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.
The Kodak Signet 40
Moderator: DuncaninFrance