Clarus MS-35 (1946-1952)

During the immediate post-WWII era a number of small and not so small American manufacturers entered the market for 35 mm cameras, lingered for a while and then exited the market or closed completely. One of the small ones was Clarus Camera Manufacturing, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Clarus model MS-35 vaguely resembles the earlier Perfex cameras made by the Candid Camera Corporation of America, Chicago, Illinois, but without the slow speeds or the extinction meter of the Perfex.

Front

Back

The Clarus has a fairly heavy metal body with chrome and black "Redolite" trim. The top of the camera has the film advance knob and the exposure counter dial, the shutter release, the shutter speed dial, an accessory shoe and the film rewind knob. The camera came with a 2-inch (50 mm) lens. The accessory shoe was to hold auxiliary viewfinders for interchangeable lenses ranging from a 35 mm wide angle to a 101 mm telephoto. The front has a window for the viewfinder and two windows for the range finder. The back of the camera has separate eyepieces for the viewfinder and range finder. The bottom of the camera has a socket for a tripod. The latch for the film door is on the right side. This example has a coated Wollensak-Clarus 2-inch (50 mm) f/2.8-22 lens in a focusing mount. The close focus is 3.5 ft. The lens unscrews and could be exchanged with wide angle and telephoto lenses. These are uncommon. The focal plane shutter runs from 1/25 to 1/1000 second and has a bulb setting. The shutter speed dial rotates as the film is wound and as the shutter is released. The shutter needs to be cocked in order to set the shutter speed correctly. To rewind the film you hold in the shutter button and rotate the rewind knob clockwise. This is the only 35 mm camera I've seen that used the shutter button as the rewind clutch.

For the first year it was made the Clarus suffered from a number of design and manufacturing faults. They were eventually corrected, but the company never recovered from its initial stumble. The one I have is one of the later examples. The moving range finder mirror has come loose and the top will need to be taken off to fix it.

[Update] I cemented the moving mirror to its support, now I need to recalibrate the range finder.

Inside the Top

The moving mirror is near rhe right end of the camera as seen from the front. It is attached to a lever that is moved by the lens as it focuses. The moving mirror reflects an offset view of the subject to a stationary mirror near the shutter speed dial. When the subject is in focus the reflected view of the subject coincides with the direct view of the subject. The stationary mirror is adjustable to make the two views coincide at the correct distance. To adjust the range finder you need to focus on an object using a ground glass and a magnifying loupe at the film plane and then nudge the adjustable mirror until the reflected image and the direct image coincide.