Three of My Favorite Vintage 35mm Cameras

      How were craftsmen in Japan and Germany able to produce so many excellent cameras during the 1950s? After all, not much time had passed since World War II had ended in 1945, and both countries were still recovering from that catastrophe. Even so, technicians at Canon, Yashica, Leica, Minolta, Agfa, Konica, Mamiya, Contax, and many others produced a constant stream of beautiful and functional cameras, many of which are still in use sixty or more years after they were created.

     Because I have quite a few of these historic cameras in my collection, it was difficult for me to select three favorites. But after much hemming and hawing, I finally managed to do so. My personal, subjective choices are: Agfa Karat 36; Aires 35 IIIC; and Canter Beauty.
                                           
       One thing I like about the Agfa Karat 36 is that you can retract the lens and carry the camera in your pocket. I also like the old style split image rangefinder, which I find easier to use than the

Agfa Karat 36

coincidence type rangefinder. The camera also has a unique film advance lever that you pull toward you. And the 2/50mm Xenon lens is a plus when you're shooting in subdued light. Notable, also, is the swing back, a feature that certainly makes it easy to load film. For more information about this camera, see 01/08/19 blog entry.

 
        The Aires 35 IIIC reminds me of a Leica M3 I owned

Aires 35 IIIC

many years ago. I like its large parallax corrected combined
viewfinder/rangefinder window, swing open back, whisper quiet shutter, and f2.4/45mm lens.That's right: f2.4. Who ever heard of a 2.4 lens? This camera has a solid feel to it. Interestingly, the lens cap has a little extension on it that lets you attach a leash. A nice touch. I guess that's why my Aires came with its original cap intact. For more information about this camera, see 12/26/18 blog entry.
 

Canter Beauty

       I'd never heard of the Canter Beauty until I discovered one at an auction site. Smaller and lighter than the Aires IIIC, it has a  a combined viewfinder/rangefinder window, helpful swing back, and a 2.8/45mm lens. When you push a little button on the rewind knob, the rewind lever pops up. Behind the shutter release there's a "shutter set indicator stud" that pops up to indicate that you've advanced the film and cocked the shutter.The tripod socket on the bottom of the camera is located in the center rather than off to one side as on many other cameras. For more information about this camera, see 11/30/18 blog entry.

COMING SOON: Three Interchangeable Lens Leaf Shutter Cameras