Anyone know who made this?

[FallisPhoto]

It is a Tower (Sears) rangefinder, and that front plate behind the lens kind of looks like it might have been made by Agfa (similar to the one on their Silette cameras). It doesn't really look like any Agfa I've ever seen though, and I've never heard of an Agfa camera using a Steinheil Munchen Cassar lens. I know Sears didn't make it. Anyone have an idea who might have made this for Sears?

[xayraa33]

Iloca made very similar cameras with that lens.

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by xayraa33

Iloca made very similar cameras with that lens.

I do believe you are right:

http://mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/tower_51.html

[xayraa33]

the Iloca Rapid II

http://www.chromeagecamera.com/Rapid.htm

[tedwhite]

Perhaps, but Fallis' camera lacks the film advance knob. Hmmm, maybe it's on the bottom plate?

[xayraa33]

Originally Posted by tedwhite

Perhaps, but Fallis' camera lacks the film advance knob. Hmmm, maybe it's on the bottom plate?

the camera has an advance lever hidden from view, build in on the top quarter of the body ala the Yashica YF.

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by xayraa33

the Iloca Rapid II

http://www.chromeagecamera.com/Rapid.htm

That's it! Thank you very much.

[SteelerFan]

Have you put any film through this camera? I want to know as I just bought one at a local flea market. It came with a lens cap and a case. The leather covering is pretty rough on the camera, it looks like someone tried putting shellac or something similar on it.

[Windscale]

Give it a CLA and I am sure it will perform well. The standard lens should be very good and probably a 4/3 design as Steinheil was one of the more famous lens makers of the old days. I have a couple of other cameras with that lens and they all perform well. Do show us some pics afterwards.

[SteelerFan]

Thanks. The faster speeds are working but the slower ones stick occasionally so it does need a good CLA. I really was interested in the lens, in researching the camera I found one reference that described it as "wickedly sharp". With the upcoming Labor Day weekend and festival the weekend after I am planning on running a roll through it before I do a full CLA. I will post the results.

[SteelerFan]

Well I shot the 1st roll of film through the camera. I am not totally disappointed with it but I do realize I need more work judging exposures. Here are three of the best please feel free to comment. PS Off to a 2-0 start but the Eagles will be a big test...Go Steelers!

[racoll]

I have an Iloca Automatic with a very similar lens that I found at Goodwill for $5.00. The rangefinder is completely out of whack, but everything else works beautifully, including the meter! Once you get a feel for the camera they deliver pretty nice results, similar to what you'd expect from a Kodak Retina Automatic III. Incidentally, if you've ever seen or used an Argus V-100, it was also made by Iloca for Argus and has a lot of similarities to the various Iloca models. Nice camera--have fun with it!

Andy

[dmr]

ObTrivia: Where did the brand name "Tower" come from?

[SteelerFan]

Originally Posted by dmr

ObTrivia: Where did the brand name "Tower" come from?

From the original "Sears Tower" which was located at the catalog plant.

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=17570

[gb hill]

I have a Voigtlander Vitoret that looks almost identical.

[Trius]

I have a Tower 51, which is the Iloca Rapid except my version (apparently there were two versions of the Tower 51) has the film advance on the right as is "standard". The VF is not very bright, but the patch is very contrasty and it's easy to focus. It needs some work as the film advance is a bit bunged right now, plus I have never got the film counter to work.

BUT ... the lens is SHARP. I mean, it cuts you to look at prints, much less negs or chromes.

[dmr]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan

From the original "Sears Tower" which was located at the catalog plant.

Survey says ...

{long pause}

... >>DING!<<

Very good!