Riley
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| image by Rick Soloway (Image rights) |
Riley Research Co. of 1828 Berkley St, Santa Monica, California is the manufacturer of Rilex 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" aluminium, non-folding press film cameras in the late 1940's.[1] Known models are called A, AB & B.
The camera allows front rise, shift, tilt and swing. Focusing is by racking the rear of the camera, with the large knurled knob on the right. It has a rotating back, and a spring back (that is it accepts Graphic, not Graflex/'universal' attachments). The camera was supplied drilled to accept a rangefinder.[1] An example sold at Westlicht (identified by the auctioneer as model AB) is fitted with a Hugo Meyer coupled rangefinder (the pin on the metal tab sticking up from the right-hand rail of the camera pictured here is where the arm of the rangefinder would bear).[2] It also has the Galilean viewfinder from a Graflex camera. It does not have the rods projecting at the front that the camera illustrated here does. The George Eastman Museum has a Rilex with a Kalart rangefinder.[3]
The camera weighs 3¼ pounds including a rangefinder and lens.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The camera was announced as new in Popular Photography, June 1948, p190; at Google Books. The notice does not use the name Rilex, calling the camera the Riley 2¼x3¼ Press & View Camera.
- ↑ Rilex model AB sold at the nineteenth Westlicht Photographica Auction, in May 2011.
- ↑ Rilex with Kalart rangefinder, and 101mm Optar in Graphex shutter, at the George Eastman Museum; several photos.
