Shanghai No. 2 Camera Factory 58-II

Shanghai 58-II

The Shanghai 58-II is a Chinese 35mm screw-mount rangefinder camera produced by Shanghai Camera Factory. It belongs to the early generation of Chinese Leica-style rangefinder cameras and is one of the better-known Chinese copies of the Leica screw-mount concept.

The camera uses a 39mm Leica screw mount, also known as LTM or M39. For database purposes, the correct mount value is LTM. It accepts compatible Leica screw-mount rangefinder lenses, although practical compatibility should always be checked because Chinese and Soviet Leica-style cameras can vary slightly in adjustment.

The Shanghai 58-II is not a Japanese camera, despite seller listings sometimes using “Japanese Leica copy” as a generic phrase. It was made in China and should be catalogued under Shanghai Camera Factory or Shanghai.

The 58-II has a combined viewfinder and coupled rangefinder rather than the separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows of a Leica III. This makes it visually and functionally closer in finder concept to some Canon, FED and Zorki rangefinder cameras, even though the body styling is strongly Leica-inspired.

The shutter is a cloth focal-plane shutter. Published and collector descriptions of the Shanghai 58 family mention shutter-speed ranges up to 1/1000 second, but details can vary between 58-I, 58-II, 58-IIb and 58-IIc versions. Because of that, version-specific shutter markings should be checked from the actual camera whenever possible.

History

Development and Production

The Shanghai 58 series was produced during the early period of Chinese 35mm camera manufacturing. The model name refers to the late-1950s origin of the design, and the camera is usually discussed as one of China’s first industrially produced 35mm rangefinder cameras.

The Shanghai 58-II followed the earlier Shanghai 58-I and refined the camera into a more practical rangefinder body. Camera-wiki describes the 58-II as having a combined rangefinder/viewfinder and a 39mm screw mount, while Deutsches Kameramuseum identifies the 58-II lens mount as the M-39 Leica screw-thread.

Relationship to Leica Screw-Mount Cameras

The Shanghai 58-II is Leica-inspired, but it is not a direct one-to-one copy of a Leica III or IIIf. It uses the same broad 39mm screw-mount lens standard, but the combined finder/rangefinder design and internal rangefinder cam details differ from Leica’s own Barnack cameras.

Photoethnography describes the Shanghai 58 as a close Leica III-style clone, but also notes that its combined viewfinder/rangefinder makes it closer in some respects to Soviet FED and Zorki designs than to Leica’s separate-window Barnack layout.

Versions and Variant Notes

The Shanghai 58-II appears in several collector-described versions, often identified as 58-II, 58-IIb and 58-IIc. These differences may involve finder design, accessory shoe screws, flash synchronization details and other small production changes.

Because variant naming is not always consistent in listings, the clean main entry should be Shanghai 58-II, with 58-2, 58 Type II, 58-IIb and 58-IIc stored as aliases or variant metadata.

Lens Kits

The Shanghai 58-II is commonly seen with a collapsible 50mm f/3.5 lens, visually similar to Leica Elmar-style lenses. Seller listings may describe this lens as an Elmar copy or Leica-style collapsible lens.

The lens should be treated as kit or listing metadata, not part of the camera’s main model name. The body itself should remain Shanghai 58-II.

Serial Number Notes

A complete reliable factory serial range for the Shanghai 58-II is not easily confirmed from public sources. Some auction and collector listings show 58-series serial numbers, but these should be treated as observed examples rather than a full production range.

The safest database wording is Unknown, observed examples include 58-series serials but no reliable complete factory range confirmed.

Identification

The Shanghai 58-II is identified by its Shanghai top-plate engraving, Chinese characters, 39mm screw mount, Leica-style body layout, combined rangefinder/viewfinder, top shutter-speed dial, front slow-speed dial on many examples and cold accessory shoe.

Common listing names include Shanghai 58-II, Shanghai 58-2, Shanghai 58 II, Shanghai 58 Type II, Shanghai 582, Shanghai 58-IIb, Shanghai 58-IIc, Shanghai rangefinder and Chinese Leica copy.

Listings that call the camera a Japanese Leica copy should be corrected in the database as Chinese, not Japanese.

Collector Notes

The Shanghai 58-II is collectible because it represents early Chinese rangefinder-camera production and is far less common internationally than Japanese Canon, Nicca or Yashica LTM cameras. It is especially interesting for collectors of Leica copies, Chinese cameras and non-German screw-mount rangefinders.

Collectors should check the rangefinder alignment, shutter curtains, slow speeds, lens mount fit, viewfinder clarity, shutter-speed dial, film transport, body engraving, serial number and whether the camera is a 58-I, 58-II, 58-IIb or 58-IIc.

The Shanghai 58-II should be treated as a separate LTM film camera because its 39mm Leica screw mount, Chinese production history, combined finder design and Shanghai-specific identity distinguish it from Leica, FED, Zorki, Canon and other screw-mount rangefinders.

Sources

• Camera-wiki. Shanghai 58. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Shanghai_58
• Photoethnography.com. Shanghai 58. https://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Shanghai58.html
• Deutsches Kameramuseum. Shanghai 58-2, Leica-Kopie. https://kameramuseum.de/objekte/shanghai-58-2-leica-kopie/
• KEH. Shanghai 58 Type 2c 35mm Rangefinder Camera Body. https://www.keh.com/shop/shanghai-58-type-2c-35mm-camera.html