Ranger 35
The Ranger 35 is a Japanese 35mm viewfinder camera. It is certainly a derivative of the Nescon 35, made by Nihon Seiki.[1]
Contents
General description
The Ranger 35 has a body that is similar to the Nescon 35 II New with detachable back. The back and the bottom plate are identical. The top housing is integral with the top plate, whereas they are distinct parts on the Nescon. The rewind knob is mounted on a small step and it is a bit smaller. The exposure counter is also flatter than on the Nescon. The viewfinder is contained in the top housing, offset to the left. The name RANGER 35 is engraved above. The release button and the rewind unlock button are not the same as on the Nescon.
The shutter and lens barrel are unchanged from the Nescon. The shutter gives B, 25–200 speeds, selected by a lever with the 25, B, 50, 100, 200 positions in that order. It is synchronized for flash via a PC connector at the bottom. The lens is a 40mm f/3.5 on all the cameras. The lens cap is engraved RANGER 35.
Variations
Body variants
Two body variants are known. The most common has an S-shaped metal plate screwed to the front of the body and surrounding the lens barrel. It also has an advance knob quite similar in shape to the knob of the Nescon.[2]
The other variant is only known from a picture in Sugiyama.[3] It has leather covering on all the front side and it has a wider and lower advance knob.
Lens name
The Ranger 35 is known with a Nihon Seiki Nescor lens.[4] However most examples have a lens that is simply engraved Gendis. This name probably belongs to an unknown distributor, and the lenses are certainly the same.[5] None has a serial number.
Engraved instructions
Most examples of the Ranger 35 have instructions engraved on all the main controls and the serial number engraved in the accessory shoe. Here is the list:
- IDENTITY VIEW FINDER above the viewfinder;
- TURN TO ADVANCE FILM above the advance knob;
- PRESS WHILE REWINDING next to the rewind unlock button;
- TURN TO REWIND FILM above the rewind knob.[6]
At least one example has no such engraving and has the serial number above the viewfinder.[7] One example seems to have all the engravings except the one above the advance knob because it has the wider knob.[8]
Micronta 35
The Micronta 35 is a name variant of the Ranger 35, known only from McKeown.[9] It is like the regular Ranger 35, with the S-shaped plate on the front and the small advance knob. It is engraved MICRONTA 35 above the top housing, and there are no instruction engravings.
Another Micronta 35 camera exists, name variant of the Cosmo 35.
Chinese copy
A very similar camera was sold by Haking as the Halina 35X, with name variants such as the Sunscope 35X and Micronta 35X. It is not known if Nihon Seiki sold the design to Haking or if Haking plainly copied the camera. It is not known if the common name Micronta was owned by one of the two companies or if it belonged to the distributor.
Notes
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 3686, attributes the camera to Yamato, probably by mistake.
- ↑ Two examples of this variant are pictured in McKeown, p. 921.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 3686.
- ↑ Example with Nihon Seiki Nescor pictured in McKeown, p. 721. The name is "Nescor" whereas it is "Nescon" on the Nescon 35 body.
- ↑ There are TLR cameras called Gendis-I and Gendis-II, made by Crystar. See the Crystar page at tlr-cameras.com and this user manual at butkus.org.
- ↑ All the engravings are clearly visible in this page of the Pentax digital forum at PhotoXP.
- ↑ Example pictured in McKeown, p. 721 (top picture).
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 3686.
- ↑ McKeown, p. 721.
Bibliography
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P. 721.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 3686.
This camera is not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
Links
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In Japanese:
