Kodak Medalist II (1946-1953)

The Eastman Kodak Medalist camera was introduced in 1941, with production continuing through WWII for the US Navy, and was updated to the Medalist II after the end of the war. The Medallist II was in the Kodak catalog from 1946 through 1953. The list price in 1946 was $262, or about $3,300 in depreciated 2018 dollars. This camera was geared toward the professional market and rivaled cameras produced by the major German camera companies. The lens is an f/3.5-32 100mm Kodak Ektar with five elements in three groups. The lens on my Medalist II has a date code of ER, which corresponds to 1945, and does not have the "Lumenized" symbol to indicate the presence of anti-reflective coatings, although the lens does appear to be coated. The shutter is a Kodak Flash Supermatic running from 1 to 1/400 second plus bulb. It focuses using a coupled range finder or an accessory ground glass back. The viewfinder is corrected for parallax. The lens can use series VI drop-in filters and supplementary lenses. The camera takes eight 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" pictures on a roll of 620 film and has an exposure counter. Kodak discontinued size 620 film some time ago. However, it is possible to use currently available size 120 film by respooling the 120 film onto a 620 spool. Respooling film inside a film changing bag or inside a darkroom is no more difficult than loading a roll of film onto a developing reel. The accessory back takes film holders for 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" or 6.5cm x 9cm sheet film or glass plates. You would have used the accessory back with supplementary lenses or extension units for tasks such as copying or macro photography. This feels like a bulky and heavy camera, weighing nearly three pounds. You would want to use it on a tripod.

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Film Chamber

Kodak Ektar f/3.5 100mm Lens

Suffragettes in Centennial Park