Kodak CHEVRON

Kodak's Medalist cameras of the 1940s and 1950s were solid, bulky, well-specified and precision-made rangefinder cameras.  They made a 6x9cm image on 620 roll film, were highly respected by their users and sold in quantity. Their replacement in October 1953 was the Chevron which was priced at $215. The instruction book states: “In picture quality and definition the Chevron is not surpassed by any other roll-film camera.....this camera was designed for our many good friends who have asked that we make a camera without frills but with work-horse ability – a combination of features that easily and reliably produces outstanding picture quality.”

The Chevron  is also quite a big camera and nearly as heavy as a Medalist, weighing 1180g. Although it is 25mm wider it only makes a 6x6cm image, also on 620 film. It was probably designed to be more economical to manufacture than the Medalist while still offering many advanced features for its time.

On top of the solid die-cast aluminium body there is a coupled-rangefinder; it has its own eyepiece below the viewfinder eyepiece. The viewfinder, which is really quite small for a precision camera, has automatic parallax correction as well as a dioptre adjustment for your eyesight that covers both eyepieces. On the left-hand-side is a lever wind for film advance, there is an automatic exposure counter that is driven by a toothed roller next to the supply spool. The small lever below the rangefinder window has to be pushed in to unlock the winding mechanism each time before winding on for the next exposure. The small exposure counter dial is on the top plate.

The lens is a four-element 78mm f3.5 Ektar, designed especially for the Chevron.  The aperture settings have click-stops. It is mounted in “the World's fastest between-the-lens shutter” a Kodak Synchro-Rapid 800. This shutter has ten speeds from 1 second to 1/800. The body release is a nicely positioned lever projecting from the front panel and it moves forward as the helical focusing tube is extended.

The design and operation of the Synchro-Rapid 800 shutter is quite unique, it is actually a two shutter assembly. The front 5-bladed main shutter makes the exposure; the rear 2-bladed one is a 'capping' shutter, as the main blades open briefly when cocking.

These main blades pivot through 180º, their unusual shape is shown in this diagram  They pivot in one direction on cocking, then back again on firing. Speeds should be set before cocking the shutter. There is a B setting but there is no T setting. A cable release can be screwed in beside the front shutter release. On the shutter front plate there is a scale with several settings for variable delay when using flash bulbs, there is also an X setting for electronic flash. The flash contact is an ASA bayonet fitting.

Another of the Chevron's design features is illustrated in this 1954 advertisement.  The focusing ring rides on 56 ball-bearings and I have found that it does rotate very smoothly. 

The back is a clever design. Slide one of the side panels down and it is unlocked on that side. This enables the back to be hinged open from either side. Slide both panels down and the back can be removed completely.

Now what other rangefinder cameras on the US market in 1953 were Kodak comparing the Chevron to in the quote above? Apart from the Medalist there were no other solid-body 6x6 cameras made then, the only competition was from the Zeiss Ikon folding cameras. If Kodak's parameters really were “picture quality and definition” the Zeiss models with Tessar lenses were certainly a possibility. The 6x6 Mess-Ikonta and Super Ikontas were the only ones with a coupled-rangefinder and you may have chosen one of them if you wanted a lighter and more compact camera.

So, really, the Chevron, with all its features, was in a class of its own. But it was not the sales success Kodak was hoping for and it was discontinued in December 1956. The Chevron was the last precision roll film camera that Kodak made.