Vintage rangefinder cameras.

The first rangefinder camera was one of Kodak's prolific roll film folding cameras. With the film loaded there was no means to have a ground glass screen so the a rangefinder was incorporated to allow critical focus to be judged. Having the rangefinder coupled to the focus allowed the photographer to compose the image, focus and release the shutter in short order, giving photography an immediacy hitherto impossible. Despite this, it wasn't until the mid 1930s that the rangefinder camera really caught on. Separate rangefinders were popular as accessories too, but as they weren't built in, are not included here.

Rangefinder cameras in the LICM collection are listed here in date order, starting with the oldest.