Baby Minolta
The Baby Minolta (ベビー・ミノルタ) is a Japanese camera taking 4×6.5cm pictures on 127 film, made by Molta then Chiyoda (later Minolta) between 1935–6 and 1940.[1]
Contents
Description
Bakelite tube collapsed and extended.
(Image rights)
The Baby Minolta is a simpler camera than the Minolta Vest released earlier. It has a bakelite body covered with leather or leatherette and a bakelite telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate, indicating the field of view for both 4×6.5 and 3×4 formats. The advance knob is at the left end of the top plate and film advance is controlled via two uncovered red windows in the back.
Bottom lock with MTS logo
and camera in the open position.
(Image rights)
The film plane is curved to compensate some of the lens aberrations. To load the film, the top plate is removed together with the spool holders and exposure chamber. It is locked into place by a lever placed at the bottom. The bakelite is recessed around this lever and the words OPEN and CLOSE are moulded, together with the MTS logo, TRADE MARK and MADE IN JAPAN.
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| Lens scheme and description (click to enlarge). (Image rights) |
The lens is a fixed-focus cemented doublet.[2] It wears no marking and its focal length is unknown, but probably 75 or 80mm. It has no aperture setting and its maximal aperture is not mentioned in the advertisements. Some sources say that it is a Coronar 80/8[3] but the use of the Coronar name (used for a triplet design) is very unlikely.
The shutter gives 25, 50, 100, B speeds set on a dial at the top. It is everset and the release lever is attached to the shutter plate.
It is said that about 2,000 examples of the Baby Minolta were produced per month, accounting for a total production of 50,000 examples.[4]
Evolution
Baby Minolta, first variant. Extract from a leaflet dated about 1936.
Scan courtesy of Andrea Apra. (Image rights)
First variant
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| Baby Minolta, first variant. Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights) | |
The first variant has small indexes in the finder to indicate the field of view for 3×4cm exposures. There is a metal advance knob with a low profile and either a flat top or concentric rings.[5] The shutter plate is marked PATENTS PENDING at the top and BABY MINOLTA at the bottom. It has the MTS logo of the Molta company on the right and a chain of small circles drawing a decorative pattern on the contour.
The camera was first featured in the new products column of the April 1936 issue of Asahi Camera.[6] The first variant appears in advertisements dated April, May and August 1937 and January 1938.[7] The price was ¥9.50 in 1937 (case ¥2 extra) and ¥11 in 1938.
Second variant
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| Baby Minolta, second variant. Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights) | |
Shutter plate. (Image rights)
The second variant has two bars in the finder for 3×4 format. The metal advance knob has a higher profile and a recessed centre and the shutter plate is marked PATENTS NIPPON instead of PATENTS PENDING.
Third variant
Baby Minolta, third variant.
Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights)
The third variant has a new shutter plate design with three stripes on each side. It is marked PATENTS NIPPON at the top and BABY MINOLTA at the bottom, and it does not have the MTS logo.
Fourth variant
Baby Minolta, fourth variant.
Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights)
The fourth variant has a black bakelite advance knob instead of the metal knob. It appears in an advertisement dated December 1939,[8] where it was offered for ¥12. An advertisement in English depicting the third or fourth variant is reproduced in Francesch.[9] This may indicate that the company tried to export the camera.
The Baby Minolta was listed in the official price list compiled in October 1940, for ¥10.[10]
Case
Early and late Baby Minolta case.
Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights)
Two types of cases are known. One has the MTS logo and probably corresponds to the first and second variants. The other is embossed Baby Minolta and probably corresponds to the third and fourth variants.
Notes
- ↑ Dates: advertisements listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 342. Many sources, including Francesch, p. 252, Scheibel, p. 21, Lewis, pp. 52–3, McKeown, p. 673, Sugiyama, item 4056, and Awano, p. 16 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 12, all give 1935 as the release date, but many of them make other mistakes about the early Minolta release dates and Kokusan kamera no rekishi is considered more reliable.
- ↑ A catalogue dated October 1941 by Asanuma gives the lens scheme, showing a cemented doublet. The word used in the advertsements is tangyoku (単玉), literally meaning "single lens" but used for cemented doublets as well: see the 1936 leaflet reproduced in this page and the August 1937 advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 97.
- ↑ Francesch, p. 252. McKeown, p. 672, says Coronar Anastigmat and Scheibel, p. 21, says Achromat-Coronar.
- ↑ 2,000 examples per month according to Tashima Gizō (son of Tashima Kazuo, founder of the company), interviewed by Saeki Kakugorō on p. 78 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 12. 50,000 total production: Awano, p. 7 of the same magazine.
- ↑ Flat top: examples pictured in Francesch, p. 252, and in Sugiyama, item 4056. Concentric rings: example pictured in this page.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 342.
- ↑ April 1937: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 98.
May 1937: advertisement published in the 9 May 1937 issue of Sunday Mainichi, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
August 1937: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 97.
January 1938: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Tanimura, p. 15 of Camera Collectors' News no. 118.
The same version is still pictured in an advertisement published in Shashin Shinpō reportedly dated January 1940, reproduced in Hagiya, p. 10 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 12. Perhaps there is a date mistake, or the company was using old pictures in the advertisements. - ↑ Advertisement published in Shōgakusei no Kagaku, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
- ↑ Francesch, p. 23.
- ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 2, section 1.
Bibliography
Original documents
- Asanuma Shōkai. Shashinki to zairyō (写真機と材料, Cameras and supplies). Catalogue dated October 1941. P.7. Document partly reproduced here in rebollo_fr's Flickr space.
- Template:Kakaku1940 Type 2, section 1.
Recent sources
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7. Item 277. (See also the advertisements for item 272.)
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Minolta shōryaku" (ミノルタ略史, "Minolta short history"). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.12, October 1988. No ISBN number. Minoruta kamera no subete (ミノルタカメラのすべて, special issue on Minolta). Pp. 6–8.
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Senzen no Minolta kamera" (戦前のミノルタカメラ, "Prewar Minolta cameras"). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.12, October 1988. No ISBN number. Minoruta kamera no subete (ミノルタカメラのすべて, special issue on Minolta). Pp. 13–7.
- Francesch, Dominique and Jean-Paul. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Minolta de 1929 à 1985. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27685-4. P. 252.
- Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Kōkoku ni miru Minolta kamera no rekishi" (広告に見るミノルタカメラの歴史, "Minolta camera history seen through the advertisements"). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.12, October 1988. No ISBN number. Minoruta kamera no subete (ミノルタカメラのすべて, special issue on Minolta). Pp. 9–12.
- 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). Pp. 52–3 (brief mention only).
- 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. 673.
- Saeki Kakugorō (佐伯恪五郎). "Tashima Gizō-shi ni kiku" (田嶋義三氏に聞く, "Asking Tashima Gizō"). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.12, October 1988. No ISBN number. Minoruta kamera no subete (ミノルタカメラのすべて, special issue on Minolta). Pp. 76–9.
- Scheibel, Anni Rita and Joseph. 70 Jahre Minolta Kameratechnik — Von der Nifcalette bis zur Dynax 9. Stuttgart: Lindemanns Verlag, 3rd edition, 1999. ISBN 3-89506-191-3. Pp. 20–1.
- 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 4056.
- Tanimura, Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Semi Minolta I-gata to II-gata (sono 2)" (セミミノルタⅠ型とⅡ型(その2)). Camera Collectors' News no. 118 (April 1987). P. 15: advertisement for the Minolta range, published in the January 1938 issue of Asahi Camera.
Links
In English:
In Japanese:
- Baby Minolta in the Kitamura camera site
- Advertisements reproduced in the small format camera page and the camera company page of the Gochamaze website:
- Advertisement for the Baby Minolta, published in the 9 May 1937 issue of Sunday Mainichi
- Advertisement for the Baby Minolta and Minolta Vest, published in the December 1939 issue of Shōgakusei no Kagaku
In Chinese:
- Baby Minolta in a Chinese blog
| Nifca, Molta and Chiyoda prewar and wartime cameras () | |
|---|---|
| folding plate cameras | |
| Nifcaklapp | Nifcasport | Sirius | Arcadia | Lomax | Eaton | Happy | |
| folding rollfilm cameras | telescopic bakelite cameras |
| Nifcarette | Sirius Bebe | Semi Minolta | Auto Semi Minolta | Minolta Vest | Baby Minolta | Minolta Six |
| strut-folding cameras | TLR cameras |
| Nifca-Dox | Minolta | Auto Minolta | Auto Press Minolta | Minoltaflex | Minoltaflex Automat | Minoltaflex military prototype |
