Kaitenkei

From Camera-wiki.org
Revision as of 18:56, 9 September 2010 by Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (one more source)
Jump to: navigation, search

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

  1. Baird, p.71; Antonetto and Russo, p.23.
  2. Baird, p.71; Antonetto and Russo, p.23.
  3. Baird, p.71. Antonetto and Russo, p.23, say that the camera was not accepted by the Army.
  4. Baird, p.71; Antonetto and Russo, p.23.
  5. Baird, p.71.

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.