The Aires 35 IIIC

      Several of the vintage rangefinders in my collection suffered from dim rangefinder patches, and the Aires 35IIIC was no exception. Fortunately, I discovered an easy fix for this condition on the Internet at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-165.html.  It's  simple. You just place a small black
circle in the center of your camera's viewfinder window, and you're back in business. In the photo, right, I substituted a white dot for the apparently dark window.
    By the way, the viewfinder features automatic parallax correction.
      This camera has a few unique features that I haven't seen on other 1950s RF cameras. For example, the little lever (my red dot) allows for intentional double exposures and also allows for rewinding the film.
     Another interesting feature is the f2.4 lens. I don't think I've ever seen an f2.4 lens on another 35mm camera, but I suppose the designers at Aires Camera in Tokyo had a reason for including one on this camera. The self timer lever is at 9 o'clock in relation to the lens.

      The controls on this camera are straightforward and easy to adjust. The yellow dot denotes the combined aperture opening and LV system ring. Blue marks the shutter speed adjusting ring. Green highlights the XFM synchro switch ring. Red marks the focusing ring, and black denotes the depth of field scale. Note that distances are shown in meters.
     An old timey flash socket peeks out at 3 o'clock on the black shutter speed indicator ring. The focusing knob doesn't show up in the photo.
     This camera sports a Seikosha MXL leaf shutter that is extremely quiet...perfect for street shooters.

    Seen from above, the Aires 35IIIC looks like most other rangefinders of its time, except for the shutter release, which sits in a small depression with a cable release socket directly to its rear. I found this arrangement to be quite comfortable. That's interesting because most other shutter releases are elevated above their cameras' top plates.
    Note, also, the curved area in the top plate into which the film advance lever usually fits snugly. But when you advance the film and cock the shutter, the lever sets itself slightly apart from its usual resting place, where it is ready to operate once again. The hinged back swings open for easy film loading.

    Another nice feature is the camera's metal lens cap. The red dot in the photo marks a small eye that can accommodate a lens leash, which can consist of just a length of black thread. I have to smile each time I think about the many lens caps I've lost because I hadn't tethered them to my cameras.
    Not too long ago, I paid $60 for this camera in excellent condition except for the dim RF patch. The Collectiblend website currently values it at $80-$220. My 1995-1996 McKeown's lists it at $45-$60.

COMING SOON: Canon L2 and Canon P