Ilford Sportsman

This is the original version of what became a series of 35-mm direct-vision viewfinder cameras. They were manufactured by Dacora-Kamerawerk in Germany for Iford Ltd, UK, and offered as a cheaper alternative to the Kodak Retina and Retinette series.  The lens is a Dignar 45 mm with f/3.5 – f/16. The shutter is a Vario with 1/25, 1/50, 1/200 and B, and X flash sync. The lens can be focused by setting the distance manually; there is no metering.  This example has not aged too well, but it still has a paper sticker inside saying “Always use Ilford 35 mm films”. I wonder how many people were persuaded that they should stick to the same make of film as the camera.