a novel rangefinder for the Graflex ‘Pacemaker Graphic’ camera line
Toronto. Graflex had a great line of large format cameras, ruggedly made, and very popular. Many professional news and street photographers used one of the cameras day or night.
One perceived shortfall was the lack of a means to focus accurately in poor light. An add-on rangefinder solved the issue and gave an optional means of gauging camera – subject distance.
To counter the use of an add-on rangefinder, Graflex came up with this illuminated version. Basically, two light breams were projected on the subject and by focussing the lens, the beams could be merged. An ad in the June, 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics describes the way the rangefinder works.
The concept of using battery powered light beams seems to have been somewhat short lived. Most rangefinders I have seen or used relied on the photographer’s eye to merge the desired subject. My thanks to good friend George Dunbar for spotting and sharing this bit of photographic history.
