Yamasaki
Yamasaki Optical (山崎光学研究所, Yamasaki Kōgaku Kenkyūsho) is a Japanese company (based in Hino-shi, suburban Tokyo) that has been producing lenses since 1924. In recent years it has concentrated on lenses for large-format cameras.
Yamasaki seems to buck stereotypes about Japanese companies. It caters for a niche market, advertises little, and sells directly via mail and its website; the FAQ in its website answers just three questions, of which the first is of why the prices are so low.[1]
Contents
Congo lenses
Name
Yamasaki has used the name "Congo" (コンゴー, Kongō) for its lenses since 1931. This comes from the Japanese battleship Kongō (金剛, usually spelled "Kongo" in English contexts), built in Britain as a battle cruiser in 1911 and sunk in 1944. The ship was itself named after the 1112m-high Mt Kongō (金剛山, Kongō-san) on the Ōsaka/Nara border.[2]
Cameras fitted with Congo lenses
Notes
- ↑ Yamasaki Optical FAQ.
- ↑ Niimi, p. 102.
Reference / Further reading
- Niimi Kahee (新見嘉兵衛). Kamera-mei no gogen sanpo (カメラ名の語源散歩, Strolls in the etymology of camera names). 2nd ed. Tokyo: Shashin Kōgyō Shuppansha, 2002. ISBN 4-87956-060-X
External links
In English:
In Japanese: