The Beacon II Camera was manufactured from approximately 1947 to 1955 by Whitehouse Products Inc., of Brooklyn New York. Like the original Beacon camera, the Beacon II was made of Bakelite (plastic) with a built-in optical view finder. The Beacon II camera came in multiple colors including black, white, turquoise and red. It was capable of capturing sixteen color or black and white exposures on number 127 roll film. It was fitted with a two element optically ground 46mm Whitmar f/11 coated and color corrected lens and a simple instantaneous 2-blade reticular shutter providing a single speed of approximately 1/50 of a second. It featured a safety lock shutter to prevent accidental exposures when closed and two red windows to view exposure count. It was originally priced at $9.95 for the camera with an additional $4.95 for the flash unit. The original Beacon had two shutter speeds of 1/50 of a second plus B and no flash capability. Then the Beacon II was improved with the addition of synchronized flash contacts (located on the top of the pull-out lens assembly tunnel) for an optional flash unit that used class M lamps that made it resemble a light house making the name more appropriate. M-class bulbs were designed to reach peak brightness 20 milliseconds (0.020 seconds) after the bulb is fired. The M-class came in various sizes up to as large as a regular household light bulb that screwed in like a medium base light bulb. M-class were intended to be used with leaf shutters (they can be used with focal plane shutters but only at shutter speeds of 1/30 of a second or less). The shutter on the Beacon II did lock when the pull-out lens assembly was in its closed position but when opened the shutter had no double exposure protection plus unlike the original Beacon it had no bulb (B) shutter speed to time exposures. Other features are a left handed film advance knob plus a ¼ inch 20 thread tripod socket. The camera also has a #8 32 thread per inch socket near the viewfinder in the back to mount the flash attachment that is only possible when the lens assembly is in the open position with the flash contacts exposed.