Discontinued
Kfilm camera
Kodak Medalist
Format
620, 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in
System
Kodak Medalist
Is Film
Yes
Shutter
Kodak Supermatic No. 2, nine speeds 1 to 1/400 + B
Metering
none
Research
Kodak AA-13; Kodak Medalist sales brochures 7791 7-41 and 7782 12-44 (PRC 03089, 03107); Medalist II brochure 7791 2-47 (PRC 00830); Medalist/II parts list 2370A and service manual 1-2370 (PRC 02183, 02184); Kodak Reflex brochure A3-8 4-48 (PRC 01606); Reflex II brochure A3-8 4-49 (PRC 01997) and instruction book 2-52 (PRC 02564); Chevron brochure A3-645 10-53 (PRC 02000), instruction book 9-53 (PRC 01313) and service manual 5510-A (PRC 02155); Kodak Stereo instruction book (cameramanuals.org) and parts list 5512 (PRC 02201).
Produced 1941–1948https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/01541/01541.pdfMARKET DATES from Kodak Customer Service Pamphlet AA-13, whose columns are headed 'ON THE MARKET FROM / TO' - NOT production dates, and no Kodak-published production date exists for this camera. See gear_items.kodak-medalist spec_notes for the sourcing and any conflict.
Category: Film Camera
Format
620, 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in
System
Kodak Medalist
Shutter
Kodak Supermatic No. 2, nine speeds 1 to 1/400 + B
Metering
none
Spec Notes
The heaviest and most expensive camera in this slice at $165, and the only one whose weight AND dimensions Kodak actually published: 3-3/4 lb, 5-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 3-1/4 in, in sales brochure 7782 12-44. Lens 'newly computed formula for the Medalist', FIVE ELEMENTS per the same brochure - groups NOT SOURCED, and the three-group figure in circulation is secondary. Split-field military-type rangefinder 'coupled to lens automatically', 3-1/2 ft to infinity. Accessory back takes 520 film packs and 6.5x9 cm and 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in sheet film and plates. THE FOCUSING MOUNT: Kodak's instruction book says only 'a helical gear focusing tube', while its service manual describes an inside focusing tube nested within an outside focusing tube - so the two-part construction is confirmed from Kodak's own documents, but the phrase 'double helicoid' in general use is NOT Kodak's and is not asserted here. BODY SERIAL: yes, stamped on the film gate - one of only a handful of Kodak Rochester cameras that carries one. NO PUBLISHED SERIAL-TO-YEAR TABLE EXISTS for it; Kodak's own parts list 2370A, service manual 1-2370 and accessory-back bulletin were all checked and are silent on serials. A start year of 1944 appears in one secondary source and is contradicted by Kodak's own July 1941 brochure. DATING: the fitted lens carries Kodak's CAMEROSITY two-letter year prefix on its serial (C=1 A=2 M=3 E=4 R=5 O=6 S=7 I=8 T=9 Y=0), stamped on the ring securing the front group. This gives the LENS year, not the body's, and a swapped lens dates the wrong object - a documented hazard, one collector owning a Medalist I wearing a Medalist II lens. DATES ARE MARKET DATES, NOT PRODUCTION. Kodak's own AA-13 heads its columns 'ON THE MARKET FROM / TO', and no Kodak-published production date exists for any camera in this slice - every third-party 'production years' figure checked is a restatement of AA-13.
Fitted Lens
Kodak Ektar 100mm f/3.5, five elements
Rangefinder
Yes
Alternate Names
—
Introduced
1941
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