# my new sleek & sexy rangefinder



## compur (May 23, 2011)

Found this Kodak Medalist II at a yard sale over the weekend.  It's
been unused for a long time and has sticky shutter and focus which
should be easy to fix.  Cosmetically, it is nearly mint.

This quirky 3-pound wonder has rangefinder focusing and sports a 
fixed 100/3.5 coated Ektar lens for 6x9 format images on 620 film.

Call it clunky but there aren't many 6x9 rangefinder film cameras out 
there with a quality lens and this is one of them.  In minty condition 
they still bring around $250+ which is a lot more than I paid.


----------



## Proteus617 (May 23, 2011)

Wow.  Remember my previous post concerning my thrift store Perkeo find?  I've been seriously considering selling it to partially fund a Medalist II.  Got a shot of the open back?  I've heard about the strange transport designed to overcome the inherent curliness of 620, but I've never seen it in person.


----------



## compur (May 23, 2011)

Sure.  Both sides have this combination hinge/latch.  Squeeze the horizontal bars together and it unlatches.






So you can open it from either side or remove the back altogether if you want.






One quirk to watch for if you're shopping for a Medalist: the shutter automatically locks if the lens is focused past infinity, that is, if the lens is cranked back into the body all the way or nearly so. If you're not familiar with this you might think the shutter is not functional when all you have to do is move the lens out to at least the infinity position or beyond, then it will work.

The lever near the viewfinder window cocks the shutter (not needed when film is loaded as this is done automatically when film is advanced).


----------



## Mike_E (May 23, 2011)

Sweet!!!

Run some film through that bad boy!

You probably already know this but if you use this program  Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder and a microphone you can measure your shutter speed to see how much it's off.  The two big spikes are the opening and closing of the shutter.


----------



## altitude604 (May 24, 2011)

Mike_E said:


> Sweet!!!
> 
> Run some film through that bad boy!
> 
> You probably already know this but if you use this program Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder and a microphone you can measure your shutter speed to see how much it's off. The two big spikes are the opening and closing of the shutter.



sorry for the threadjack but... that's a bloody smart idea! going to have to try that with my Lubitel when i get home.


----------



## Derrel (May 24, 2011)

Nice find! I was looking at a Medalist last month, one that had been converted to 120 film, and I was greatly impressed by the range/viewfinder system's brightness and ease of use, and by the overall beauty of the camera.


----------



## Mike_E (May 24, 2011)

altitude604 said:


> Mike_E said:
> 
> 
> > Sweet!!!
> ...


 
  It's not my thread so it's OK with me.  

I'd like to take credit for the idea but I heard it (I think on this forum) a long time ago.


----------



## RRYANSMITHH (Jun 10, 2011)

This is the first I've heard of the Medalist! Seems like a beautiful camera and fun to shoot with as well.


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Jun 10, 2011)

wow nice!


----------



## caspervn (Jun 15, 2011)

Nice camera! Wait to see your pics from that boy.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner


----------

