Baby Ōso

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Revision as of 10:22, 12 March 2007 by Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (Baby Oso moved to Baby Ortho: the reading Ortho is more likely for オーソ)
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Japanese Baby (3×4) and Four (4×4) (edit)
folding
3×4 Baby Balnet | Doris | Baby Doris | Baby Germa | Kinsi | Baby Leotax | Loren | Baby Lyra | Baby Pearl | Baby Pilot | Baby Rosen | Baby Suzuka | Walz
4×4 Adler Four | Rosen Four
rigid or collapsible
3×4 Baika | Baby Chrome | Comet | Cyclon | Gelto | Baby Germa | Gokoku | Hamond | Baby Hawk | Kinka Lucky | Lausar | Light | Baby Light | Molby | Mulber | Olympic | Baby Ōso | Peacock | Picny | Ricohl | Rorox | Shinko Baby | Slick | Baby Sport | Tsubasa Arawashi | Baby Uirus | Zessan
3.5×4 Kenko 35
4×4 Alma Four | Andes Four | Anny 44 | Arsen | Balnet Four | Bonny Four | Freude | Kalimar 44 | Auto Keef | Kraft | Letix | Mykey-4 | Olympic Four | Roico | Royal Senior | Seica | Terra Junior | Vero Four | Welmy 44 | Yashica Future 127
unknown
Baby First | Baby Lyra Flex
Japanese SLR, TLR, pseudo TLR and stereo models ->
Japanese 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

The Baby Oso (ベビー・オーソ)[1] is a 3×4 camera announced in 1937 by the Japanese company Optochrom. The only advertisement mentioned by Kokusan kamera no rekishi is dated February 1937[2]. The Baby Oso is presented as soon to be available, with no price indicated.

The shutter gives T, B, 25, 50, 100 speeds. The lens aperture is f/4.5 but the lens name is a bit confusing: it could be New Gold Lausar[3], or New Gold and Lausar could be a choice of two different lenses.

The camera pictured has a metal top housing, containing the viewfinder, not unlike the Letix or the Kraft. It seems that it was never sold.

Notes

  1. The Roman spelling "Oso" is only inferred from the katakana オーソ. Kokusan kamera no rekishi exceptionnally gives no Roman equivalent. Another possibility would be "Baby Ortho", because the orthochromatic films were called オーソ in Japan. Given that the camera probably did not reach production level, it is also possible that no Roman name was ever attributed.
  2. Published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi in two parts, pp. 61 (items 34 and 91) and 70 (items 89–90).
  3. Roman writing temptatively inferred from the katakana ニユーゴールド・ローザー.

Bibliography

This camera is not listed in Sugiyama.

Timeline

Kigawa timeline (edit)
Type 1930s 1940s 1950s
6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
                                                                                                                                                                                   
3×4 rigid Baby Chrome
Baby Oso Tsubasa Oso
Tsubasa Arawashi ...
4×6.5 telescopic Tsubasa Chrome ...
folding Tsubasa Spring ...
4.5×6 strut folding Semi Chrome B
horizontal folding Tsubasa Super Semi ... _
Tsubasa II Super Semi
Tsubasa Nettar Tsubasa Kiko Three
vertical folding Semi Chrome A Semi Sixteenth
(dates unclear)
Semi Kulax Kiko Semi ... _ Tsubasa Semi
6×6 horizontal folding Gotex ... ... Poppy Six
(dates unknown)
... Carl Six
TLR Kiko Flex Tsubasaflex Graceflex
16mm subminiature ... Poppy
(dates unknown)
...
Manufacturer: ... Kigawa Seimitsu ... Kigawa Kōgaku Carl Kōgaku
Shin Nippon
Distributor: Optochrom-sha ... Nichiei Shōkai Kikō Shōji ...
Cameras whose actual existence is dubious are in a lighter shade.
Cameras in yellow are variants sold and maybe assembled by other companies.