[Leica] RE: Rangefinder design, was: Use 135mm Anymore?

[Jeremy Kime <jeremy.kime@bbc.co.uk>]

Kirk,
Having noted Leica's interest in maximising the design of the M's
viewfinder/rangefinder setup, you may wish to make them aware of this
historic design, I'd lay money that it's not known by the current design
team...
Burkard Keisel in Solms is the man to address this to.

Jem

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Kekfoto@aol.com [SMTP:Kekfoto@aol.com]
> Hi Marc,
> 
> If Leitz and Zeiss had the services of Joseph Mihayi, one of Eastman
> Kodak's
> premier photographic apparatus designers (1923-1954) they would not have
> been
> limited to the 135mm for rangefinder use. His Kodak Ektra with its all
> prism,
> split field rangefinder on a 4 1/8" base length permits me to focus my
> 153mm
> f4.5 Telephoto Ektar accurately and I might add quicker than I can with
> the
> superimposed image rangefinders of my several Leica and Contax cameras.
> And
> what other overseas telephoto of this type (C1941-48) could focus to less
> than
> Five Feet! Mihalyi's rangefinder was also calibrated for a forthcoming,
> but
> for the war, 254mm f4.5 Telephoto Ektar! Oh! yes. He was responsible for
> the
> Super Kodak Six-20, the Kodak Medalist and the Kodak Bantam Special, (no,
> Teague followed with the body design) and the M-10 AA rangefinder & fire
> control for which he received a Presidential Citation.
> 
>                                 Kirk