The Detrola 400 was manufactured by the Detrola Corporation in Detroit, Michigan in circa 1940. This was the highest quality camera produced by the Detrola corporation and the only 35mm camera they produced. It was similar in style to the popular Leica cameras. Advertised as a symbol of "American Craftsmanship", with tolerances held within 1/1000 of an inch. The camera was made of a cold pressed steel body with individual parts made from stamped steel instead of die cast. It featured a coupled range finder, an interchangeable Wollensak Velostigmat f3.5 lens in a rigid 38mm screw mount and a focal plane shutter capable of speeds from 1/25 up to 1/1500 of a second. It was designed with a built-in optical view finder, positive flash syncronizer, automatic film transport synchronized to shutter to prevent double exposures, automatic exposure counter and tripod socket. The Detrola 400 was originally priced at $69.50. There were only about 800 of these cameras produced and many were returned due a defect with the rangefinder mirror, making this a hard to find camera.

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2014-10-04 02:28:54