Bonny Four
The Bonny Four (ボニー・フォアー) is a Japanese camera taking 4×4cm pictures on 127 film. It was made by Yamasaki Seiki and distributed by Ōmiya Shashin-yōhin in the first half of the 1940s.[1]
Contents
Sources
The Bonny Four is mentioned in the list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, at the set price of ¥60 with no further detail.[2] It was advertised in 1941 and in February 1942 by Ōmiya Shashin-yōhin together with the Bonny Six, again with no detail.[3] An advertisement published in the October 1942 issue of Shashin Bunka shows a picture of the camera.[4] The Bonny Four was still mentioned in the April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production.[5]
No surviving example of the Bonny Four is known.
Description
The Bonny Four has an alloy body.[6] There is a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. The advance knob is at the right end of the top plate. The viewfinder is slightly offset to the left and is contained in a small housing extending to the left and supporting an accessory shoe.
The lens is a three-element Bonny Anastigmat 50/4.5 made by a company called Suzuki.[7] It is probably front-cell focusing.
The shutter gives T, B, 25–150 speeds and was made by Hasegawa.[8] It seems that something is written at the bottom of the shutter plate, perhaps the name BONNY.
Notes
- ↑ Made by Yamasaki Seiki: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 199.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 1, section 5.
- ↑ Advertisement dated 1941 reproduced in the Nostalgic Camera page by Toshio Inamura, and advertisement published in Asahi Camera February 1942, visible in this page of Xylocopal's photolog.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.92. Other advertisements dated 1942 are listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.341.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 199.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 199.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item Jc3. The name and aperture are confirmed by the October 1942 advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.92.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), shutter item 18-V-7. The speed range confirmed by the October 1942 advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.92.
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 242.
- "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. Item 199.
- "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9. Type 1, section 5.
This camera is not listed in Sugiyama.
Links
In Japanese:
- Advertisement dated 1941 for the Bonny Four and Six (bottom part), reproduced in Nostalgic Camera, a page by Toshio Inamura
- Advertisement for the Bonny Four and Six published in Asahi Camera February 1942, visible in this page about old camera magazines of Xylocopal's photolog
