Eagle plate folders
The Eagle are Japanese folding bed cameras taking film plates, distributed by Asanuma Shōkai around 1915.[1] They were available in various formats, including meishi (5.5×8cm), tefuda (8×10.5cm), "postcard" (certainly 8×14cm) and 4×5in.[2] In 1915, the tefuda model existed in three versions, called A (¥9.50), B (¥12) and C (¥18).[3]
The Eagle has a wooden body, with an oval nameplate on one side. It is focused by a small wheel on the right-hand side of the folding bed. There is a brilliant finder offset to the left and a handle at the top of the body.
The example pictured in Sugiyama is said to take 8×10.5cm plates (tefuda format), and reportedly has an Ilex Anastigmat 5¼in f/7.5 lens in a Universal shutter giving T, B, 1–150 speeds.[4] Its front standard is made of two pylons and seems to allow both vertical and horizontal movements (rise and shift).
The example pictured in this page at Asacame has a more modern front standard, again with rise and shift ability, and a bubble lever next to the brilliant finder. Its shutter is a Singlo by Gauthier, only giving I, B, T settings. Its aperture scale has 0, 8, 16, 32, 64 settings, perhaps in the older Uniform Scale.
Notes
Bibliography
- Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). P.24.
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P.85.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 1040.
Links
In Japanese: