Chiyoca and Chiyotax

From Camera-wiki.org
Revision as of 21:19, 28 January 2009 by Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (→‎Bibliography: +2)
Jump to: navigation, search
This is a work in progress.

The Chiyoca and Chiyotax are Japanese Leica copies, made from 1951 to 1956 by Reise for the distributor Chiyoda Shōkai. The name Chiyoca is a contraction of Chiyoda camera.

Description

All the Chiyoca and Chiyotax models have the same basic body, copied on the early Leica screw mount models, made of a metal tube with separate top and bottom plates. The top plate is attached by six apparent screws. The position of the controls — advance knob, exposure counter, release button, rewind lever, speed dial and rewind knob — is the same as on the Leica.

The bottom plate is removable for film loading, and is retained by a key on the left side, with O and S indications (presumably for Open and Shut), the same system as on the Leica. The tripod thread is on the opposite side, to the photographer's right. There are strap lugs attached on either side of the body.

All the models have a Leica screw mount, and a horizontally running focal-plane shutter, whose main speed dial has the following positions: Z or B, 20 or 20–1, 30, 40, 60, 100, 200, 500.

One model has no rangefinder, and is a copy of the Leica Standard. The speed dial is on a hump of the top plate, and there are no slow speeds. The accessory shoe is directly attached to the top plate. The tubular finder is attached by apparent screws on all corners, and has a frame around the front window.

The more expensive models have a housing for the viewfinder and rangefinder, also patterned after the Leica. The two eyepieces are somewhat distant, as on the Leica IIIb and unlike the IIIc. The rangefinder eyepiece has a diopter correction lever. The Chiyotax IIIF adds a slow speed dial at the front, with T, 1, 2, 4, 8, 20 positions.

Evolution

Early chronology

Many recent sources, mostly based on the observation of surviving examples, state that the viewfinder-only model was released in 1951 as the "Chiyoca 35", "Chiyoca 35 Standard" or "Chiyoca 35 I", then became the "Chiyoca 35 IF" in 1952 with the adoption of two flash synch posts at the front, before the rangefinder "Chiyoca IIF" was released in 1953, first with two synch posts, then with a single post.[1]

However the earliest original document mentioning the camera reported so far is the new products column of the December 1953 issue of Ars Camera, where the camera is announced as the "Chiyoca 35", with a rangefinder and two flash synch posts.[2] The camera was advertised from April 1954 as the "Chiyoca IIF", and the viewfinder-only model only appeared briefly in the advertisements in July as the "Chiyoca I".[3]

Unsynchronized cameras

It is likely that the viewfinder-only cameras found today with no flash synchronization were made first, perhaps as pre-production cameras. They were maybe not made as early as 1951, but closer to 1953. These are only engraved CHIYOCA 35 at the rear of the speed hump (with 35 in red), and it is likely that they were only known as Chiyoca 35 or Chiyoca I. These cameras have no visible serial number. The speed dial is sometimes engraved Z and 20, but at least one example is known with Z and 20–1 and another with B and 20–1, making use of parts obviously intended for a version with slow speeds.[4] (This might be a further hint that the year of production was close to that of the IIIF.)

These viewfinder-only cameras are usually found with a specific Hexar 50mm f/3.5 lens, in a barrel described as rigid in at least one reputable source.[5] This lens was not officially made by Konishiroku; the camera maker got hold of various Hexar 50mm f/3.5 enlarging lenses instead, and grafted it on a focusing mount which they manufactured themselves.[6]

Dual and single synch post: original documents

The cameras with dual synchronization post certainly came next. The rangefinder model was advertised as the Chiyoca IIF in mid-1954. The letter "F" might be for Flash, but it is also a transparent allusion to the Leica IIf and IIIf. The June advertisement in Camera Mainichi offers the camera with a Lena 5cm f/3.5 coated lens, and shows a picture of a camera with a dual synch post (which is also mentioned in the text).[7] The pictured camera has the name CHIYOCA inscribed in capital letters on the top plate.

The July advertisement in the same magazine shows the same picture and lists the IIF along with the Chiyoca I with no rangefinder. The latter is pictured with a single synch post, of the PC type, indicating that the transition took place around that time. The prices are mentioned as follows:

On the pictures of the advertisements, both cameras are equipped with a Lena-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 lens, and no mention is made of the Hexar, which was perhaps used for internal testing purpose only.

Dual and single synch post: actual examples

The early IIF found today with two synch posts are similar to the rangefinder camera pictured in the advertisements. The top plate is engraved CHIYOCA and Chiyoca Camera Company, Ltd., together with a serial number. Today's collectors often call this the first version of the IIF,[8] and serial numbers are reported from the 55xx range.[9] These cameras are mostly found with a Lena-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 lens in collapsible mount, attributed on the lens rim to Lena Kogaku, based in Tokyo, a company which is otherwise unknown.

At least one camera is known with the early engraving and a single synch post, apparently original; it has an early number in the 56xx range, and might indicate that the production of dual and single-post models occurred concurrently.[10]

The late IIF have a different engraving, with Chiyoca in lowercase letters and MODEL–IIF, together with the same company name Chiyoca Camera Company, Ltd. and the serial number. They have only been found so far with a single synch post. Some of these again have a speed dial with B and 20–1 positions, normally intended for a camera with slow speeds.[11] These examples are more often found with a Reise-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 lens in collapsible mount, indistinguishable from the Lena other than by the engraving.

The Chiyoca I found today with two synch posts show no other difference with the unsynchronized cameras described above. They have no serial number either, and at least some have Z and 20 positions on the speed dial.[12] The name "Chiyoca IF" used in current publications, presumably after the IIF and IIIF, is not confirmed, and was perhaps not used at the time. No example of the Chiyoca I has been found so far with a single synch post, but the existence of this variant is confirmed by the July advertisement cited above.

Switch to Chiyotax

The camera was featured in various Japanese magazines dated December 1954 and January 1955 as the Chiyotax, with added slow speeds.[13] It is said that the camera is called "Chiyotax IIF" in at least some of these documents,[14] but the persistence of the model name "IIF" is unexplained.

The name was switched from Chiyoca to Chiyotax because of a complaint by Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō, which was making the Minolta cameras.[15] (There was no link between that company and Chiyoda Shōkai, other than the homonymy.)[16]

After the complaint by Minolta's predecessor, there was perhaps some wandering before definitively settling on the new Chiyotax name. At least one example of the camera is known with the engraving ChiyoTa instead.[17]

The Chiyotax was advertised throughout the year 1955. The May advertisement in Camera Mainichi offers the camera for ¥28,300 with a Reise f/3.5 lens.[18] The picture shows an example with slow speeds and single synch post. The engraving on the top cover is ChiyoTax and the company name is Chiyotax Camera Company, Ltd. The model name is illegible, and the serial number is in the 15xxx or 16xxx range. The camera is still equipped with a Lena f/3.5 lens, despite the mention of a Reise in the main text.

The camera was featured again in various Japanese magazines dated August 1955, to announce its delivery with a Hexar 50mm f/3.5 lens. This time, this was a legitimate product by Konishiroku, released in Leica screw mount earlier the same year.

Origin and company names

The name of the distributor is frequently spelled Chiyoda Shōkai.[19] However the same Japanese name may also read Chiyota Shōkai, and the use of the brand name Chiyotax (and "Chiyota" on at least one example) might indicate that this is the correct reading.

The exact name of the manufacturer of the Chiyoca and Chiyotax models is not precisely known, and might have varied with time. Some sources say that it was Reise Optical Institute (presumably a translation for Reise Kōgaku Kenkyūjo, ライゼ光学研究所),[20] and later Reise Camera Company, Ltd. (maybe for Reise Kamera K.K., ライゼカメラ㈱),[21] but no original document has yet been found to confirm this.

The engravings on the camera itself varied from Chiyoca Camera Company, Ltd. to Chiyotax Camera Company, Ltd. to Reise Camera Company, Ltd. The former two names do not necessarily indicate that there was an actual company called that way, and might be dummy names, on the like of the Camera Works dummy names used before 1945.[22]

The markings on the lenses specifically made for the camera are Lena–Kogaku, then Reise–Kogaku, and we may speculate that the company was called Lena Kōgaku (レナ光学) at the beginning, before it became Reise.

Notes

  1. ↑ This is the chronology adopted in Sugiyama, items 3214–6, in HPR, pp.175–81, in McKeown, p.205, in this page by Ian Norris, and with some variations in this page by Nekosan and this page at Pacific Rim.
  2. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.355.
  3. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.355.
  4. ↑ Z and 20: example pictured in HPR, p.177. Z and 20–1: example pictured in this page at Pacific Rim. B and 20–1: example pictured in this page by Ian Norris.
  5. ↑ Rigid barrel: HPR, p.178. This is repeated in this page by Ian Norris. This lens is described as collapsible in McKeown, p.205, but this might be a confusion with the later, official, Hexar 50mm f/3.5.
  6. ↑ Sugiyama, item 3214, and this page by Nekosan.
  7. ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.147.
  8. ↑ HPR, pp.179–81, Sugiyama, item 3216.
  9. ↑ HPR, p.179.
  10. ↑ Example observed in an online auction (presumably not a fake).
  11. ↑ B and 20–1: example pictured in HPR, p.180.
  12. ↑ Z and 20: example pictured in HPR, p.179.
  13. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.355.
  14. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.355.
  15. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.355, McKeown, p.205.
  16. ↑ The word Chiyoda, literally meaning "one-thousand generation rice field", is a fairly common company name, and is also the name of a ward in Tokyo.
  17. ↑ Example observed for sale by a dealer.
  18. ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.148.
  19. ↑ HPR, p.175, says Chiyoca Shoki but this is clearly a mistake.
  20. ↑ Sugiyama, items 3214–5 and 3220, HPR, p.175.
  21. ↑ Sugiyama, item 3218, HPR, p.175.
  22. ↑ Sugiyama, items 3216–7 and 3219, attributes the camera to these companies, certainly on the basis of the top engraving only.

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. Items 602–5 and 1360.
  • Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). Chiyotakkusu IIF (チヨタックスIIF, Chiyotax IIF). In Camera Collectors' News no.34 (April 1980). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P.27.
  • HPR. Leica Copies. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-874485-05-4. Pp.175–82.
  • 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). P.84.
  • 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). Pp.205–6.
  • Sugawara Hiroshi (菅原博). Kangei demodori musume Chiyotakkusu tenmatsuki (歓迎出戻り娘チヨタックス顛末記, Details of a Chiyotax which returned home). In Camera Collectors' News no.247 (January 1998). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.7–9.
  • 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. Items 3214–20.

Links

In English:

In Japanese:

Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Chiyoca_and_Chiyotax&oldid=12011"