Difference between revisions of "Heliostar"

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The '''Heliostar''' lenses, originating from the German company [[Steinheil]], are found on various Japanese cameras of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Heliostar lenses are not found on Western cameras, and it seems that the trademark was used for export to Japan only.
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The '''Heliostar''' lenses are found on various Japanese cameras of the late 1920s and early 1930s. They do not appear on Western cameras, and it seems that the trademark was used in Japan only.
  
 
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|| ''Left: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/4.5 lens no.79355 on a [[Nifca and Molta plate folders|Lomax]].''<br>''Right: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/6.3 lens no.96185 on a [[Tokiwa plate folders|Tokiwa No.3]].''<br>''Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. {{with permission}}''
 
|| ''Left: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/4.5 lens no.79355 on a [[Nifca and Molta plate folders|Lomax]].''<br>''Right: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/6.3 lens no.96185 on a [[Tokiwa plate folders|Tokiwa No.3]].''<br>''Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. {{with permission}}''
 
|}
 
|}
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The full engraving is ''M. Steinheil München Heliostar'' on the early lenses, replaced by ''Heliostar Anastigmat München'' with no indication of the company on later lenses.<REF> The early marking is visible in [http://asacame.fc2web.com/htmfolding/sirius.htm this page at Asacame]. </REF> (In the marking, the word "Heliostar" is easily mistaken for ''Hellostar''.)
  
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The full engraving is ''M. Steinheil München Heliostar'' on the early lenses, replaced by ''Heliostar Anastigmat München'' with no indication of the company on the later lenses.<REF> The early marking is visible in [http://asacame.fc2web.com/htmfolding/sirius.htm this page at Asacame]. </REF> (In the marking, the word "Heliostar" is easily mistaken for ''Hellostar''.)
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== Origin ==
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At first glance, the early engraving seems to indicate that the Heliostar lenses originated from the German company [[Steinheil]]. However some details are strange, notably the "M. Steinheil" writing, which is found nowhere else and does not correspond to the initials of any known member of the Steinheil family.<REF> The history of Steinheil in Wilkinson and Glanfield's ''Lens collector's vade mecum'' mentions Karl August, Hugo Adolf, Eduard and Rudolf as the main members of the Steinheil family who founded and ruled the company. </REF> The engraving style does not correspond to that of contemporary Steinheil lenses either, and the serial numbers do not seem to belong to the same sequence.
  
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It is not completely certain that the Heliostar lenses were assembled in Germany. At a later date in the mid-1930s, some Japanese companies assembled complete lenses from separate lens elements imported from Germany (see the Radionar lenses by [[Neumann & Heilemann]]). The same might be true of the Heliostar, but nothing is confirmed yet.
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The above points give almost compelling evidence that the engraving of the lens bezel did not take place at [[Steinheil]] but in Japan. This might suggest that the lenses were locally assembled from imported elements. (At a later date in the mid-1930s, the Japanese company [[Neumann & Heilemann]] assembled Radionar lenses from loose elements supplied by [[Schneider]].)
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The removal at some point of the prestigious Steinheil name is quite surprising. It might suggest that the initial use of the name was unauthorized: the non standard "M. Steinheil" was perhaps a mere trademark usurpation, and even the continuous use of the place name "München" was perhaps deceiving. Another plausible reason for dropping the name would be a switch in the supplier of the lens elements or lens units.
 +
 
 +
The only absolute certainty is that the individual lens elements were manufactured in the West. It is widely reported that the manufacturing of complex camera lenses did not occur in Japan until [[Konica|Konishiroku]] released the [[Hexar lenses|Hexar]] in 1931 (see the corresponding page). If another Japanese company had developed a purely national Anastigmat lens in that early period, it would not have faked a German origin with a "München" marking.
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The Heliostar lenses were frequently mounted on cameras made by [[Minolta|Molta]] (predecessor of [[Minolta]]). The [[Minolta and Auto Minolta|original Minolta]] strut-folder by the same company have an Actiplan Anastigmat München 105mm f/4.5 lens, whose origin might be the same as that of the Heliostar. This lens was in turn replaced by an Actiplan Anastigmat Nippon with similar features.
  
 
== List of cameras equipped ==
 
== List of cameras equipped ==
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* [[Asanuma Shōkai]]. ''Shashinki to zairyō'' (写真機と材料, Cameras and supplies). Catalogue dated October 1941. Pp.7 and 9. Document partly reproduced in [http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebollo_fr/sets/72157602475194663/ this Flickr album] by Rebollo_fr.
 
* [[Asanuma Shōkai]]. ''Shashinki to zairyō'' (写真機と材料, Cameras and supplies). Catalogue dated October 1941. Pp.7 and 9. Document partly reproduced in [http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebollo_fr/sets/72157602475194663/ this Flickr album] by Rebollo_fr.
 
* ''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) P.21. (Has a picture of a Heliostar 105mm f/4.5 lens in a Lidex shutter.)
 
* ''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) P.21. (Has a picture of a Heliostar 105mm f/4.5 lens in a Lidex shutter.)
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* Wilkinson, M. and Glanfield, C. ''A lens collector's vade mecum''. Version 07/05/2001. Distributed as a CD or PDF file.
 
* Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Shashin renzu hattatsu-shi dai-12-kai: Kokusan renzu no rekishi (zenpen)" (写真レンズ発達史第12回・国産レンズの歴史[前編], History of the development of photographic lenses no.12: History of the Japanese lenses [first part]). In {{CCN}} no.56 (February 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.11–6. (Shows a picture of a Heliostar lens.)
 
* Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Shashin renzu hattatsu-shi dai-12-kai: Kokusan renzu no rekishi (zenpen)" (写真レンズ発達史第12回・国産レンズの歴史[前編], History of the development of photographic lenses no.12: History of the Japanese lenses [first part]). In {{CCN}} no.56 (February 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.11–6. (Shows a picture of a Heliostar lens.)
  

Revision as of 23:35, 16 January 2009

The Heliostar lenses are found on various Japanese cameras of the late 1920s and early 1930s. They do not appear on Western cameras, and it seems that the trademark was used in Japan only.

2522013657_b320c87acd_m_d.jpg 2471204626_f44432ce2a_m_d.jpg
Left: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/4.5 lens no.79355 on a Lomax.
Right: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/6.3 lens no.96185 on a Tokiwa No.3.
Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. (Image rights)

The full engraving is M. Steinheil München Heliostar on the early lenses, replaced by Heliostar Anastigmat München with no indication of the company on later lenses.[1] (In the marking, the word "Heliostar" is easily mistaken for Hellostar.)

Origin

At first glance, the early engraving seems to indicate that the Heliostar lenses originated from the German company Steinheil. However some details are strange, notably the "M. Steinheil" writing, which is found nowhere else and does not correspond to the initials of any known member of the Steinheil family.[2] The engraving style does not correspond to that of contemporary Steinheil lenses either, and the serial numbers do not seem to belong to the same sequence.

The above points give almost compelling evidence that the engraving of the lens bezel did not take place at Steinheil but in Japan. This might suggest that the lenses were locally assembled from imported elements. (At a later date in the mid-1930s, the Japanese company Neumann & Heilemann assembled Radionar lenses from loose elements supplied by Schneider.)

The removal at some point of the prestigious Steinheil name is quite surprising. It might suggest that the initial use of the name was unauthorized: the non standard "M. Steinheil" was perhaps a mere trademark usurpation, and even the continuous use of the place name "München" was perhaps deceiving. Another plausible reason for dropping the name would be a switch in the supplier of the lens elements or lens units.

The only absolute certainty is that the individual lens elements were manufactured in the West. It is widely reported that the manufacturing of complex camera lenses did not occur in Japan until Konishiroku released the Hexar in 1931 (see the corresponding page). If another Japanese company had developed a purely national Anastigmat lens in that early period, it would not have faked a German origin with a "München" marking.

The Heliostar lenses were frequently mounted on cameras made by Molta (predecessor of Minolta). The original Minolta strut-folder by the same company have an Actiplan Anastigmat München 105mm f/4.5 lens, whose origin might be the same as that of the Heliostar. This lens was in turn replaced by an Actiplan Anastigmat Nippon with similar features.

List of cameras equipped

This list is incomplete, and not all the versions have a Heliostar lens:

Enlarging lenses

2431664455_ba49e128d6_m_d.jpg 1602563128_9ee9db3aa7_m.jpg
Left: Heliostar Anastigmat München 105mm f/6.3 enlarging lens no.94093. Picture courtesy of Jay Tepper. (Image rights)
Right: Asanuma Shōkai catalogue dated October 1941, listing the Heliostar 105mm f/6.3 enlarging lens. (Image rights)

The Heliostar 105mm f/6.3 lens was also supplied for enlargers.[3] It was listed in an Asanuma Shōkai catalogue as late as October 1941, for ¥33.43.[4]

Table of known lenses

Lens numbers are known in a wide range: lowest is 73230 and highest is 96185. Here is a list of the Heliostar lenses observed so far:

lens number lens type shutter camera[5]
73230 105mm f/6.3
(Steinheil marking)		 Koilos Sirius
73x25 105mm f/6.3
(Steinheil marking)		 Koilos Sirius
7427x 105mm f/4.5 Koilos Sirius
75004 75mm f/6.3 Koilos Nifcarette
75739 105mm f/4.5 Neuheil Arcadia
75791 130mm f/4.5 Ibsor Weha
78237 130mm f/4.5 Neuheil Weha
7912x 105mm f/4.5 Neuheil Weha
79355 105mm f/4.5 Koilos Lomax
81392 105mm f/4.5 Lidex unknown[6]
81897 105mm f/4.5 Lidex Happy
84086 105mm f/6.3 Neuheil Weha
84311 105mm f/6.3 Koilos Tokiwa
861x1 105mm f/4.5 Koilos unknown[7]
8758x 105mm f/4.5 Lidex Weha
94093 105mm f/6.3 _ enlarger[8]
96185 105mm f/6.3 Lidex C Tokiwa

Notes

  1. ↑ The early marking is visible in this page at Asacame.
  2. ↑ The history of Steinheil in Wilkinson and Glanfield's Lens collector's vade mecum mentions Karl August, Hugo Adolf, Eduard and Rudolf as the main members of the Steinheil family who founded and ruled the company.
  3. ↑ Examples pictured in this article, in this page at Takasaki Motohiro's website, and observed in an online auction on a CH enlarger.
  4. ↑ Catalogue by Asanuma Shōkai dated October 1941, p.16.
  5. ↑ The source is indicated in the page on the corresponding camera, or in a dedicated footnote when the camera model is unknown.
  6. ↑ Lens pictured in Yazawa, p.16 of Camera Collectors' News no.56.
  7. ↑ Camera pictured in this page at Monomono.
  8. ↑ Lens pictured in this article.

Bibliography

  • Asanuma Shōkai. Shashinki to zairyō (写真機と材料, Cameras and supplies). Catalogue dated October 1941. Pp.7 and 9. Document partly reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.
  • 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) P.21. (Has a picture of a Heliostar 105mm f/4.5 lens in a Lidex shutter.)
  • Wilkinson, M. and Glanfield, C. A lens collector's vade mecum. Version 07/05/2001. Distributed as a CD or PDF file.
  • Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Shashin renzu hattatsu-shi dai-12-kai: Kokusan renzu no rekishi (zenpen)" (写真レンズ発達史第12回・国産レンズの歴史[前編], History of the development of photographic lenses no.12: History of the Japanese lenses [first part]). In Camera Collectors' News no.56 (February 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.11–6. (Shows a picture of a Heliostar lens.)

Links

In Japanese:

Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Heliostar&oldid=25003"