[stevebrot]

a rangefinder viewfinder

That is not a rangefinder viewfinder. It is a plain optical finder similar to that offered with simple box cameras. Praktina FX had a similar finder setup. Still, though, it is a great idea. I have seriously considered getting an auxiliary finder for my SLRs for street photography.


Steve

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Last edited by stevebrot; 12-18-2017 at 06:17 PM.

[Ehpem]

My Father In-Law still asks me to Xerox photos for him..I know what he means.

My father is still (65 years later) very clear that the Praktiflex he owned in the 50s should not be called a Praktica, even though many people use that shorthand

[Sliver-Surfer]

The date range was 1960's ending in 1968. Purchase was while in "the service" in Thailand.


Steve

He lost it while in Thailand I did not see a purchase date.

---------- Post added 12-18-17 at 10:33 PM ----------

That is not a rangefinder viewfinder. It is a plain optical finder similar to that offered with simple box cameras. Praktina FX had a similar finder setup. Still, though, it is a great idea. I have seriously considered getting an auxiliary finder for my SLRs for street photography.


Steve

Yes you are right optical viewfinder I generalized it.
I 3D printed this iron sight I designed for doing street photography

[UncleVanya]

In the late 60's... We know that one feature he loved was that the mirror did not flip up blocking the viewfinder when the shutter was released. The date is 1968 or earlier. Thank you for any help in the right direction.

Note that it never says no mirror is involved. Something lost to many is that SLRs originally didn't return the mirror down. But it also says the mirror didn't flip up which we know can't be correct.

from the wiki...
The Asahiflex I had a non-interchangeable waist-level viewfinder, with a direct optical viewfinder for eye-level use. The Asahiflex I had a non-returning mirror and shutter speeds from 1/25 to 1/500. The camera used the M37 screw mount. It went through some minor modifications for flash use, resulting in the IA. With the IIB a key advance was made: the quick-return mirror. The problem of mirror black-out was one of the main problems with prior SLR designs, greatly reducing usability and a major reason for the greater popularity of the rangefinder. With the IIB there emerged the first practical quick-return mirror, a vital innovation and one which was quickly adopted by other manufacturers. With the final model in the series, the IIA, the Asahiflex gained slow speeds from 1/25th of a second to 1/2 of a second.

Asahiflex I (1952–1953)
Asahiflex IA (1953–1954)
Asahiflex IIB (1954–1956)
Asahiflex IIA (1955–1957)

Note the IIA followed the IIB... a Pentax tradition of weird naming begins, lol.

In all honesty, it isn't clear if the camera was one of these our a layer model, we don't have enough context. We need more info. The later models vs something older he had used may have been his first exposure to the feature...

[Bosse]

The date range was 1960's ending in 1968. Purchase was while in "the service" in Thailand.


Steve

He lost it while in service in Thailand. There is no information about purchase.

[stevebrot]

He lost it while in service in Thailand. There is no information about purchase.

Good point that I missed on first read.

The purchase date is still 1968 or earlier.


Steve