Topic: Franka E... I got screwed

[Francois]

Yes, I got screwed. Not by the seller but by the manufacturer!
About 10 years ago I got at a charity shop an old Franka camera. It was filthy, very used, but the shutter clicked really well. I looked at it and figured that it was a rangefinder by looking at the second window. I couldn't see the second image in the finder but I figured that it probably just needed a new mirror on the rangefinder. So I got it for probably 8$ or something. I took it home, cleaned it up but as I felt my camera repair skills were very sub par at the time, I just put it on a shelf and forgot about it.

Fast forward to last night. I started wondering what I'd do today. I looked at the camera and figured that it was the next in line for fixing.
I looked it up on Camera-Wiki and it turns out it should be a Franka E... or is it?
This afternoon, I took off the top cover only to discover that there is no mechanism for a rangefinder!
I looked at the viewfinder and it's devoid of any port for light to come-in through the side. There's no beam splitter and no provision to put one.
So, it's just a viewfinder camera... so I cleaned all of it's two lenses, lubricated the film advance which is really weird with a lot of places that rub metal on metal and re-assembled that part...

Now, at least the film advance snaps back like it should...

[Bryan]

I wonder if the camera is a different model that someone put a rangefinder top on.  Could have been done to replace a damaged top.  The question then would be what camera was it originally?  Did they make a non-rangefinder version of that camera?

[Francois]

I really doubt that it's a hack. There's a part of the viewfinder that looks like it's factory made and that prevents a rangefinder from fitting.

I did notice that the distance scale on the lens is in feet, something a bit strange for a German camera. So it means that the camera was made for the American market.

I'm really puzzled by it all.

[AJShepherd]

I think there was almost a trend for 'fake rangefinders' as well as 'fake selenium cells' on low-budget cameras back in the day.

I have an old Ilford Sportsman, which is the one with the little diamond window, to distinguish it from the (presumedly more expensive) rangefinder model which had a little square window.
(Source: http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Sportsman_Style4.html )

I've also got a 127 Kowa Kid, which has both fake rangefinder window AND fake selenium cell 'bobble glass'!
(Would love to use this, but the red filter in the back is damaged)

Also, half-frame 120 camera Bencini Koroll II has a fake cell which is just a moulded plastic panel!

I think it might have been a way to make a cheaper camera look more sophisticated than it actually was?

[Kai-san]

According to the little information available online, the Franka E is a rangefinder. There were two other Franka models that looked almost identical; the Frankarette R I and the Super-Frankarette SLK. Both were rangefinders. Possibly they made some "specials" for the American mass market, but anyway it looks like a rip-off.

[Moto-uno]

 Hey , it's not like you were going to use it for serious photography after all .  Peter

[Francois]

Yeah, I went through my big box of instruction manuals and I found the one for this camera.
In it they explain how to focus with and without rangefinder. I really don't see why put instructions for both techniques if all the cameras came out as rangefinders?

So I guess they released some "cost reduced" models with missing features for some models.
Still, I can't understand why put a window with some cemented glass when it serves no purpose. I would have been tempted to put a blocking plate in its place for viewfinder only versions. Heck, they could have fitted it directly to the viewfinder housing and save a few pennies there.

[John Robison]

Rangefinder.....rangefinder? We ain't got no rangefinder.
We don't need no stinking rangefinder!

With apologies to John Huston and 'Fred C. Dobbs'.

[Kai-san]

Rangefinder.....rangefinder? We ain't got no rangefinder.
We don't need no stinking rangefinder!

With apologies to John Huston and 'Fred C. Dobbs'.

Nah, we need no stinking rangefinder! Get a cheap Lomo Blik external rangefinder and jam it into the flash shoe. That'll do the trick.

[Francois]

I usually use a more precise tool: my eye 

I could also fit a laser rangefinder on top... but I don't think the sitter would appreciate somebody pointing a laser in between their eyes 

[Kai-san]

If you look at the distance scale on that lens I think you'll see that a laser won't do you any good. The Lomo Blik is from the Soviet era and I've compared it to my Leitz FOKOS rangefinder, there is no difference. And the rangefinder spot in the Blik is easier to see than in the Leitz finder. The Blik can be found on evilbay for around 15-20 dollars.

[Francois]

I have a Stanley laser rangefinder, so pointing it gives me instant distance readout.
These things are super useful around the house as you don't need somebody to hold the other end of the tape measure.