Shanghai 58

                                       http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL740/2933453/20612801/352516192.jpg

Chinese Leica copy based on the Leica IIIa. Later variants evolved to combine the Rangefinder and Viewfinder windows, lost the strap lugs, and various external changes. The later versions had viewfinder/rangefinder optics and mechanisms similar to those found in Canon and FED/Zorki cameras. Manufactured from 1958 (?) to the early 1960s. The "58" referred to the year 1958 - a year of the "Great Leap Forward" campaign of the People's Republic of China. The "58" was also used in other Chinese goods from that period, from watches to cars.

--Zorkikat 15:06, 8 July 2009 (EDT)