Shanghai 58

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Picture by Jay Javier. (Image rights)

The Shanghai 58-II is a Chinese Leica copy based on the Leica IIIa. Later variants evolved to combine the Rangefinder and Viewfinder windows, lost the strap lugs, and had various external changes. The later versions had viewfinder/rangefinder optics and mechanisms similar to those found in Canon III/IV and FED-3 or Zorki-4 cameras. The Shanghai was 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. The RF cam in the camera is patterned after the fixed teardrop cams found in FED-1 cameras, not the roller wheel found in Leica or Canon cameras.