This is the Civilian version of the Kardon camera, which is itself an American made copy of the Leica IIIA / IIIB. The serial number of this camera is 1454; in my research, they did not make more than a few thousand of these cameras even less so of the Civilian variant (most are the Military type). I find the focusing on Civilian version of the Kodak Ektar to be a more pleasing experience because the focus wheel is at the top of the camera instead of the bottom. The viewfinder is very clear as seen in the photos. The rangefinder is usable but could be cleaned somewhat. The camera works fine, although the shutter can be a bit sticky at the lower shutter speeds like 1 sec and 1/2 sec, so the camera could use a CLA I think.
The 47mm Kodak Ektar is similar to the Leica Summar in lens design. From what I can tell from looking at the 45mm f2 Ektar on my Kodak Bantam Special, this is the same lens design of 6 elements in 4 groups. This lens is very clean with no major scratches that I can see. No haze really and not much dust (maybe a few specks) either, which is uncommon for such an old lens. There is something that may be faint haze on the front element, but it is so miniscule that I can't even get a good picture of it. The focusing is pretty stiff, so I would still say this lens could use a CLA (Clean, Lube, and Adjustment) to be useful on a Leica with an M mount adapter. The lens number is ES1935, which indicates it is from the year 1947 (using Kodak's lens-dating code of CAMEROSITY). Please review the attached sample pictures that were taken with the Ektar 47mm lens to see how it performs. All photos were shot on Kodak Ektachrome 100 slide film and scanned on my Epson V700. Please ask any questions BEFORE committing to buying.