This camera is one of the first SLR types made and sold by Asahi Optical Co. (later Pentax Corp.). It has a folding waist-level reflex finder for carefully composed/focused shooting, as well as an eye-level viewfinder for action photography. The lens mounted on this body is a 58mm f2.4 Takumar with preset aperture control. The lens mount is an M37 screwmount type which is unique to the Asahiflex line. The Asahiflex is credited with being the first SLR to have an instant-return mirror. This particular model was built in the period from 1955-1957, and was the last in the Asahiflex line.