Elka shutter

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The Elka was a Japanese leaf shutter made in the 1930s.

See also the Semi Elka, a 4.5×6cm camera made in 1941.

Origin

The maker of the Elka shutter is not known for sure. Some versions have T.B.C.T. markings or a TB logo.

A Semi Elka 4.5×6cm camera is reported in the official price list dated November 1941, where it is attributed to the company Banno Toyoji Shōten, which is otherwise unknown.[1] The "TB" logo might stand for Toyoji Banno, but this is merely a guess.

The company Fuji Kōgaku is also known to have made an Elka rangefinder in 1936,[2] but it is not known if it is related.

Versions

It seems that the first versions of the Elka shutter are dial-set, up to mid-1936, and that it became rim-set after that date.[3]

The known dial-set Elka have 25, 50, 100, B, T speeds and a simple "self-timer" actuated by a needle; the name ELKA is inscribed in capital letters on the speed wheel cover and the initials T.B.C.T. are written in small capital letters underneath.[4]

The plain Elka has B, 25, 50, 100 speeds set by an index, and the name Elka in small letters at the top of the shutter plate.[5] Some illegible text is also written at the bottom.

The Elka-C has 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, B, T speeds set by turning the rim, the words Patent–Pending at the top, the name ELKA–C at the bottom and a TB logo on the right.[6] (This TB logo is probably related to the T.B.C.T. marking on the dial-set version.) One example is known with the same name and markings but 100, 50, 25, B, T speeds only; however this particular example was crudely repaired during the war, and its speed rim was perhaps substituted.[7]

An Elka-B is also reported, giving T, B, 5–200 speeds, but has not been observed so far.[8]

Cameras equipped

This list is incomplete, and not all the versions of the cameras listed have an Elka shutter:

Associated with an unknown lens

In the advertisements, the Elka shutter is often associated with a lens called トリオナー (torionā) in katakana script. The corresponding Roman spelling is unclear, and is discussed in the Trionar page.

Notes

  1. ↑ The name is hardly legible as 伴野豊治商店. This might read "Tomono Toyoji Shōten" as well.
  2. ↑ Advertisement dated March 1936 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.137.
  3. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.388 (item 157), says that the July 1936 advertisement in Asahi Camera for the National (4×6.5) shows a shutter of the "old Vario type" whereas the following ones show a shutter of the "new Vario type".
  4. ↑ Dial-set Elka pictured in Yazawa, p.11 of Camera Collectors' News no.265, and on the Need plate folder in Sugiyama, item 1212.
  5. ↑ Simple rim-set Elka on the National (4×6.5) pictured in Sugiyama, item 1209.
  6. ↑ Elka-C pictured in Yazawa, p.11 of Camera Collectors' News no.265, and leaflet for the Gold Camera, reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.
  7. ↑ Example pictured on the Neure Six in the Umemoto history page.
  8. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.336 (item 102).

Bibliography

  • Anonymous company. Leaflet for the Gold Camera. Date not indicated. Document reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.
  • 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.
  • "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 3, sections 6A and 7A.
  • 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.
  • Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (175) Kubi no shūshū" (レンズの話[175]首の収集, Lens story [175] Collection of heads). In Camera Collectors' News no.265 (July 1999). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.9–11.
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