Japanese 3×4 and 4×4 pseudo TLR
The Riken Chukon Ref was a 3x4cm format camera released around 1940. It was a pseudo TLR: its shape imitated a twin lens reflex but it was fixfocus and the finder was nothing more than a big brilliant finder. It had a black bakelite body, a Chukon Anastigmat 50/6.3 3-element lens and a T-B-25-50-75-100 shutter marked Chukon Ref and R.K.K. for Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō (Riken Optical Industries). It is said at Ricoh's corporate site that it was only sold by Riken and made by another company.
Most of the info above comes from Ricoh's corporate site, very few other information has been found.
Note: The name Chūkon (忠魂) means "faithful spirit" and can have the sense of "loyal dead" or "war dead". Riken used such weird "patriotic" names during the war.
Links
Ricoh's corporate website:
| Asahi Bussan and Riken prewar and wartime cameras () | ||
|---|---|---|
| rigid or collapsible | ||
| Vest Adler | Gokoku | Semi Kinsi | Letix | Olympic | New Olympic | Regal Olympic | Semi Olympic | Super Olympic | Vest Olympic | Riken No.1 | Ricohl | Roico | Seica | Zessan | ||
| folders | pseudo TLR | TLR |
| Semi Adler | Adler III | Adler A | Adler B | Adler C | Adler Four | Adler Six | Gaica | Heil | Kinsi | Chukon Ref | Ricohflex | Ricohflex B |
