THE PERFEX 35MM SPEED CANDID

Candid Camera Corporation of America, Chicago, Illinois 1938-1939

Manufactured in 1938-1939, the Perfex 35mm Speed Candid was the first American 35mm camera to incorporate a focal plane shutter.

Constructed of Bakelite, the camera was equipped with a Graf 2-inch f3.5 Perfex Anastigmat Lens marked (and presumably manufactured by) "General Scientific Corp., Chicago, U.S.A." The camera was equipped with a built-in extinction meter located at the base, an uncoupled rangefinder and had a top shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. This earlier production example has a large "P" in the Perfex name on the faceplate, versus a lower-case "p" found on later cameras.

This example came with its rare and almost impossible to find cable release adaptor, and its extremely rare original box.

Sales were apparently poor, and based upon this camera's Serial No. 4726, relatively few were built. Production probably ceased in less than two years, and very few are seen today.