The Kodak Signet 40

I started this forum for any collecting hobby and it turned into my camera collecting and using forum. I use it mostly to keep a record of my photo adventures. Nobody but me seems to have photo adventures that visit here....but however. I have so many cameras now that I forget which is which and which ones work and which ones don't. If you have cameras and adventures you would be welcome to post here.

Moderator: DuncaninFrance

Post Reply
User avatar
Niner
Site Admin
Posts: 11519
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 1:00 pm
Location: Lower Alabama

The Kodak Signet 40

Post by Niner » Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:57 am

The Kodak Signet 40 came out as a rangefinder offering from Kodak in 1956. It could be had with two different named lenses. The four element Ektanar or the three element Ektanon. The four element, considered hard to find now days, was sold for about $85 and the more produced Extanon for $65 in a kit with a flash attachment....so I read. I managed to get one of each for cheap. The Signet 40 was produced through 1959.

Both cameras have everything else but the lenses alike and maybe they are really alike too. The good points include an exclusive Kodak yellow triangle for rangefinder adjustment of focus. The focus ring has a lever that makes for a smooth focus. The F. 3.5 to 22 ring is easily adjusted. The seven stop, with B, shutter speed dial is also well done to 1/400. The negative side is the redundant sprocket release, one on each side, one for releasing the sprocket for rewind and one for releasing the sprocket for double exposure. Two switches that do the same thing is over kill and more importantly, on both of my cameras the sprocket release would lock up and it was a chore getting the film rewound. I had to put the whole camera in a changing bag and open the back for each camera. Doing this somehow would free up the sprocket release...after much fiddling. Another not so exciting feature is that you have to work the film advance three times to advance between shots.

One online source speculates that there was no difference between the Ektanar and the Ektanon lenses. That source says Kodak sometimes made distinctions without differences in lens names and perhaps they were both the same. However, if the Ektanar cameras cost more, perhaps by changing the name of the lens they could justify lowering the price to those who had already bought one when offering the Ektanon. Just one problem with that.... the Exktanon camera I have has a serial number 055xxx and the Ektanar 069xxx. Perhaps they are different lenses as advertised but the image quality seems identical.

The images from both cameras, developed at the same time and using the same brand and age film, proved mixed but no noticable difference in quality in the images that came out sharp.
Attachments
two.jpg
Ektanar.jpg
Exktanon.jpg
Release.jpg
Flash.jpg
Ektanar
Ektanar
Ektanar
Ektanar
Ektanar
Ektanar
Ektanon
Ektanon
Ektanon
Ektanon
Ektanon
Ektanon
Post Reply