Traduction de Manuel M

“Ultimate Telemetric” it is the qualifier generally read about it. Admittedly, it is to better have little fingers to handle this camera but, for the only intrusion of the Swiss clock and watch maker Lecoultre in photography, it rather successful.

Based on a request of the businessman / adventurous / pilot / boxer / boat seller / politician / English (there is no mention useless to stripe, it misses some rather of them) Noël Pemberton-Billing, the startup of manufacture took three years to be completed in 1937.

The lens is a anastigmat of 35mm opened to 1: 3.5, the shutter goes from the 1/500ème to 4.5 seconds.
The focusing is done, with the choice, with the coupled rangefinder, thanks to the ground-glass and its magnifying glass or by using the distance scale and the abacus of calculation of depth of field nicely installed on the lens hiding place.
For the diaphragm, it is improved a little less, not of iris but of the rotary valves of various diameters.
A series of filters is placed on a second symmetrical barrel with that of the diaphragms.
For the measure of the exposure, there is a photographic exposure meter with extinction whose measurement range is increased by the possibility of intercalating an additional filter.
There is also a possibility of transforming the normal viewfinder into angle viewfinder by moving a tiny pull knob.
A special foot also exists which, used with the adequate accessories, makes it possible to make panoramic exposures (5 successive cliché with 45° of variation make it possible to reconstitute 225° of a landscape) or stereoscopic exposure (2 cliché taken of 2 outspreaded positions of ~6cm)
For these two applications, the spirit level placed on the camera takes all its importance.

The Compass was manufactured with less than 4000 specimens.

Frankly, this apparatus, it is the happiness of the collector: a stupefying quality of manufacture, the multiple and varied functionalities and, cherry on the cake, all running as at the first day.
Only flat: the special plates and films are not manufactured any more since the last war.

Pictures 1-2-3 - The Compass

Picture 4 - The foot and the back-magazine

Picture 5 - Head of the foot

Picture 6 - Folding points of the foot

Picture 7 – Below, the fixing of the foot makes it possible to move the camera, but also to shift it for the stereo exposures

Picture 8 - With the back, the trap door which covers the ground-glass

Pictures 9.-10 - In the flap of the trap door the magnifying glass of focusing

Pictures 11.-12 - Detail of the adjustments