Iris
The New Iris (新アイリス號)[1] is a Japanese plate folder sold by Ōsaka Shashinki Shōkai on mail order. It was available in meishi (5.5×8cm) and tefuda (8×10.5cm) size.
The camera is only known from a single advertisement.[2] It is described as patterned on the cameras made by the American company Chester;[3] however this Chester company is otherwise unknown. The picture shows double extension bellows driven by a small wheel on the photographer's right, vertical and perhaps horizontal movements, a brilliant finder with a bubble lever on the side, and a handle at the top.
The text describes a "Z shutter", with 1/25 and 1/50 settings, apparently containing Waterhouse aperture stops, and a two-element lens. An additional illustration shows a Kodak shutter inscribed KODAK BOARD BEARING SHUTTER, giving 1/50, T, B, 1/25 settings. The inscription is highly dubious, and is probably an erroneous transcription of "Kodak Ball Bearing Shutter" by the Japanese drawer who made the illustration. The shutter was available separately for ¥8.50. The lens is called "Z77", perhaps because it has f/7.7 maximal aperture. It was offered separately for meishi size, at ¥3, and for tefuda size, at ¥3.50.
The camera itself was supplied with three plate holders, in the following versions:
- New Iris R, for tefuda (¥17½) and meishi (¥14½);
- New Iris S, for tefuda (¥24) and meishi (¥20);
- New Iris Special (特), for tefuda (¥40) and meishi (¥30);
- New Iris Ro, for tefuda only (¥60).
Notes
- ↑ The name has only been observed in Japanese characters, and the Roman spelling "Iris" is hypothetical only.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Morishita, p.70 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.22.
- ↑ The text reads: "米国チェスター会社の製品と同式にして".
Bibliography
- Morishita Hajime (森下肇). "Atomu-han kamera no subete" (アトム判カメラのすべて, All of Atom-size cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.22, September 1992. No ISBN number. Airesu no subete (アイレスのすべて, special issue on Aires). Pp.55–70.