Kodak 35 f/3.5 with Rangefinder (1940-1951)

1946 Kodak 35 RF

In 1939 the Second World War interrupted supplies of the Retina and the rival Argus C3 with a built-in rangefinder also arrived on the scene.  A new camera was needed.  In 1940 Eastman Kodak Company created the new model by grafting a coupled, split-image range finder onto their Kodak 35 f/3.5.  The result was functional, but not beautiful.  

The camera has the bakelite body of the older Kodak 35s, and the same lens and shutter as the f/3.5 model.  The range finder worked on the same principle as the Kodak Pocket Range Finder.  The housing next to the lens contained a lever that transmitted the distance setting of the lens to the movable mirror of the range finder.  The small, toothed wheel on the front lets the photographer use his right index finger to focus the camera, and serves to keep him from blocking the range finder window as he does so.  A cam and feeler send the distance setting of the lens to the rangefinder.  When the lens is focused on a subject, the two halves of the subject line up in the eyepiece of the range finder.  After focusing the photographer has to shift his eye to the viewfinder eyepiece in order to aim the camera, and move his finger from the focusing wheel to the shutter release in order to take the picture.  The viewfinder shows an image about 40% life size.

The operations of loading and unloading the film, advancing to the next exposure and releasing the shutter are the same as in the earlier Kodak 35 f/3.5.  Some of the later Kodak 35 range finder model cameras have the lens marked "Kodak Anastar" instead of "Kodak Anastigmat Special." As far as I know this is just a change of name.

The 1940 list price of the Kodak 35 with range finder was $48, which had the buying power of about $1000 in today's depreciated dollars.  The Kodak 35 RF was replaced in 1951 by the Kodak Signet 35, which had an improved lens and range finder, and was more attractive.  The chief commercial rival to the Kodak 35 RF was the Argus C-3, which was 3/4 the price and outsold the 35 RF by about 5:1.

[Update] Here is a look at the rangefinder mechanism on a 1945 version.  A cam on the lens moves a lever that sends the distance set on the lens to the range finder.

Top off, ready to glue rangefinder mirror back in place

The pre-1946 shutters have a self-timer, while the post-1946 ones have a flash synchronizer.  The synchronizer uses the space formerly used by the self-timer.  Cameras also varied a little in trim.  The 1945 version has a black enamel finish on the shroud covering the feeler that transmits the lens distance setting to the rangefinder while the pre-war and post-war versions have nickel plate instead of the black enamel.  I think this might have been an attempt to conserve nickel, a strategic metal, although I don't know why they wouldn't have gone all black if that were really the case.  Some cameras were made with metric distance scales.

1945 Kodak 35 RF with black trim.