Primo
For the Primoflex and Primo Junior TLR cameras, see Topcon.
The Primo (プリモ) was a 4.5×6 folding camera made by Daiichi around 1942. It had a horizontal folding body, unusual for a 4.5×6 format camera. It was equipped with a folding optical finder and a body release. The Primo has been observed with chrome finish, but McKeown also mentions a black variant. The cameras observed have an Oscar Anastigmat 75/3.5 or 75/4.5 lens and a T, B, 1–500 shutter. The shutter plate is marked PRIMO on top and RAPID-PRESTO at the bottom.
An ad for the Primo appeared in the 23/12/1942 issue of Asahi Graph (visible in this page). Two variants were advertised, the Primo I (プリモⅠ型) with f:4.5 lens for ¥136 and the Primo II (プリモⅡ型) with f:3.5 lens for ¥160, both with body release. (McKeown says that the Primo I was the black variant and the Primo II was the chrome variant, but this is contradicted by the ad.) The ad shows the company name Daiichi Kikō K.K. (第一機工株式會社) together with the distributor's name K.K. Ōsawa Shōkai (株式會社大澤商會). There is also a logo with a D and a K mixed together inside a circle. After the war Ōsawa Shōkai (now written 大沢商会) distributed the Primoflex and Primo Junior TLRs made by Tokyo Kogaku. It was certainly the owner of the Primo name.
Links
- The Primo at Japan Family Camera, it is identified as a Primo II but it has a f:4.5 lens
- Japanese prewar and wartime ads, including the Primo