The Kodak Chevron
This camera was acquired last year (2018). It works but it has it's quirks. The second iris does not seem to close when the shutter is cocked so I have to put my hand over the lens each time I cock the shutter. Other than that I shot a successful roll of TMAX 100 with it. The 1/800th of a second availability is a nice feature. I found an in depth description of the Chevron on the web and have quoted it below for folks wanting to know more about this odd but cool camera:
"By the early 1950s, demand for an extremely expensive and heavy camera like the Medalist was waning, so Kodak looked for a replacement model that would take the Medalist’s place as Kodak’s top of the line medium format camera. That new model would debut in 1953 as the Kodak Chevron.
Kodak knew that in order to get people to buy the Chevron, they had to make some cuts to lower the price. The most obvious was a reduction in size from 6×9 to 6×6, the Chevron is physically smaller and weighs about 150 grams less than the Medalist II. Gone was the excellent 5-element Ektar 100mm f/3.5 lens and in it’s replace was a still very good 4-element 78mm Ektar. The top plate shutter release with auto cocking shutter was also replaced with a simpler lens mounted shutter release and manual cocking lever similar to the also new Kodak Signet 35 which was released at the same time as the Chevron.
The focusing system was also simplified in the Chevron. Instead of a brass double helix from the Medalist, the Chevron had a simplified single helix with unit mount focusing. Whether or not this had any effect on focus accuracy is probably negligible. On the upside, the focus wheel used ball-bearings to improve focus smoothness, something which is evident when comparing the Chevron to the Medalist.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade to the Chevron was Kodak’s new Synchro-Rapid 800 shutter which at the time was billed as the “world’s fastest between the lens shutter” offering flash sync at all speeds, even the top 1/800 speed – something that no focal plane shutter can do, even today. To accomplish the feat of a 1/800 shutter speed, the Synchro-Rapid 800 employs two sets of shutter blades. The first is a rotating 5-blade shutter whose blades rotate clockwise when cocked, and rotate back counter-clockwise to make the exposure. While cocking the shutter, the unique shape of the main shutter completely opens, allowing light to pass through, so a second 2-blade shutter acts as a blackout curtain behind the primary shutter and only closes during the process of the front shutter being cocked. When the shutter is fired, the blades rotate back 180 degrees counter-clockwise, exposing the film."
The Kodak Chevron
This camera was acquired last year (2018). It works but it has it's quirks. The second iris does not seem to close when the shutter is cocked so I have to put my hand over the lens each time I cock the shutter. Other than that I shot a successful roll of TMAX 100 with it. The 1/800th of a second availability is a nice feature. I found an in depth description of the Chevron on the web and have quoted it below for folks wanting to know more about this odd but cool camera:
"By the early 1950s, demand for an extremely expensive and heavy camera like the Medalist was waning, so Kodak looked for a replacement model that would take the Medalist’s place as Kodak’s top of the line medium format camera. That new model would debut in 1953 as the Kodak Chevron.
Kodak knew that in order to get people to buy the Chevron, they had to make some cuts to lower the price. The most obvious was a reduction in size from 6×9 to 6×6, the Chevron is physically smaller and weighs about 150 grams less than the Medalist II. Gone was the excellent 5-element Ektar 100mm f/3.5 lens and in it’s replace was a still very good 4-element 78mm Ektar. The top plate shutter release with auto cocking shutter was also replaced with a simpler lens mounted shutter release and manual cocking lever similar to the also new Kodak Signet 35 which was released at the same time as the Chevron.
The focusing system was also simplified in the Chevron. Instead of a brass double helix from the Medalist, the Chevron had a simplified single helix with unit mount focusing. Whether or not this had any effect on focus accuracy is probably negligible. On the upside, the focus wheel used ball-bearings to improve focus smoothness, something which is evident when comparing the Chevron to the Medalist.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade to the Chevron was Kodak’s new Synchro-Rapid 800 shutter which at the time was billed as the “world’s fastest between the lens shutter” offering flash sync at all speeds, even the top 1/800 speed – something that no focal plane shutter can do, even today. To accomplish the feat of a 1/800 shutter speed, the Synchro-Rapid 800 employs two sets of shutter blades. The first is a rotating 5-blade shutter whose blades rotate clockwise when cocked, and rotate back counter-clockwise to make the exposure. While cocking the shutter, the unique shape of the main shutter completely opens, allowing light to pass through, so a second 2-blade shutter acts as a blackout curtain behind the primary shutter and only closes during the process of the front shutter being cocked. When the shutter is fired, the blades rotate back 180 degrees counter-clockwise, exposing the film."