every one should have one …

Leitz CEYOO (left) and CTOOM in original Leitz boxes

Toronto. … said the late Ted Shepherd. So I agreed to buy his flash gun (CEYOO) with its folding plastic base (CTOOM) at our November 21, 1978 meeting in the NorthYork Public Library. A few days later, I sent a cheque for $7.50 off in the mail. At the time of the sale, Ted was president of the Toronto chapter of the PHSC.

Later on, I bought other flash guns and brackets, including the boxes and test light shown here. The CTOOM held the flash to the side of a Leica. The CEYOO flash took #5 bulbs (or smaller with an adaptor). A folding metal “fan” reflector was removable to make the flash more compact when not in use. The CEYOO was sold before inexpensive electronic flash became common-place. The synchronized shutter speed was slow with regular bulbs. Special FP (focal plane shutter) bulbs had a longer burn period and allowed a faster speed to be used.

Both flash and bracket are well made and solid – typical Leitz. The CEYOO used a 22.5v battery (modern batteries are a bit too thick apparently) and a capacitor  (replacement was once available from Leitz) allowing shots even with a nearly exhausted battery. In later years the CTOOM was metal, not plastic. The CEYOO flash was sold throughout the 1950s while the bracket was sold a few years later and lasted to about 1963 in the retail shops. Without a bracket, the flash was mounted on top of the Leica in its accessory shoe.

The photo (and those of many earlier posts) was taken with an Apple iPod Touch (8 mp) equivalent to a 35mm lens under a wide spectrum LED light.

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