Originally posted by LesDMess I have the Modern Photography and Popular Photgraphy magazines for 1957 - 58 and you can clearly see that the original Asahi Pentax stood out in looks and features from the rest.
While I fully agree about how great the original Pentax was, that lineup of cameras would make anything stand out, especially representing one of the ugliest Russian cameras as a Leica "clone." While there were close clones (FED, NICCA, Leotax, etc.), the Leica and Canon (not really a clone) were very good looking cameras.
Here's a progression from a 1930s Leica Standard (much like the original 1925 Leica), the Asahiflex, the Pentax, and a Leica IIIc witch was introduced in 1939. (My aunt bought this one in Germany in 1948.) The Leica IIIc has a 50mm f2.0 Summitar also introduced in 1939, which is still an excellent lens.
And for good-looking cameras you should include the Canon II-IV series of the early 1950s as well. Here's a model IVSB with Canon 50 f1.8 lens that was very well regarded, along with the Leica and Pentax.
Not to minimize how Pentax influenced the 1950s-60s Japanese camera industry, but to show that good design and quality were well established by then.