Rangefinder – Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

November 1, 2025

Yashica YK

Yashica YK Yashima, the forefather of Yashica, was established as a machine shop towards the end of WWII. Once the war was over, it shifted its focus to consumer goods and further began producing TLR cameras in the early 1950s. The first two models were Yashimaflex and Pigeonflex, and the Yashica name, short for Yashima Camera, was first seen in...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 0

October 29, 2025

Beauty 35 Super / Canter

Beauty 35 Super / Canter Beauty was known for its TLR cameras and made 35mm rangefinders for a short period, towards the end of its production. The first, the ‘35 Super’, was introduced in 1956, and the company stopped making cameras soon after, in 1963. The ‘Super’ term was added to this model to differentiate it from their first 35mm...

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October 23, 2025

Beauty camera family list

Beauty camera family list Preamble Researching camera information can be tedious. Where information is available in print, it takes a long time to retrieve. Online research is much faster when the search subject is unique, such as ‘Konica Autoreflex’. I mentioned this in the past while searching for Taron and had a massive yield of results about actor Taron Egerton,...

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October 9, 2025

Walz Comet

Walz Comet The Walz brand had existed before the war, selling photographic accessories since the mid-1940s. See more on Walz models‘ offering. Early models were Rollei-inspired TLR cameras, peppered with a few Klapp models, until they settled on compact 35mm rangefinders, as did all post-war camera makers in Japan. The first in this line was the Walz 35, a modest...

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October 8, 2025

Walz Envoy 35

Walz Envoy 35 Walz was a Japanese camera manufacturer or distributor, depending on which version you follow. It was one of the few Japanese pre-war camera makers that entered the industry before the war, in 1936. Most other camera makers mushroomed after the war and lasted for only a decade or so. See more about the Walz legacy. Like other...

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October 5, 2025

Walz camera family list

Walz camera family list Walz camera origins are shrouded in mystery; there are two versions, one siding with the opinion that they were distributors that sourced cameras from third parties, namely Zenobia, Tougudo, and Okada, while the other version suggests that they were actual manufacturers. There is no cut-and-dry evidence either way. The company first appeared in 1936 as Nihon...

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September 24, 2025

Aires rangefinder cameras

Aires rangefinder cameras Aires rangefinders list Aires 25-III Aires 35-V Images Aires cameras can be grouped into three categories: the early TLR, then rangefinders and lastly SLR models. Here, I look at the rangefinders group. Aires lasted for just over a decade, but in this short time, they offered an impressive array of cameras, or did they? A close look...

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September 20, 2025

Aires Family List

Aires Family List Post-war Japan saw an abundance of camera makers, being a spending outlet for the American soldiers stationed there. Only a few manufacturers were in this trade before; most have converted existing facilities, such as those for making clocks, bicycles, sewing machines, and pecil sahrpeners, into camera production. Looking back at the long list of post-war brands, most...

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September 18, 2025

Konica EE-Matic 260

Konica EE-Matic 260 In the late 1950s, the Japanese camera industry had graduated from the post-war plain models aimed at the 500,000 GI contingent stationed there. Most camera makers of that era promptly vanished once this market had dried up. A few stalwarts continued to make cameras for the emerging Japanese middle class and the newly discovered export market. Konishiroku,...

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August 23, 2025

Minolta AL-E, AL-F

Minolta AL-E, AL-F Minolta AL was a line of compact 35mm rangefinders, smaller than the common models of the era, meant to be simple to use for the up-and-coming hobbyist market and priced accordingly. It was offered with different lenses and modes, with fove models issued within seven years. The line was discontinued in 1968, while the Hi-Matic dynasty that...

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Category: Rangefinder