Graflex Century 35NE ( Kowa Kallo 281 variant)

[luisalegria]

This is a fairly uncommon camera in any brand. It is a Kowa rangefinder, one of Kowa's Kallo series ("Kallo" being Greek for beautiful)
Kowa did not sell many, if any of the Kallo rangefinders under their brand in the US, and perhaps this line was only sold in Japan. Graflex was still trying to make use of its brand name to get into the US consumer market with rangefinders and Kowa was one of its sources. So most early Kowa viewfinder and rangefinder cameras in the US seem to carry the Graflex brand. Camerapedia says the Kallo 181/281 series dates from 1959-1960; this Graflex is very similar but not identical to the Kallo 281, but the date seems to be correct for this one also.







The NE model designated the version with the built-in coupled lightmeter. Like several of these things it has a bright light/dim light mode switched by opening the cover flap. In bright light mode light enters through a narrow slit. In dim mode the flap pops up.



Like many cameras of the period this one has the aperture and speed rings locked to an exposure value. To unlock and reset the exposure you pull the speed ring forward and set it. When you turn the aperture ring speed changes to match the change in aperture. Unlike most others,, this one also couples the film speed rating - thats the ring on the very front; all that information gets back to the coupled meter. This was rather advanced for 1960.



The rewind system is quite elaborate, it has a fold-out rewind crank on the bottom that, when unfolded, grips the stem of the film cassette. And it has a film transport indicator visible through a hole in the bottom so you can verify film is moving. An unnecessarily complex system



The filter size is 40.5mm, which is actually a common filter size for early rangefinders, and there are many third party filters and hoods available. I have a 40.5-Series VI adapter, so I could use a Series VI yellow filter and a vintage hood. There certainly was a Kowa hood made for these, but finding one would be a needle in a haystack exercise.



Other features - It has a 45mm f/1.8 lens, which is a bit wide for the day, though typical of Japanese rangefinders after 1960. The lens looks like a typical 6-element type, which was common for this aperture. The shutter is a typical Copal with speeds from B-1/500, and it seems accurate.

The meter and shutter seem to be in good order. I used the built in meter at all times and the exposure seems to have been perfect in every case. The aperture/speed adjustment takes some getting used to, as with all these coupled systems, but its not particularly difficult once you're used to it. It isn't as bad as some of the EV systems, like the Contaflex. The viewfinder is excellent and the framelines automatically adjust for the focus distance. The viewfinder patch is fairly dim but usable. It is a rather large camera and heavy camera even for a 1960 rangefinder.

It came in almost usable condition, the only required repair was unscrewing the front group to squirt lighter fluid on the shutter. The meter flap doesn't want to stay closed as it has gotten bent, and the rewind crank doesn't want to stay in its socket, but otherwise its quite functional.

All in all, it seems to be a solidly made, reliable camera, that is surprisingly sophisticated for its era. Its a pretty good performer for street photography also. All shots with Arista Premium 100 and a yellow filter.

[dof]

Nice camera and not often seen. It resembles the Minolta AL a little.

I have a "Graphic 35" also by Kowa but it's a completely different camera. It's this one:
http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/bearwalk/American/GCent35.jpg

It looks like new but unfortunately it's locked up and I haven't been able to get it going despite cleaning the shutter and poking around elsewhere.

[Big Dawg]

Very nice indeed. Have you shot any color film with it?

[luisalegria]

No, no color film yet.

Sometimes it takes a lot of lighter fluid !

You need to remove the front group/groups to get at the blades directly to squirt them. Sometimes you need to flood them.
If that doesn't work you have to remove the front plate covering the shutter mechanism and get to work there.

Also check for the self-timer. That is a good cause of the shutter getting stuck.

After the shutter is working again and dry, try re-lubricating with graphite powder. I have had good luck with that.

[Mos6502]

You wouldn't happen to the one on flickr I rec'd looking for a Graflex 35NE as a near match for the Kowa 281 would you? If so glad you found one, they're not particularly common, although they are more common than the 281. It was the top of the line for Graflex's 35mm series at the time. The Graphic Jet hadn't come out yet.

Hey DOF, I had the same camera. The problem is probably in the shutter cocking/film transport interlock. This is a common problem for these cameras, and it necessitates some disassembly to get everything back in order.

[luisalegria]

No, I wasn't that guy on Flickr.
I found this one through my usual ebay keyword search for Graflex.

[erkie]

It looks pretty well laid out ! Does it have bright frames with parallax correction?

Looks like it likes b&w film too !


Eric

[luisalegria]

Yes, it has a bright line finder with very effective automatic parallax correction.

I've been shooting with a couple of other rangefinders lately that don't have automatic parallax correction and I am beginning to miss it !

[erkie]

I was amazed a how much I like the corrected frame lines ! Of course coming from using a Retina iia even the size of the Japanese finders was amazing ! This looks like a nice solid camera.

Eric

[F16SUNSHINE]

Luis you are a great photographer. These look really nice. I'm surpassed by the results from the meter. It looks really close. Did you compensate fro the filter?
My experience with these old meters is usually on the side of getting overexposures as the sensitivity is waning.

[luisalegria]

Yes, its easy to compensate for the filter on these types just by selecting a slower film speed setting - ISO 50 instead of 100 for instance.
One easy way to determine the perfect compensation ratio is by placing the filter over the meter opening and comparing the results.