Help identify this Ansco RFDR camera.

[phototone]

Got this funky, futuristic Ansco RFDR camera, with leaf shutter 1 to 1/500 +B, has interchangeable lens (leaf shutter remains in camera), Ansco XYTON 50mm f/1.9 lens. (lens says "lens made in Japan")

This has a built-in selenium cell light meter under flip-up cover, but aperture and shutter speed are completely manually settable.

The camera is called "Anscomark M"

Other oddities are film advance lever on bottom of camera, frame counter on back of camera on swing-open door.

Three bright frames are shown in viewfinder, I assume for 35, 50 and 85mm lenses?

I'll bet this is a Japanese camera that was also marketed under a Japanese name, such as Ricoh or something, but I cannot find any data on the web.

 

[jlw]

I found this in my wildly-non-current McKeown guide, listed as being in production from 1960 to 1963, but no mention of who made it. Ansco was getting some leaf-shutter RF cameras from Minolta during this period, but this one doesn't correspond to any Minolta model I could find, and I can't think of anything else it resembles (the front-mounted slide-type shutter release is especially unusual.) It's possible Ansco had it built by a Japanese subcontractor and it was never sold under any other brand name...?!

Ansco used the "Xyton" name on several of its lenses, so no clue to the possible maker there, but you can feel good that yours has the f/1.9 rather than the lower-cost f/2.8 option that also was available on it.

The other lenses were a 35mm and a 100mm, and there's an example of the 100 on eBay right now complete with case and box. Rather classy-looking piece!

 

[bmattock]

Richoh model 999!

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rd2h-ari/RI_999.htm

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Another good resource:

http://www.cameraguild.jp/nekosan/01jan.htm

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[phototone]

Richoh model 999!

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rd2h-ari/RI_999.htm

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

YEP, THATS IT, THANKS