Kaitenkei
The Kaitenkei (回転計, meaning "revolution counter") is a Japanese spy camera developed by Tōkyō Kōgaku in the late 1930s. The camera was reportedly developed in 1937, on request from the Army Science Institute.[1] It is said that the Kaitenkei was more expensive than comparable foreign cameras,[2] and that only few were made for that reason.[3]
The Kaitenkei reportedly takes ten exposures on 8mm cine film, has a 13.9mm f/2.8 lens and a guillotine shutter with a single speed setting (1/50).[4] It is shaped as a matchbox, 32.5×24×15mm in size.[5]
At least one Japanese matchbox camera is known to exist today; it is not known if it was related to the Kaitenkei.
Notes
Bibliography
- Antonetto, M. and Russo, C. Topcon Story. Lugano: Nassa Watch Gallery, 1997. ISBN 88-87161-00-3. P.23.
- Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6. P.71.