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, meaning Copal Optical Works Co Ltd). It changed its name in 1962 for the simpler K.K. Copal (株式会社コパル, meaning Copal Co Ltd).[1]
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, mainly for Japanese SLR cameras. The best known model was the Copal Square vertical travel shutter with metal curtains.
Leaf shutters
Copal-MX
With B, 1–300 speeds and M/X dual synchronization:
Notes
- ↑ Company history in Copal's official website. Shunkan o torae-tsuzukeru shattā-ten says 1959 instead of 1949 for the constitution of K.K. Copal Kōki Seisakusho, it is surely a typo.
Bibliography
- Kamera no mekanizumu sono I: "Hai! Chīzu" Shunkan o torae-tsuzukeru shattā-ten (カメラのメカニズム・そのⅠ・「ハイ！チーズ」瞬間をとらえ続けるシャッター展, Camera mechanism, part 1 "Cheese!" Exhibition of instant taking shutters). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2002. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number)
Links
In English:
- Company history in English and in Japanese (with clickable links) at the Copal official website
- Repair notes of a Copal 4-speed shutter and of a Copal MXV shutter at Daniel Mitchell's website
