The Graflex Ciro 35 started out as the Cee-ay 35 in 1949. It made images on 35mm film, had a non interchangeable lens, diaphragm shutter, and a coupled rangefinder. The rangefinder was the split image type and was coupled to the lens, but was used through a separate viewfinder than that used to compose the image.
The Ciro 35 was available with three lenses, an f4.5, f3.5,or an f2.8 - in the models R,S, and T respectively. A choice of silver or blacked out trim was also available. Generally the cameras came with an Alphax shutter - which was rebadged as a "Century" on Graflex models, or a Rapax shutter.
Only eight months after its original introduction by Perfex as the Cee-ay 35, Ciro (makers of the CiroFlex TLR) bought the design, and after some very slight changes, it was reintroduced as the Ciro 35. Of course, the story doesn't end there - soon Ciro sold out to Graflex, and the camera became the Graflex Ciro 35. To make things interesting, Graflex reworked the design and turned it into the Graflex Graphic 35 which featured a highly unusual focusing mechanism. Production of the camera was moved to Japan before the end of the 1950s.
Links[]
- Ciro 35 instruction manual at www.orphancameras.com
In French:
- Graflex Ciro 35 on www.collection-appareils.com by Sylvain Halgand