956
Film: 35mm
Lens: achromatic Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 1:3.5/45
Shutter: Priomat leaf shutter, flash-synchronized with speeds 1:/30 to 1/125 sec. plus B
or Prestor RVS shutter with speeds 1 sec. to 1/500 sec. plus B
Aperture: 1:3.5 to 1:22
Viewfinder: optical
Film advance: knurl, advancing unlocks shutter for next exposure
Dimensions: 125 × 84 × 67 mm
This is a typical fixed lens 35mm rangefinder from the 1970s, but with a body on the large side. The lens is a fixed Yashinon 45/2.8 which focuses from about 1m to infinity and takes 55mm filters. The aperture priority exposure system is measured by a CdS meter above the lens. CdS metering requires batteries. Two LEDs on the top of the body indicate slow speed and over-exposure. The camera was available with either a black or chrome body.
...the MG-1 is an interesting model. It appeared in 1975 and seems to have been the end of the line. The MG-1 was produced in both a chrome & black finish. The placement of the light sensor within the lens barrel made it possible as in the CC / CCN, to automatically adjust exposure with filters in place. This is visible as a small circle within the top & center of the lens barrel. A feature of this arrangement which is overlooked, is the inability to obtain a correct exposure indication, if one forgets to remove the lens cap. Come on now, 'fess up....who hasn't lost a shot with an RF when a lens cap was mistakenly left on during an exposure. The lens has a maximum aperture of ƒ:2.8 with a focal length of 45mm. This highly colour corrected lens has 5 elements in 4 groups.
It also comes with the usual silver metal finish.
Type: 35mm Rangefinder Film Camera with aperture priority auto exposure only. Released in 1975. It came out in both chrome or black body versions
Lens: Yashinon 45 mm f2.8. The focus range is from 1 m to infinity. Marked in both feet and metres. 4 elements in three groups. Filter size 55mm.
Viewfinder: Viewfinder combined with a rangefinder. Bright frame with no parallax correction. Magnification 0.59x. Red and yellow exposure indicator arrows visible through the viewfinder. When lightly pressing the shutter button a red light indicates overexposure. Yellow light means that although exposure will be correct a slow shutter speed will be used meaning the camera must be held steady and it is best to use a tripod.
EE Mechanism: Built-in exposure meter with CdS “Top-Eye” cell for automatic exposure control. Shutter speed priority system.
Film Speeds: ASA 25 to 800 / Adjustment on a ring at front of the lens.
Battery: 1 x 5.6v mercury battery (no longer available). (Eveready E164, Mallory PX32, or equivalent). Without a battery, the shutter free runs at 1/500 second so the camera cannot be used. You can also use 4 x 1.5v alkaline or silver oxide button cells stacked together and taped. Or a 6v L28.
There is no manual control of the shutter speed.
Shutter: Leaf Shutter. Speeds range from 2 seconds to 1/500 of a second. Automatically sets aperture, self-cocking combined film/shutter wind, and x synchronization. There is no B setting for long time exposures. However, the Copal shutter is stepless and so does not stick to the standard speeds of 1/500, 1/250 of a second and so on. Instead, it picks any speed to best suit the available light and aperture combination. Although the manual states the camera’s auto exposure can go down to 2 seconds in poor light, in reality, it can easily run for much longer. Mine goes for about 20 seconds.
Self Timer: Yes. Runs for 7 seconds.
Flash Contact: an Accessory shoe with direct contact plus conventional flash socket.
Flash. Shutter speed automatically sets to 1/30 second when the Auto Lever is adjusted to “flash”.
Zeiss Ikon is a German company that was formed in 1926 by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz and Ica), and an infusion of capital by Zeiss[1]. The company formed one part of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, another part being the optical company Carl Zeiss. Logically, most of the Zeiss Ikon cameras were equipped with Carl Zeiss lenses; and the formerly independent companies, in particular Goerz, had to shut down their own lens manufacture.
The merged company was also obliged to use Compur shutters for 80% of its cameras. Thus only the simplest cameras could get cheaper shutters like the Klio. Soon AG Hahn für Optik und Mechanik, Kassel, and Goerz Photochemisches Werk GmbH, Berlin, joined the Zeiss Ikon syndicate. Both companies, Zeiss Ikon and Hahn, were also in the business of producing keys, latches an lock cylinders. This business was more and more concentrated in the former optical factories of Goerz in Berlin.
The group became one of the big companies in the photo technology capital Dresden, with plants in Stuttgart and Berlin. It continued several products of its constituents for a while, but also created new ones like the quality folder Ikonta and the medium format rangefinder camera Super Ikonta. Until WWII Zeiss Ikon was the world's market leading maker of 8mm movie cameras. In addition to cameras and lenses, Zeiss Ikon also produced some optics for medical applications.
West Germany: Zeiss Ikon AG Stuttgart
After World War II Zeiss Ikon was split into a West German and an East German part. It was reformed in West Germany, and trademark disputes followed with the part that was left in East Germany. Stuttgart became the company's domicile. Zeiss Ikon merged in the mid 1960s with Voigtländer, another important German manufacturer, and one that had been controlled by the Zeiss Foundation since 1956.
The product lines of Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart were different from the East German company's products. The Ikophot light meters were made in Stuttgart.
Zeiss Ikon ceased the production of cameras in 1972. This was a great shock for the entire German camera industry. Parts of the Zeiss Ikon product line then went to Rollei, and part of the know-how was used to revive the Contax name in collaboration with the Japanese maker Yashica.
Before reunification the whole Zeiss Ikon keys, latches & locking cylinder business was separated into a separate company.
East Germany: VEB Zeiss Ikon Dresden
Postwar production, begun early in May 1945, was soon interrupted as several factories were closed for dismantling their production machines. The machines were given as reparation to Soviet camera makers that had suffered demolition during the war. The production of the sophisticated Contax rangefinder cameras was prepared in Dresden and relaunched with new machines in Jena before all the machines were transferred to the Soviet camera maker Kiev. In 1948 the East German part of Zeiss Ikon became state owned. Production and development of Ernemann projectors and movie cameras were continued from 1949. Camera production was continued in 1947 with the Tenax and the Ikonta models. Soon the company's stock of leaf shutters was running out. In 1950 it could produce its own shutters since it took over the shutter production of Balda and the shutter factory of Mimosa. In 1952 the Tempor was Zeiss Ikon's first own leaf shutter development, followed in 1954 by the Prestor, the fastest leaf shutter at this time.
In 1948 the company could introduce its advanced SLR model, the Contax S. Since there were suits about trade mark names with the West German Zeiss Ikon AG, VEB Zeiss Ikon was renamed VEB Kinowerke Dresden in 1958. Later it became the main part of the East German combine Pentacon.
After German reunification
Today Carl Zeiss is reviving the Zeiss Ikon name. The new Zeiss Ikon camera, introduced at the 2004 Photokina show, is a rangefinder camera with Leica M-mount, developed in Germany and built by Cosina in Japan. Like the Contax G1 and G2), it has lenses made in both Japan (by Cosina) and Germany.
Manufactured from 1956 to 1958, this well-made 35mm viewfinder camera was fitted with either Novicar Anastigmat or Novar Anastigmat lenses in a Prontor SVS shutter.
The camera has an uncoupled exposure meter. Early examples have a twin range meter like this one.
You can identify it as a twin-range meter because the cover flap over the meter cell has a slot machined through it. It is normally closed for bright conditions, so it lets through less light, and you read the meter on the high scale.
In lower light conditions, you open the flap to let more light act on the selenium cell, and you make your readings on the low-light scale.
Later examples like this one below, have a single range meter. The meter flap looks much the same, but is actually a cover, and blocks all the light. The meter flap must be opened to take a reading.
There appears to be confusion as to the correct name of this camera, which identifies itself as simply Contina (on the lens bezel). Some sources say it's a Contina II, while others claim the model is a Contina IIa.
Ivor Matanle's book Collecting and Using Classic Cameras, explains that the camera is often referred to as the IIa, with the a having been added by camera buffs to differentiate this (527/24) model from an earlier folding (524/24) camera also called the Contina II. Ivor's observation is incorrect, because there were actually two 527/24 models - the II and IIa - and while their differences are acknowledged, reviewers often assume the IIa was a later version of the II, rather than a different model.
The facts are, the IIa was the first model, and Zeiss (not collectors) added an a to the name to distinguish the camera from the 524/24 folding Contina II. The 527/24 Contina II followed the IIa in 1956, with some logic to Zeiss dropping the a from its name, because production of the 524/24 folding Contina II had ceased in 1953. The II and IIa had quite a few significant differences.
Contina IIa (527/24)
1954 - 56
Look for
• small slots in meter cell flap
• dual range meter with scoop cut from outer meter dial, which reveals a scale (green for flap closed, and black for flap open)
• EV number scale in meter window
• lens mount front plate has very shallow horizontal grooves
• smaller viewfinder window with no frame around.
Contina II (527/24)
1956 - 58
Look for
• no slots in meter cell flap (its just a cover)
• single range meter
• no scale in meter window because its a match-needle system rather than a pointer
• lens mount front plate is smooth
• larger viewfinder window with surrounding frame.
There was a further Contina II from 1958, but this was also known as the Contina-matic, had a coupled exposure meter, and therefore no top-plate dials. It's clearly a different camera, and I haven't included details because the point of this table is to show the a designation pertains to one specific model.
This Contina II is a completely manual viewfinder camera and was fitted with either an f/3.5 Novar or f/2.8 Novicar Anastigmat 45mm lens with a Prontor SVS shutter. My understanding is that Novar and Novicar were names owned by Zeiss, but the lenses were not actually made by the company. My camera has the faster f/2.8 lens.
The camera has an uncoupled exposure meter. It works like a hand-held; turn the dial to match the needles, and read off the recommended aperture / shutter speed combinations for transfer to the camera lens settings.
A nice feature is that the rewind knob extends away from the camera body as it is turned - making it easier to operate.
One source reports that the camera cost £43 15s 1d new, which would be equivalent to about 3 weeks average UK wages.
Shutter: B, 1, 1/2nd, 1/4th, 1/8th, 1/15th, 1/30th, 1/60th, 1/125th and 1/300th. The shutter can be set at M or X synch. Prontor SVS five-blade leaf shutter.
Cable Release: Standard socket in shutter release button.
Meter: Uncoupled Selenium.
Exposure: Manual, read from meter scale.
Film Speed: From ASA 5 - 640.
Filter Size: 27mm screw in.
Flash: Cold shoe and PC terminal. M and X sync.
Film Advance: Long stroke lever.
Frame Counter: Set manually with auto count-up.
Rewind: Via crank and separate bottom release button.
The Petri 7s was introduced by Petri in 1963 as a variant of the Petri 7 which was introduced in 1961. The main difference being an improved film advance lever and frame counter. It took 35mm film, had a coupled rangefinder, and an around-the-lens selenium cell light meter. Production ended in 1973.
Compared to its predecessor, the 7s is very advanced. It has ATL (around the lens) selenium metering with a match-needle visible both in the viewfinder as well as the top of the camera. From the 7s came the compact Petri Color 35, which was wildly popular when released in 1968
The 7s was available with either a 45mm f1.8 or f2.8 lens. The shutter had speeds up to 1/500, and the viewfinder used Petri's Green-o-Matic system.
Manufacturer: Petri Camera Company
Place of Manufacture: Japan
Date of Manufacture: 1963 – 1976
Focusing System: Fully coupled rangefinder
Rangefinder: Helicoid-type Coupled Rangefinder
Focusing: 2.65 ft to Infinity.
Lens: 45mm f/2.8 (4 elements in 3 groups), coated, 52mm filter thread mount; 45mm f/1.8 (6 elements), coated, 52mm filter thread mount
Shutter: Petri MVE leaf (in-lens) shutter
Shutter speeds: 1 – 1/500 + B + self-timer
Metering System: Around the lens (ATL) selenium manual metering cell
Aperture: f/2.8~16; f/1.8~16
Flash: “Cold” flash shoe; PC external flash connection
Flash type selector: M – X
Film type: Standard 135 (35mm) film
Film Transport: Single-Stroke (180 degree) rapid transport lever.
Battery type: n/a
Dimensions and weight: 132 × 79 × 72mm xxxg / 132 × 79 × 72mm 635g
Neoca was a Japanese company that made the Mizuho Six 6×6 folders from 1951, and later Neoca cameras. The company's full name at first was Mizuho Kōki Seisakusho (ミヅホ光機製作所), this name was translated as Mizuho Optical on some body engravings, and the logo was MKS in a stylized lens scheme. In July 1952 the company became Mizuho Kamera Kōgyō K.K. (ミヅホカメラ工業㈱), translated as Mizuho Camera Ind. Co, Ltd (observed on a box for a Mizuho Six, for sale in an online auction). While Mizuho seems to have consistently been written in advertisements as ミヅホ (never ミズホ), the company is, rightly or wrongly, sometimes referred to as 瑞穂 (which too would be read "Mizuho"). In November 1954 the company became Neoca, more fully Neoca Kabushiki Kaisha (ネオカ株式会社). Neoca went bankrupt in January 1960.
Source: camera-wiki.org
The Neoca 35K was an inexpensive scale focusing Neoca model from about 1959 and lacks the rangefinder focus found on the Neoca 2S and Neoca 35 IV S. The shutter ranges from 1/25 to 1/300 sec., and so lacks the slow shutter speeds of the other models as well. The 35K does offer lever wind film advance, where the Neoca 35A used knob winding.
Neoca 35K – c1959. Scale focus 35mm. Direct descendant of the Nihon Seiki ‘Micronta 35’ and ‘Ranger 35’ cameras, but with lever advance. Neokor f3.5/45mm in B, 25-300
The Halina Rolls is a 35mm viewfinder camera made by Haking in Hong Kong, possibly around 1960. The camera feels cheaply made; the lens barrel and most of the body is plastic, with a fake selenium meter window beside the viewfinder. Film advance is by lever; rewind is by a thumb-wheel extending all around the end of the camera. The shutter release has a long travel to operate the everset shutter. The film counter - above the winding lever - must be manually rotated to reset when loading a film.
Small, light, bright and unknown.
It was a time when every Sunday morning, I used to go to one of the famous markets in Palermo, Ballarò, hoping to find some interesting cameras. Here’s what happened on the first day.
On one of the many stalls, among bed sheets, cardboard pieces and small tables on the ground, I saw a pile of compact cameras… and there I saw it: Halina.
The seller asked 5 Euros for it, I made a deal for 4, and he asked me “Does 1 Euro make a difference?” I said, “It definitely does.” It did indeed, as two stalls further I bought a perfectly working clone of the ActionSampler for 1 Euro!
As I got home, I looked for some info on the Halina on the web, but couldn’t find any. The only info I got on it are the following.:
It’s so easy to use, light, small, and seems to have a very bright lens.
Fex/Indo (for France EXport) and (INDustrie Optique) is a French company that produced inexpensive camera models from the 1940s to the 1981. It was one of the few civil camera companies founded in times of WWII. When France was "under German occupation, Fritz Kaftanski formed an association with Lucien Bouchetal de la Roche in order to produce cameras under the mark FEX (for France EXport). Located in Lyon, this company became FEX-INDO and then INDO (INDustrie Optique). It stopped all activities in 1981"[1]. The wartime product was a wooden camera of poor quality but with Angenieux lens. Later Kaftanski himself developed successful camera models like the bakelite camera Ultra-Fex. The main brand names were Fex, Weber/Fex and in the late years Indo.
The first Focasport series lasted from 1955 to 1962.
The original Focasport is a simple 35mm viewfinder camera with an Atos (sometimes Crouzet) leaf shutter up to 1/300. It has a Foca Neoplar 4.5cm f:3.5 three-element lens with front cell focusing. These characteristics are modest, but it is a well-finished camera, and at least in France it benefited from the aura of the more expensive Foca models, a line of 35mm rangefinder cameras with focal plane shutter and interchangeable lenses meant to be a local equivalent of the Leica. It met with success in its country of origin. In 1957 its name was changed to Focasport I.
The Pax M4 from about 1958 is a revision to the Pax M3 which added a frosted central window to illuminate a bright-line viewfinder frame. The change required Yamato to add a taller top housing. Unlike other Pax models this does not have a dropped shoulder around the rewind, which is a folding crank, replacing the rewind knob of earlier models. The film speed reminder dial also differs from that of the M3, and the name Pax is not impressed in the leatherette of the back, as on all the previous Pax cameras. The lens is a Luminor Anastigmat f/2.8 45mm.
The rangefinder adjustment screws are also differently placed. The screw to adjust for distance (at infinity focus) is inside the camera; it is accessed through a hole at the top of the internal panelling behind the lens. The screw for vertical alignment is accessed by removing the front screw of the three that secure the flash shoe; the adjustment screw is beneath that screw hole.
The camera was also sold as the Pal M4, Rex, Rex M4 and the Tac Deluxe .
Yamoto Koki Kogyo, better known as Yamoto Optical, produced a range of rangefinder cameras in the 1950's and '60's, priced in the low-to-medium range. Best known is probably the 1953 Pax M2, a little Leica look-alike with a 45mm Luminor Anastigmat f/3.5 lens, and especially the "Golden View" version of that camera, finished in faux gold with coloured leatherette trim. Despite the fact that there was nothing very Leica-like about the quality of the camera or it's images, the Golden View fetches four-figure prices at auction. This little Pax M4 is a later development from around 1960 and appeared under a bewildering variety of names. "Pal M4" was one common derivation, and I've seen it referred to as "Ricsor" and "Rex". A version was apparently imported into the US by the Trans-American Import Export Co., and branded the "TAC Deluxe Rangefinder".
This is a nicely-made rangefinder, rather like a Braun Paxette in heft and construction. The viewfinder is bright-lined with parallax compensation marks, the coupled rangefinder is clear enough, the inaudible shutter trips sweetly and offers speeds of 1/10th to 1/300th plus B. It has a nice short and snappy film wind, orthodox film rewind, and a friendly internal film counter set below a magnifying lens on the top deck...Nice touch. The overall finish is excellent, with no plastic visible anywhere, a somewhat unusual feature for mid-range Japanese cameras of this era. The entire back and base detaches for film loading, European style, revealing some tidy all-metal engineering. As one can tell by comparing the camera with the size of the film cassettes in the photograph, it's a very small camera indeed.
All the Yamoto lenses were named "Luminor", which makes researching their characteristics a little tedious. The earlier f/3.5 lens fitted to the M2 was a triplet design, but apparently capable of quite high-quality work. The 45mm f/2.8 LuminorAnastigmat fitted to the M4 is rumored to be a 4-element Tessar-like design, and a "reflection inspection" seems to confirm this, though I'm not adamant on the point. While it's marked "45mm", after handling the camera and viewing the images, I suspect it's actually a little wider, possibly nearer the 40mm mark. It's a very bright and clear lens with a light coating, and I have no criticism of it's performance. Indeed, I was actually very agreeably surprised, if not somewhat amazed. In the fashion of the day, auxiliary tele-and wide-angle attachments were available, along with supplementary viewfinders.
Zorki 10 is a 35mm film rangefinder camera made by KMZ and produced between 1964-78 with quantity of 330.000 units.
Thre are 5 types, 4 sub-types of the Zorki 10 and series of camera is Zorki-Automat. It was sold as Revue-10 also. [1]
Selenium meter cells surround the lens. This was the first fully automatic camera produced in the former Soviet Union, as well as the first to use ASA/DIN markings rather than the Soviet GOST numbers, however these ASA numbers were still mostly useless as they didn't match any known film speeds. (Some Zorki 10 cameras apparently had GOST numbers instead of ASA though, as it's shown in a Polish camera manual). The Zorki 10 was evidently KMZ's copy of the Ricoh Auto 35V/Ricohmatic 35.
The shutter release is a small lever protruding from the right-hand side of the lens. Shutter speeds from 1/30s to 1/500s were available in automatic mode. It also provided a B (bulb) setting, though there is no way to attach a cable release. Apertures from 2.8 to 22 with constant shutter speed of 1/30 s could be set in manual mode, intended for use with an electronic flash. Flash sync is possible at all shutter speeds through the PC terminal. There is an accessory shoe provided, but it does not sync with flash.
The Zorki 11 is a Zorki 10 without the coupled rangefinder mechanism, but with distance symbols visible in the viewfinder
Coupled viewfinder/rangefinder
Viewfinder magnification: 0.65x
Rangefinder base: 38 mm
Lens: Industar-63, 45mm f/2.8 (four element Tessar type), fixed
Angle of view: 51.3 degree
Min. focusing distance: 1.5 m
Shutter: leaf; electronically controlled in auto mode, 1/30 s or B in manual mode.
Exposure meter: Selenium cell meter
Shutter speed range: 1/30 s – 1/500 s, B
Aperture range: 2.8 – 22
Automatic exposure range: 8 – 18 EV
Manual exposure range: 8 – 14 EV
Film speed range: 20 – 320 ASA (14 – 26 DIN, 16 – 250 GOST)
Flash sync: 1/30 s
Film advance: manual
Selftimer: mechanical, 8-15 s delay
Filter thread: M52.5 x 0.75
Tripod thread: 1/4" or 3/8" (depending of manufacture period)
Dimensions: 129 x 77 x 76 mm
Weight: 750 g
This camera has fully automatic exposure settings and is designed for using the 35-mm perforated film having 24x36 mm picture sizes. The camera is fitted with an "Industar-63" lens, which is built-in in the between the lens diaphragm shutter. The camera is loaded with standard cassette for 36 frames. M52x0.75 thread on the lens is provided for mounting filters. This camera was awarded the gold medal at the 1965 Leipzig World Fair
The Dacora-Matic 4D is a very special 35mm viewfinder camera made by Dacora. It has 4 shutter release buttons, each for a special subject distance. 4D means 4 distances. Pressing one of the release buttons rotates an internal lens element to set the focus, then fires the shutter. Each release button is marked with a distance symbol, and distances in feet (as in photo above) or metres marked on the body beside the buttons. The selenium meter controls aperture automatically, with the option of manual override. Shutter speed is dependent on the selected film speed.
The Dacora-Matic was also sold by Ilford in Britain as the Ilford Sportsmaster, and by Hanimex as the Hanimex Electra II.
Manufacturer: Dacora
Type: half automatic viewfinder camera
Film: 35mm
Year of launch: 1960
Lens: Dacora Dignar 1:2.8/45mm or Steinheil Cassar 45mm/2.8, or Hanimar f/2.8 45 mm
Shutter: Prontor-Lux with speeds 1/30 to 1/200 sec. and "B"
Exposure: automatic aperture, controlled by Bertram selenium meter
Focusing: Focus selectable by one of the four shutter release buttons, 1.5m to infinity
Viewfinder: optical with mirror surface for self portraits and bright-line with parallax correction marks and central cross.
