Kinka plate folders
The Kinka (錦華カメラ) 6.5×9cm plate folders were made in the early 1930s by Yamamoto Shashinki Kōsakusho. One source says that they were released in 1931.[1] The company later made a number of other cameras under the Kinka brand: see Kinka Lucky, Kinka Roll and Semi Kinka.
Contents
The wooden Kinka
The original Kinka has a mixed body with a wooden rear casing and metal folding bed. There are small folding struts, double extension bellows driven by a small wheel on the photographer's right, and a distance scale on the left. The camera has a collapsible brilliant finder with a square window, and a wireframe finder with a rounded eyepiece on the rear.
Only one example has been observed so far.[2] It has vertical movements driven by a knob atop the right-hand branch of the U-shaped front standard, and perhaps horizontal movements as well. Its lens is an Anastigmat Trioplan 10.5cm f/4.5 by Meyer, mounted in a dial-set Vario shutter (25, 50, 100, B, T), with a simple "needle" self-timer.
The metal Kinka
The next model has an all-metal body, and a focusing worm screw on the photographer's right. It has double extension bellows, the same viewfinder eyepiece and the same folding struts as the previous model. The pulling handles at the base of the front standard have a different cylindrical shape. The vertical and horizontal movements are perhaps still available, but the setting knob has disappeared. The brilliant finder has a different shape with a round window.
The June 1932 advertisement in Asahi Camera says that the Kinka was copied by a host of other cameras, whose most prominent sales point is to keep silent on their build quality. The pictures show the metal model with worm screw focusing; an oval plate engraved KINKA HAND CAMERA is visible inside the folding bed. The camera was supplied with three plate holders and one film pack holder. The following versions are listed, all with Meyer Anastigmat lenses:[3]
- f/6.3, New Vario, ¥32;
- f/4.5, New Vario, ¥39;
- f/4.5, Auto Pronto, ¥45;
- f/4.5, Ibsor, ¥50;
- f/4.5, Auto Compur, ¥65.
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| Advertisement in Asahi Camera June 1932. (Image rights) |
The two surviving examples pictured in Sugiyama are similar to the camera presented in the June 1932 advertisement. One of them has a Trioplan 10.5cm f/6.3 lens and a Vario shutter (25, 50, 100, B, T).[4] The other has a Maro Anastigmat 105mm f/6.3 lens and a dial-set shutter (25, 50, 100, B, T), also inscribed MARO on the speed dial.[5] This Maro brand is otherwise unknown.
The Kinka C and Kinka D
The Kinka C is a cheaper version of the original Kinka, and it has the same folding struts and wireframe finder. It was advertised in Asahi Camera in July 1935.[6] It only exists with an f/8 lens, and the shutter plate shown in the advertising picture is inscribed KINKA C at the top. It seems that the focusing worm screw has disappeared, and the camera is perhaps focused by manually moving the front standard. It was sold for ¥15 with one plate holder and one film pack holder.
The Kinka D is a more expensive model, presented together with the Kinka C in the July 1935 advertisement.[7] It has double extension bellows and a patented exposure table. The folding struts and handle attachment differ from that of the previous models, and the wireframe finder has been replaced by a folding frame finder attached to the rear. Two versions are listed:
- Radionar f/3.5 lens, Rulex A shutter (1–200), ¥70;
- Trionar[8] f/4.5 lens, Elka shutter, with simple self-timer, ¥40.
One surviving example of the Kinka D has been observed with the Rulex and Radionar combination; the Radionar lens was made by Neumann & Heilemann, certainly under license from Schneider. The camera has a small focusing wheel on the photographer's right.
An advertisement in the December 1935 issue of Photo Times says that Kikōdō was a distributor of the Super, Kinka and Peter cameras.
The Kinka C was reportedly advertised again in Asahi Camera December 1936.[9] This is the last known mention of a Kinka plate folder.
Other
The camera pictured as a Kinka in Lewis does not correspond to any of the models described above: it has different folding struts, a different wireframe finder, and a focusing wheel to the right.[10] It has an Elka shutter with a hole for a thread-and-pin self-timer, and the lens engraving perhaps has Fuji Optische Werk.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Lewis, p.47.
- ↑ Example pictured in this page at Asacame.
- ↑ Lewis, p.47, gives similar lens and shutter options, but says "Auto Prontor" for "Auto Pronto", certainly by mistake.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 1073.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 1073.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.67.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.67.
- ↑ Inferred from the katakana トリオナー.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.335.
- ↑ Lewis, p.47.
- ↑ The engraving is barely legible, but the name "Fuji Optische Werk" is reported in McKeown, p.328, for the company Fuji Kōgaku.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) June 1932. Advertisement by Yamamoto Shashinki Kōsakusho on p.A34.
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7. Items 64–5 (see also the advertisement for items 124–5).
- Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp.47–8.
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P.1020.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Items 1073–4.
Links
In Japanese:
