The UK has a long history of manufacturing low-cost, fairly basic cameras, such as the various Bakelite-bodied Kodak, and similar cameras. But during the early 1950s and into the ‘1960s England was also home to a small number of highly innovative cameras, even if they’re not household names today. I think it’s high time we took a look at the main four in the order they came to market…
Although announced in May of 1947, the Reid III was not made available until April of 1951, Following the war, the British army contracted with the British aircraft instrument maker Reid & Sigrist (Leicester) to produce a 35mm camera. Reid & Sigrist make the Reid III, a version of the Leica IIIb, using the now-royalty-free patents of Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar. They used the Leica thread mount, while adapting other features according to their assembly needs. The early camera featured M-sync (for flashbulbs) and, by 1953, X-sync (electronic flash), as well. The cameras are typically fitted with a Taylor-Hobson Anastigmat 50mm f/2.0 lens in a collapsible barrel.
