5 frames with a Ferrania Condor II – Francesco Melis

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Thank you very much Terry for your kind words about the post. What you write about Zeiss Contax cameras is correct and they already had the combined rangefinder/viewfinder before Ferrania Condor; what I wanted actually to stress is the fact that this camera wasn't a plain copy of Leicas and this feature, as well as others like the central shutter or the flipping backdoor for loading film (it's what I was meaning with "loading spool with opening back" - Italian is simpler...) made this camera an original model for its time. It's just my opinion.

Terry B replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Francesco, now I understand. I couldn't find an image of the Condor showing the back, just a normal straight-on front view, otherwise what you said about the rear panel door would have been clear. The only Italian camera in my collection, by the way, is the Ferrania Elioflex, a twin lens reflex. It's not a true tlr as only the taking lens focuses by scale, but although only sporting an f8-f22 aperture range, and a five speed shutter, 1/25-1/200 sec. B. it is well made and even has a feature that I've not seen on any other camera. The film is wound using the traditional red window and using the frame numbers on the film backing paper; there is no double exposure or blank frame prevention. But one shutter blade is painted red and the other black. When the shutter is cocked, the shutter blade is black, but once the photo has been taken the closing blade is red and can be see when looking into the lens.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Starting from the end of second world war to the mid-fifties there had been lots of camera manufacturers in Italy which made some good Leica copies but also tried to follow more original paths. Ferrania, with lenses made by Officine Galileo of Florence, probably the most important optical company in Italy, was very innovative and tried to target its production to different levels of customers, from the fixed focus for beginners to the sophisticated rangefinder aimed to professionals. High quality manufacture, innovative solutions and elegant design made these cameras very popular among the Italian photographers for longtime.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Thank you very much Dan for your kind words, especially because photography is a traditional passion in my family.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Ciao Mauro, grazie, sono d'accordo con te sui limiti ottici della lente, che però ha una resa morbida che trovo molto adatta per i ritratti. Inoltre preferisco usarla col bianco e nero, a colori non mi soddisfa pienamente. E' una tripletta, esattamente 6 lenti in cinque gruppi, di cui i tre frontali costituiscono il primo gruppo della tripletta.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 21/12/2017

Thank you Ed: use is the best care for a camera, and this camera has always been mantained ready for use for about sixty years.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 22/12/2017

George, thank you so much! I really appreciate your words and that you liked this post.

Francesco Melis replied:

Comment posted: 26/06/2023

Hello Orville, thank you for your comment. Distance scale is in meters, as stated also in the instruction manual. Minimum focus distance is 1 meter and if Ferrania made a different version for british/american market (I don't know, actually), minimum scale distance would be 3 ft, not 1, being the same lens mounted on both versions.