Kodak 35 Rangefinder
Encyclopedia
The Kodak 35 was launched by Eastman Kodak Company
in 1938 as their first 35 mm camera manufactured in the USA. It was developed in Rochester, New York
when it became apparent that the company could no longer rely on import from their Kodak AG factory in Germany during the troubled times prior to the Second World War. The Eastman Kodak Company had greatly depended on Dr. August Nagel's capabilities as a camera designer and manufacturer by acquiring his factory and making him director of Kodak AG in Stuttgart. The German factory was the single source of 35 mm Kodak cameras, producing the quite successful Kodak Retina
cameras to go with the new Kodak 135 daylight-loading film cassette
starting in 1934.
Edinex and Adox Adrette. It takes thirty-six 24×36 mm frames on 35 mm film. The precision moulded black Bakelite body has satin-chromed top and base plates, and a collapsible finder
is mounted on top center. The removable Bakelite back with the attached base plate slides easily off for film handling. It is secured by a centrally located wing key in the base plate. Turning the key also slackens the spring tension of the chromed steel film pressure plate, a very unusual feature presumably incorporated to facilitate reassembling the camera rather than preventing scratching the film during rewind, which would have been a novel feature.
Prominently placed at the top are the large wind-on and rewind knobs, the right-hand one is the film advance knob, both to be operated in the clockwise direction. Next to it is a manually reset automatic frame counter dial and the chromed wind-on release button, the latter not to be mistaken for the shutter release. The front element focusing Kodak lens has a rigid lensmount set in a Kodak inter-lens shutter. The shutter is cocked by a gear coupling to the sprocket-wheel
drum, which is trailing along with the passing film during the wind-on operation. Hence, there is no shutter cocking without a film in the camera. An automatic mechanism locates the next frame on the film by locking the advance knob. It is released for the next frame by depressing the wind-on release button before turning the wind-on knob. This prevents double exposure, but not blank frames since nothing prevents pressing the button again and advance the film. However, a red indicator is shown to the left in a slot on the top of the shutter cover that indicates the camera has been wound. The shutter release, in the shape of a rearward-pointing pin attached to the shutter release lever, is situated at about 10-o'clock at the shutter housing. It is protected from being accidentally triggered by a small cover extending over it.
Rewinding the film into its cassette is accomplished by first pulling the wind-on knob to its raised position followed by turning the left-hand top mounted rewind-knob clock-wise; this is accompanied by a rattling noise. Note that it is not possible to raise the wind-on knob if it is not free to rotate, release it by depressing the double exposure prevention button and turn the knob clockwise while lifting it. Conversely, also turn it while lowering it again. The frame counter dial rotates during rewind as long as the film passes the sprocket wheel drum. The wind gears, which is visible inside the film chamber, is of ample dimensions and beautifully machined of steel. All internal metal parts are either plated steel or brass. The film pressure-plate is chrome-plated polished steel, while the others are nickel-plated.
A variety of lens and shutter combinations appeared during the production period:
. The centrally positioned eyepiece is for the viewfinder. An external mechanism, hidden inside the protrusion at the left-hand side of the lens/shutter assembly, relays the front lens element extension to the rangefinder optics by sensing the height of a milled cam at the periphery of the lens barrel just behind the toothed rim. Both the separate viewfinder and rangefinder eyepieces and the lens coupling are in the style of the Leica camera. The difference is the way in which the lever operates on the lens barrel. Looking through the small rangefinder window at the left-hand side at the back reveals a clear view of a horizontally split image. The lower image part is shifted sideways by turning the focusing wheel at the front right-hand side of the lens. By aligning the vertical feature of any object in the motive that crosses the split in the rangefinder image may render it sharp on the film.
The Rangefinder model was made available with a variety of shutter and lens combinations during its production run, which ended in 1951:
Note: This model is often referred to as the gear coupled RF version due to the conspicuously placed gear next to the lens front element. The gear however, only provides a means of turning the front element using a finger on the edge of the wheel, and is no part of the link between the lens and the rangefinder.
A few minor modifications were also made to internal parts, notably to the film pressure plate spring that changes through a variety of shapes from rod to flat shape. Most, if not all shutters alternatives have a No. 5 Cable Release socket with a tiny removable coin-slotted screw plug, while the later ones also have a Kodak type flash synchroniser
contact post. A metal band inscribed "Made in U.S.A." was attached to the top of the shutter housing cover plate, save for the last year or two of production. The milling pattern on the focusing wheel front goes through a variety of styles from flat to a pattern of several concentric circles
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
in 1938 as their first 35 mm camera manufactured in the USA. It was developed in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
when it became apparent that the company could no longer rely on import from their Kodak AG factory in Germany during the troubled times prior to the Second World War. The Eastman Kodak Company had greatly depended on Dr. August Nagel's capabilities as a camera designer and manufacturer by acquiring his factory and making him director of Kodak AG in Stuttgart. The German factory was the single source of 35 mm Kodak cameras, producing the quite successful Kodak Retina
Kodak Retina
Retina was the name of a long-running series of German-built Kodak cameras. Retinas were manufactured in Stuttgart by Nagel Camerawerk, which Kodak had acquired in 1931, and sold under the Kodak nameplate. Retinas were noted for their compact size, quality, and low cost compared to their...
cameras to go with the new Kodak 135 daylight-loading film cassette
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
starting in 1934.
The original viewfinder model
The first Kodak 35 has no rangefinder. It resembles slightly cameras like the German WirginWirgin
Wirgin was a German company which is still known for its brands Wirgin and Edixa, and for its camera types like the Edina, the Edinex or the Gewirette. It was based in the Hessian capital Wiesbaden and made a line of quite inexpensive 35mm SLRs from the 1950s to the 1970s, including the Edixa...
Edinex and Adox Adrette. It takes thirty-six 24×36 mm frames on 35 mm film. The precision moulded black Bakelite body has satin-chromed top and base plates, and a collapsible finder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
is mounted on top center. The removable Bakelite back with the attached base plate slides easily off for film handling. It is secured by a centrally located wing key in the base plate. Turning the key also slackens the spring tension of the chromed steel film pressure plate, a very unusual feature presumably incorporated to facilitate reassembling the camera rather than preventing scratching the film during rewind, which would have been a novel feature.
Prominently placed at the top are the large wind-on and rewind knobs, the right-hand one is the film advance knob, both to be operated in the clockwise direction. Next to it is a manually reset automatic frame counter dial and the chromed wind-on release button, the latter not to be mistaken for the shutter release. The front element focusing Kodak lens has a rigid lensmount set in a Kodak inter-lens shutter. The shutter is cocked by a gear coupling to the sprocket-wheel
Sprocket
A sprocket or sprocket-wheel is a profiled wheel with teeth, cogs, or even sprockets that mesh with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which are radial projections that engage a chain passing over it...
drum, which is trailing along with the passing film during the wind-on operation. Hence, there is no shutter cocking without a film in the camera. An automatic mechanism locates the next frame on the film by locking the advance knob. It is released for the next frame by depressing the wind-on release button before turning the wind-on knob. This prevents double exposure, but not blank frames since nothing prevents pressing the button again and advance the film. However, a red indicator is shown to the left in a slot on the top of the shutter cover that indicates the camera has been wound. The shutter release, in the shape of a rearward-pointing pin attached to the shutter release lever, is situated at about 10-o'clock at the shutter housing. It is protected from being accidentally triggered by a small cover extending over it.
Rewinding the film into its cassette is accomplished by first pulling the wind-on knob to its raised position followed by turning the left-hand top mounted rewind-knob clock-wise; this is accompanied by a rattling noise. Note that it is not possible to raise the wind-on knob if it is not free to rotate, release it by depressing the double exposure prevention button and turn the knob clockwise while lifting it. Conversely, also turn it while lowering it again. The frame counter dial rotates during rewind as long as the film passes the sprocket wheel drum. The wind gears, which is visible inside the film chamber, is of ample dimensions and beautifully machined of steel. All internal metal parts are either plated steel or brass. The film pressure-plate is chrome-plated polished steel, while the others are nickel-plated.
A variety of lens and shutter combinations appeared during the production period:
- 1938-1945: Kodak Anastigmat f/5.6 50 mm in Kodex shutter, or
- 1938-1949: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 51 mm in Kodamatic shutter, or
- 1946-1947: Kodak Anastigmat f/4.5 50 mm in Flash Diomatic shutter,
- 1947-1948: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 51 mm in Flash Kodamatic shutter, or
- 1947-1948: Kodak Anaston f/4.5 50 mm in Flash Diomatic shutter.
The improved rangefinder model
After some two years, the Eastman Kodak Company presented an improved Kodak 35 camera, with a new superstructure housing a viewfinder and a separate rangefinderRangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
. The centrally positioned eyepiece is for the viewfinder. An external mechanism, hidden inside the protrusion at the left-hand side of the lens/shutter assembly, relays the front lens element extension to the rangefinder optics by sensing the height of a milled cam at the periphery of the lens barrel just behind the toothed rim. Both the separate viewfinder and rangefinder eyepieces and the lens coupling are in the style of the Leica camera. The difference is the way in which the lever operates on the lens barrel. Looking through the small rangefinder window at the left-hand side at the back reveals a clear view of a horizontally split image. The lower image part is shifted sideways by turning the focusing wheel at the front right-hand side of the lens. By aligning the vertical feature of any object in the motive that crosses the split in the rangefinder image may render it sharp on the film.
The Rangefinder model was made available with a variety of shutter and lens combinations during its production run, which ended in 1951:
- 1940-1948: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 51 mm in Kodamatic Shutter,
- 1940-1948: Kodak Anastigmat Special f/3.5 51 mm in Flash Kodamatic Shutter,
- 1947-1951: Kodak Anastar Special f/3.5 50 mm in Kodamatic Shutter, or
- 1947-1951: Kodak Anastar Special f/3.5 50 mm in Flash Kodamatic Shutter
Note: This model is often referred to as the gear coupled RF version due to the conspicuously placed gear next to the lens front element. The gear however, only provides a means of turning the front element using a finger on the edge of the wheel, and is no part of the link between the lens and the rangefinder.
The variations in finish and specifications
Several finishes appeared during the production run. The body is black Bakelite and top and base is chromed metal. When first introduced the collapsible viewfinder on top of the camera was black and the knobs on top of the camera were black Bakelite, while the military viewfinder camera were olive drab with blackened metal parts. The rangefinder model also exists with black knobs and some with black rangefinder protrusion next to the lens, but the majority has plated metal knobs. There were no civil production between 1942 and 1945. The post-war viewfinder and the rangefinder models were also black with bright-chromed metal features, and an accessory shoe was added to the viewfinder model next to the rewind knob. However, for a while during the period from 1947 to 1949, the knobs were also made of white plastic instead of metal. Both the metal- and the white rewind knobs have a film reminder dial in the hub.A few minor modifications were also made to internal parts, notably to the film pressure plate spring that changes through a variety of shapes from rod to flat shape. Most, if not all shutters alternatives have a No. 5 Cable Release socket with a tiny removable coin-slotted screw plug, while the later ones also have a Kodak type flash synchroniser
Flash synchronization
In a camera, flash synchronization is defined as the firing of a photographic flash coinciding with the shutter admitting light to photographic film or electronic image sensor. It is often shortened to flash sync or flash synch....
contact post. A metal band inscribed "Made in U.S.A." was attached to the top of the shutter housing cover plate, save for the last year or two of production. The milling pattern on the focusing wheel front goes through a variety of styles from flat to a pattern of several concentric circles