Baby Pilot
The Baby Pilot (ベビーパイロット) is a Japanese 3×4 folder, made by Tachibana Shōkai[1], that was announced in 1941 and made in 1942 and 1943.[2] It is a vertical folding camera, with a folding frame finder and incurved struts copied from the Baby Pearl by Konishiroku. The advance knob is on the right side of the body when held vertically by the photographer.
The camera is announced in 1941[3] with 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). Kokusan kamera no rekishi says that the camera was not yet effectively available that year, and that an f:6.3 lens option was also offered.[4]
The camera is sold in 1942[5], in two variants:
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.
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.
Notes
- ↑ 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 kamera no rekishi, p. 83: "パイロツト写真用品製造発売元".
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Baby Pilot, Pilot Six and Pilot Ref, published in the September 1941 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 177.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Baby Pilot, Pilot Six and Pilot Ref, published in the February 1942 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 176.
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 176–7.
- 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.
