Copal
Copal is a Japanese company making camera shutters and based in Tokyo.
The activity began in 1946 as a private business, and in 1949 it became K.K. Copal Kōki Seisakusho (株式会社コパル光機製作所, means Copal Optical Works Co Ltd). It changed its name in 1962 for the simpler K.K. Copal (株式会社コパル, means Copal Co Ltd).
The Copal leaf shutters are used on many rangefinder, TLR and view cameras. They are high quality shutters which tend to cost less than Compur shutters.
There are several variations of the shutter. Some use a simple inertia gear set to regulate speed. Other Copal shutters, such as the widely used MX, obtain a wider range of speeds by using a typical escapement, but have the same basic design.
Copal also made focal plane shutter units, for the Japanese SLRs. The best known model was the Copal Square vertical travel metal curtain shutter.
Links
- Copal's official website
- A page about a Copal 4-speed shutter and about a Copal MXV shutter at Daniel Mitchell's website
