Re: good add-on rangefinders

[pgs@thillana.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick Sobalvarro)]

   From: dlevy@worldy.com
   Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 15:03:13 -0500

   Didn't the company who made the integral rangefinder for the Graphic line
   originally make an accy. for the company which predated the integral
   reangefinder? I can't remember the name, but it Kal something or other and I
   have a Hugo Meyer which is > 4.5" long which I use for my Vito and Ikonta.
   It came with an odd sized shoe, but I removed it and adapted a piece so it
   would fit in the accy shoe.

The side-mounted rangefinders for Graphics were made by Kalart, in a
metal body, and by Graflex, in a plastic body.  Both of these
rangefinders were coupled to the moving rails (so that they registered
back and forth movement of the front standard) on the Graphic camera.

Possibly Kalart made an accessory-shoe rangefinder, although I have
never seen one.  If it is like the ones mounted on Graphics, I would
not suggest trying to use it with your Leica.  I say this for two
reasons: first, most manuals recommend that the groundglass back be
used for critical focusing on Graphics.  This seems to indicate that
the Kalarts were not necessarily tremendously accurate, although I
don't actually know this for a fact.  Second, all the Kalarts I've
used were quite dark -- much darker than any rangefinders I've seen in
Leica M's.  This may be the mirrors losing their silvering, but also
they just don't admit a hell of a lot of light through those tiny
windows.  I like Graphics; I have a Century which I do use sometimes;
but I can't recommend any Kalart rangefinder that's like the ones on
Graphics.