Difference between revisions of "Baby Pilot"

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{{127 Japan}}
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{{Japanese Baby and Four
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The '''Baby Pilot''' (ベビーパイロット) is a Japanese 3&times;4 folder, made by [[Tachibana|Tachibana Shōkai]]<REF> The fact that Tachibana was the maker of the Pilot cameras is confirmed by advertisements published in the January and September 1941 issue of ''Asahi Camera'' and reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.&nbsp;83: "パイロツト写真用品製造発売元". </REF>, that was announced in 1941 and made in 1942 and 1943.<REF> Dates: {{Kokusan}}, p.&nbsp;339. </REF> It is a vertical folding camera, with a folding frame finder and incurved struts copied from the [[Baby Pearl]] by [[Konica|Konishiroku]]. The advance knob is on the right side of the body when held vertically by the photographer.
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|image=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerawiki/47952836727/in/pool-camerawiki https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47952836727_fc745c1b15_m_d.jpg]<br>''Picture from {{FAR}} December 1949. {{public domain Japan new}}''
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}}
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The '''Baby Pilot''' (ベビーパイロット) is a Japanese 3×4 folder, made by [[Tachibana|Tachibana Shōkai]] from 1941 to about 1943 and advertised again in 1948.<REF> Made by Tachibana: advertisements published in ''[[Asahi Camera]]'' January and September 1941, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.83, say that Tachibana was the maker and distributor of the Pilot cameras: "パイロツト写真用品'''製造'''発売元". This is also confirmed by the {{Inquiry1943_short}}, items 168–9. Dates: {{Kokusan}}, pp.339 and 358. </REF> It is essentially a [[bakelite]] copy of the [[Baby Pearl]].
  
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The camera is announced in 1941<REF> {{Showa10ad|Baby Pilot, [[Pilot Six]] and [[Japanese 3&times;4 and 4&times;4 pseudo TLR cameras|Pilot Ref]]|177|September 1941|Asahi Camera}} </REF> with two lens options (f:4.5 and f:3.5, both called Pilot Anastigmat) and three shutter options (T, B, 25&ndash;150; T, B, 5&ndash;200 and T, B, 1&ndash;300, all three called Pilot). {{Kokusan}} says that the camera was not yet effectively available that year, and that an f:6.3 lens option was also offered.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.&nbsp;339. </REF>
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== Description ==
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The Baby Pilot is a vertical folding camera with a [[bakelite]] body — only the folding bed is made of metal.<REF> Bakelite body: {{Inquiry1943_short}}, items 168–9; {{Kokusan}}, p.358 (about the postwar models); {{MK}}, p.910.; Zaisu Ikon, p.7. This is confirmed by the available pictures. </REF> The overall shape and incurved body struts are copied from the [[Baby Pearl]] by [[Konica|Konishiroku]]. The bakelite has a pattern imitating a leather covering, and the name ''Baby Pilot'' is moulded on the front of the body.
  
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The camera is sold in 1942<REF> {{Showa10ad|Baby Pilot, [[Pilot Six]] and [[Japanese 3&times;4 and 4&times;4 pseudo TLR cameras|Pilot Ref]]|176|February 1942|Asahi Camera}} </REF>, in two variants:
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The camera has a folding optical finder and no body release. The bakelite advance knob is on the bottom side of the body (opposite the viewfinder). The back is hinged to the left and has two uncovered red windows to control the film advance. All the models have a front-cell focusing lens and an [[everset]] shutter.
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* Pilot Anastigmat f:4.5 lens ({{yen|41|1942}});
 
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* Pilot Anastigmat f:3.5 lens ({{yen|52|1942}}).
 
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The only shutter available is an everset Pilot with 150, 100, 50, 25, B, T speeds. The aperture scale is at the bottom of the shutter plate and the ''PILOT'' name is at the top. There is no body release and the lens is certainly front-cell focusing.
 
  
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{{McKeown}} shows a picture of a Baby Pilot. It has the body trim and advance knob painted black, unlike the camera pictured in the advertisements. The shutter plate is marked ''PILOT.O'' and the front leather is embossed ''Baby Pilot''. The lens marking is ''Pirot Anastigmat''. This engraving mistake can be explained because the Japanese language does not distinguish between the "l" and "r" letters. It is unknown if it is specific to this particular example or if it was general on all the Baby Pilot cameras.
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== Evolution ==
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=== Prewar and wartime Baby Pilot ===
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The camera was announced in early 1941.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.339. </REF> An advertisement dated September 1941 lists two lens options (f/4.5 and f/3.5, both called Pilot Anastigmat) and three shutter options (T, B, 25–150; T, B, 5–200 and T, B, 1–300, all three called Pilot).<REF> Advertisement in {{ACA}}, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.83. </REF> It is said that an f/6.3 lens was also available and that the camera was effectively sold from 1942 only.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.339. </REF>
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An advertisement dated February 1942 lists two versions only, both with a Pilot shutter giving T, B, 25, 50, 100, 150 speeds:<REF> Advertisement in {SB}}, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.83. </REF>
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* Pilot Anastigmat f/4.5 lens ({{yen|41|1942}});
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* Pilot Anastigmat f/3.5 lens ({{yen|52|1942}}).
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In the advertising picture, the aperture scale is at the bottom of the shutter plate and the name ''PILOT'' is at the top. The lens is certainly front-cell focusing.
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The two above versions are also mentioned in the April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production, under the names "Baby Pilot I" (f/4.5) and "Baby Pilot II" (f/3.5).<REF> {{Inquiry1943_short}}, items 168–9. </REF> The two lenses have three elements and were made by [[Sugimoto]], as well as the Pilot shutter.<REF> {{Inquiry1943_short}}, lens items Jb7 and Jc13, shutter item 12-V-8. </REF>
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=== Postwar Baby Pilot II and V ===
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The Baby Pilot was advertised again in 1948 by [[Tachibana|Tachibana Shōkai]].<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.358. </REF> Two versions were available:<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.358. </REF>
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* '''Baby Pilot II''': Pilot 50/4.5 lens, Pilot shutter, B, 25–150 speeds;
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* '''Baby Pilot V''': Pilot 50/3.5 lens, Pilot shutter, B, 25–150 speeds (the name "Baby Pilot V" might be a typo for "Baby Pilot I").
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The postwar examples were probably assembled from a stock of unused parts. A picture of the Baby Pilot appears in an article on Japanese cameras in the December 1949 issue of {{FAR}}, but this document possibly lists discontinued models as well.<REF> {{FAR}} December 1949, p.36. </REF>
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== Actual examples ==
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A few surviving examples have been observed so far. They are externally identical, and it is not known if they were made before or after 1945 — examples assembled before and after that date are perhaps undistinguishable. All have an f/4.5 lens, and the lens number has only two or three digits, indicating that the camera was produced in very small quantities.<REF> Examples pictured in {{SUG}}, item 1221, (lens no.124), in Zaisu, p.7 of {{CCN}} no.57, in {{MK}}, p.910, and observed in an online auction (lens no.91). </REF>
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The shutter speeds are 150, 100, 50, 25, B, T, engraved in that order on the rim. The shutter plate is inscribed ''PILOT.O'' at the top, and the lens marking is ''Pirot Anastigmat'', with a typo caused by the fact that Japanese phonology does not distinguish between the "l" and "r" letters.
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
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== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
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* {{Showa10}} Item 176&ndash;7.
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* {{Showa10}} Item 178 and 683. (See also the advertisements for item 177.)
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* {{McKeown12}} P.&nbsp;910.
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* {{Inquiry1943}} Items 168–9.
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* {{McKeown12}} P.910.
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* {{FAR}} December 1949. "Ōru kokusan kamera" (オール国産カメラ, All of Japanese cameras). Pp.34–41.
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* {{Zukan}} Item 1221.
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* Zaisu Ikon (座椅子遺恨, probably a pseudonym of Y. Saji). "Besuto sanka (B-1)" (ベスト讃歌[B-1], Vest hymn [B-1]). In {{CCN}} no.57 (March 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P.7.
  
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[[Category: 3x4 viewfinder folding]]
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[[Category: Japanese 3x4 viewfinder folding]]
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[[Category: Japanese 127]]
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[[Category: Bakelite]]
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[[Category: Japanese folding]]
 
 
[[Category: B]]
 
[[Category: B]]
 
[[Category: P|Pilot, Baby]]
 
[[Category: P|Pilot, Baby]]

Latest revision as of 17:51, 28 May 2019

47952836727_fc745c1b15_m_d.jpg
Picture from Photo Art December 1949. (Image rights)
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 Pilot (ベビーパイロット) is a Japanese 3×4 folder, made by Tachibana Shōkai from 1941 to about 1943 and advertised again in 1948.[1] It is essentially a bakelite copy of the Baby Pearl.

Description

The Baby Pilot is a vertical folding camera with a bakelite body — only the folding bed is made of metal.[2] The overall shape and incurved body struts are copied from the Baby Pearl by Konishiroku. The bakelite has a pattern imitating a leather covering, and the name Baby Pilot is moulded on the front of the body.

The camera has a folding optical finder and no body release. The bakelite advance knob is on the bottom side of the body (opposite the viewfinder). The back is hinged to the left and has two uncovered red windows to control the film advance. All the models have a front-cell focusing lens and an everset shutter.

Evolution

Prewar and wartime Baby Pilot

The camera was announced in early 1941.[3] An advertisement dated September 1941 lists two lens options (f/4.5 and f/3.5, both called Pilot Anastigmat) and three shutter options (T, B, 25–150; T, B, 5–200 and T, B, 1–300, all three called Pilot).[4] It is said that an f/6.3 lens was also available and that the camera was effectively sold from 1942 only.[5]

An advertisement dated February 1942 lists two versions only, both with a Pilot shutter giving T, B, 25, 50, 100, 150 speeds:[6]

  • Pilot Anastigmat f/4.5 lens (¥41);
  • Pilot Anastigmat f/3.5 lens (¥52).

In the advertising picture, the aperture scale is at the bottom of the shutter plate and the name PILOT is at the top. The lens is certainly front-cell focusing.

The two above versions are also mentioned in the April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production, under the names "Baby Pilot I" (f/4.5) and "Baby Pilot II" (f/3.5).[7] The two lenses have three elements and were made by Sugimoto, as well as the Pilot shutter.[8]

Postwar Baby Pilot II and V

The Baby Pilot was advertised again in 1948 by Tachibana Shōkai.[9] Two versions were available:[10]

  • Baby Pilot II: Pilot 50/4.5 lens, Pilot shutter, B, 25–150 speeds;
  • Baby Pilot V: Pilot 50/3.5 lens, Pilot shutter, B, 25–150 speeds (the name "Baby Pilot V" might be a typo for "Baby Pilot I").

The postwar examples were probably assembled from a stock of unused parts. A picture of the Baby Pilot appears in an article on Japanese cameras in the December 1949 issue of Photo Art, but this document possibly lists discontinued models as well.[11]

Actual examples

A few surviving examples have been observed so far. They are externally identical, and it is not known if they were made before or after 1945 — examples assembled before and after that date are perhaps undistinguishable. All have an f/4.5 lens, and the lens number has only two or three digits, indicating that the camera was produced in very small quantities.[12]

The shutter speeds are 150, 100, 50, 25, B, T, engraved in that order on the rim. The shutter plate is inscribed PILOT.O at the top, and the lens marking is Pirot Anastigmat, with a typo caused by the fact that Japanese phonology does not distinguish between the "l" and "r" letters.

Notes

  1. ↑ Made by Tachibana: advertisements published in Asahi Camera January and September 1941, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.83, say that Tachibana was the maker and distributor of the Pilot cameras: "パイロツト写真用品製造発売元". This is also confirmed by the "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), items 168–9. Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.339 and 358.
  2. ↑ Bakelite body: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), items 168–9; Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.358 (about the postwar models); McKeown, p.910.; Zaisu Ikon, p.7. This is confirmed by the available pictures.
  3. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.339.
  4. ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.83.
  5. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.339.
  6. ↑ Advertisement in {SB}}, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.83.
  7. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), items 168–9.
  8. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens items Jb7 and Jc13, shutter item 12-V-8.
  9. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.358.
  10. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.358.
  11. ↑ Photo Art December 1949, p.36.
  12. ↑ Examples pictured in Sugiyama, item 1221, (lens no.124), in Zaisu, p.7 of Camera Collectors' News no.57, in McKeown, p.910, and observed in an online auction (lens no.91).

Bibliography

  • 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 178 and 683. (See also the advertisements for item 177.)
  • "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7. Items 168–9.
  • 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.910.
  • Photo Art December 1949. "Ōru kokusan kamera" (オール国産カメラ, All of Japanese cameras). Pp.34–41.
  • 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 1221.
  • Zaisu Ikon (座椅子遺恨, probably a pseudonym of Y. Saji). "Besuto sanka (B-1)" (ベスト讃歌[B-1], Vest hymn [B-1]). In Camera Collectors' News no.57 (March 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P.7.
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