Baby Suzuka

Template:127 Japan The Baby Suzuka was a 3x4 folding Japanese camera, made around 1951. It was one of the last examples of that type of cameras, inspired by the Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta.

It was probably made by a company called Sanko, about which nothing is known. It appeared in a 1952 ad (in an issue of Asahi Camera), with the company name K.K. Sankō (株式会社三光, Sanko Co Ltd). A company called Sankō K.K. (三光株式会社) exists today (website is http://www.sanko-inet.co.jp/), and currently makes chemical products. It was founded as Sankō Shōkai (三光商会) in 1946 and became Sankō K.K. in 1949, so it might well be the same company.

Both McKeown and the Asacame website say that the Baby Suzuka was made by Sanwa Shōkai (三和商会), but this name does not appear in the ad.

The Baby Suzuka was a vertical style folding camera, with curved struts like the Baby Pearl from Konishiroku. It was embossed SuzuKa in the leather covering. It had a folding optical finder. The lens was a Teriotar Anastigmat 5cm/3.5 (with a red C., probably for "coated"). The shutter had 150-100-50-25-B speeds and was marked SUZUKA. The price in 1952 was 3500 yen, and the case cost 700 yen.

Links

• A-Z 127 film cameras at Asacame, with the Baby Suzuka on this page
• Old Japanese ads, including the Baby Suzuka