Is this a Perfex? No Time for Love 1943

onaclearday said:
Man, that looks pretty cool. Thanks for the reply. Now I really have to hit ebay because I have a pretty bad urge to buy one.
Click to expand...

Only if you can get the camera cheap. I have Perfex 55 and it now spends all of its time sitting on my mantle. Just not an enjoyable camera to use.

Jim B.
 
I have a rare all-black Perfex, but have never used it because of pinholes in the shutter. Unfortunately they're apparently a real pain to repair. I've used the Clarus MS-35 which is a rather similar, but in some regards better, camera.
 
Mackinaw said:
Only if you can get the camera cheap. I have Perfex 55 and it now spends all of its time sitting on my mantle. Just not an enjoyable camera to use.

Jim B.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up! Is it the viewfinder, too dim? Or the overall feel of the camera that makes less enjoyable?
 
tunalegs said:
I have a rare all-black Perfex, but have never used it because of pinholes in the shutter. Unfortunately they're apparently a real pain to repair. I've used the Clarus MS-35 which is a rather similar, but in some regards better, camera.
Click to expand...

Oh, never heard of that brand, Ill be looking into it. Do you know any more American made cameras from the 30s,40s?
 
onaclearday said:
Thanks for the heads up! Is it the viewfinder, too dim? Or the overall feel of the camera that makes less enjoyable?
Click to expand...

If you are used to a Leica, Canon or Nikon rangefinder, it’s hard to shoot with a Perfex. The controls are clunky, gritty and do not give the impression of quality. The viewfinder, on mine, is actually pretty bright, but the separate rangefinder window is quite dim. And forget the graded exposure meter window, it’s useless (at least on mine). To be fair, I’m sure my camera would benefit greatly from a thorough CLA. But why bother? I bought it at an antiques shows for $5.00. The best part about my Perfex was the undeveloped roll of B&W I found inside of it. I developed the roll and found some passable pics taken back in the 1950’s. Other than that, it now occupies a spot on our mantle.

Jim B.
 
onaclearday said:
Oh, never heard of that brand, Ill be looking into it. Do you know any more American made cameras from the 30s,40s?
Click to expand...




There are a bunch. Bolsey, Clarus, Vokar, Ciro 35, those are some of the easier to find ones. Most of these were competition for the Argus C3, simple, cheap cameras - so don't expect too much. The Bolsey (designed by the same man who created the early Bolex movie cameras) is probably the best built of the bunch, although its cheap Wollensak shutter lets it down a bit.
 
The camera sure looks like a Perfex 55, but with a lens hood. I don't know what else it would be.

I have a Perfex 101 but instead of a focal plane shutter and the Perfex lens, it has the lens and shutter from a Kodak Retina. The only mention I've found of this configuration is in the book "Glass, Brass and Chrome".

I've made a hobby of collected American-made rangefinders. I'm currently on the lookout for an inexpensive Vokar.
 
There were rebranded Perfex Fifty-Five cameras as Perfex Twenty-Two cameras that had a small plate attached over the regular engravings (in th dark spot in the photo)
Probably as a way to use left-over stock of 55 frames.



Perfex%20Twenty%20Two.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top