Shanghai 58 - an early Chinese Leica III clone

Shanghai 58-IIc

by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

While I was in China this summer, I was bopping around some antique stores in the old part of Shanghai , trying to avoid buying the Mao Tse Tung alarm clocks (the ones where Mao's hand waves to you, quite kitschy), when I came across a Shanghai Leica clone. Specifically, now that I've done some research, it's seems it is a Shanghai 58-II model 3 (aka 58-IIc).

Like the Soviet FED and Zorki cameras, the Shanghai 58 is a pretty close clone of the Leica III, although it has a combined viewfinder/rangefinder (thus is closer to a FED than to the Leica). The body was in pretty good shape although it has signs that someone attempted a repair (scratched screw heads and a missing screw). The second curtain is a different shade/texture than the first curtain. I thought at first that the slow shutter speeds are irregular, they only "catch" about 1/10th the time, but see the "quirks" below.

The rangefinder was clear and the focusing spot (despite being off in Panama horizontally and vertically) was relatively clear (compared to my FEDkin and Zorkins). The collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Elmariclone was clean and clear. It has a faint purple reflection that might indicate it is single-coated.

According to the seller, it belonged to his father and was bought in 1958 (which is unlikely since this was made starting in 1960). It also came with the battered version of the original neveready leather case, with bakelite screw adjust.

After bargaining for about half an hour (this *is* Shanghai), I got a pretty good price on it so I'm happy.

Model Versions of the Shanghai 58

According to Ian Norris, Andreas Rothaus, and Zhang XK (the latter two via the Russian Camera-list), there were at least five versions of the Shanghai 58, although I'm still a bit confused:

Because it has 4 screws securing the flash shoe, the camera that I have is the third version of the 58-II (or 58-IIc), a relatively uncommon specimen. The rarest is the first, with less than 1500 produced, and apparently mostly hand-made. According to this news article, the 58-I can fetch over $10,000! Zhang XK commented that it's more commont to find them between $800-1000. Be careful because at those prices, it is tempting to modify a FED into a fake Shanghai.

Interesting quirks

The weird thing about the Shanghai 58-IIc is that it has no strap lugs! The first 58-I and 58-IIa had them but the Shanghai 58-IIc has no lugs. This is the same with the FED, early ones had them then they were removed. Were communist camera designers told that a market survey said that consumers didn't want lugs? Or that they were bourgeoise? In order to carry the camera on a strap, you have to use the never-ready case, which has its own "charm" - the top and bottom cannot be separated, although in the case of my Shanghai, someone kindly tore the top from the bottom.

Like the Fed and Zorki, when releasing the shutter, the shutter timing knob rotates clockwise. It lands in a seemingly random position. When you wind the camera, it cocks the shutter, the knob rotates again and thankfully lands in the right place again.

Don't adjust the shutter speed without winding the camera! When changing to a slower shutter speed, rotate counter-clockwise. This is true of most Leica II/III clones as well as FSU medium format SLRs.

Now the weird thing. For the super-slow shutter speeds (1/20 - 1 sec), it appears you have to first move the top dial to 1/20 - 1, then move the slow shutter speed dial first to 1/20 then to the speed you want. So if you want 1 second exposures, rotate the top dial, then turn the slow shutter speed dial to 1/20 first then back to 1 second. Weird weird weird. Otherwise, the slow shutter speeds don't engage.

According to folks on the Russian camera-list, this is commonly a symptom of dirty gearing. A CLA should cure this problem.

Next to the shutter button is a knob marked with an arrow and a Chinese character. Rotate the knob clockwise to the retracted position allows you to shoot normally, the counterclockwise exposed position is for rewinding the camera.

On the wind lever is the film counter (manually resettable). The accessory shoe is "cold" but there's a PC sync connection for X electronic flashes on the front right of the camera.

Rangefinder Calibration

It's easy to knock rangefinder cameras out of horizontal or vertical RF calibration with small knocks or jars. This is fairly common on older (and even newer) rangefinders. Thankfully, the Leica III clones provided for a way to adjust for horizontal RF calibration without opening the camera up. For more information, see this page.

   The horizontal adjustment screw is hidden between a screw located in between the main viewfinder and rangefinder coincident image window. Vertical adjustment is achieved by unscrewing the round cover over the rangefinder window and rotating the small glass window underneath.

 

Note: This operation while simple, has the possibility of fouling your camera if you have the wrong size screwdrivers or slip while the driver is inside the camera. Please use reasonable and appropriate caution when thinking about doing this.

 

Technical Details

Camera Name	Shanghai 58-IIc
Manufacturer	Shanghai Camera Factory
Place of Manufacture	Shanghai, China
Date of Manufacture	1960-61
Focusing System	Coupled rangefinder (xxmm base length; coincident image) x.0x magnification factor Combined viewfinder/rangefinder shows 50mm frame of view. Viewfinder has built-in diopter adjustment
Lens Mount	Leica M39 screw mount compatible Standard lenses: 50mm f/3.5 Shanghai
Shutter	Horizontal focal plane shutter (rubberized cloth) 1 sec - 1/1000 sec + B & T Slow: 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/20 Fast: 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, 1/500, 1/1000
Metering System	None
Flash	External cold shoe PC cable connector on front side
Film type	Type 135 film (35mm standard)
Battery type	none
Dimensions and weight	Body: ?? Body+lens: ??
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Comparison between the Shanghai and other Rangefinders of the 1960s

My Leica Mount Lens Collection (15mm , 25mm, 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 45 mm, 50mm, 52mm, 85mm, 90mm, 100mm, 135mm)

About Shanghai Camera Company

Shanghai continues to manufacture a wide array of cameras, from point and shoots to SLR cameras (Pentax K1000 clones and their own designs), as well as the acclaimed Seagull medium format TLRs.

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