Koho
The Koho (Kōhō) is a leaf shutter, made from 1937 by Takachiho (predecessor of Olympus). It was inspired by the German Prontor.[1] All the versions are in #0 size and have a self-timer. The Koho was mainly mounted on the Semi Olympus, Semi Olympus II and Olympus Six, but Takachiho also sold it to other makers.
Contents
Laurel predecessor
The first shutter made by Takachiho was called Laurel (ローレル, rōreru), it is the direct predecessor of the Koho. The Laurel has 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, B, T speeds. The early version of the Semi Olympus II, with off-centered finder, was advertised in late 1937 with a Laurel shutter.[2] The name "Laurel" was dropped because it was already registered,[3] and the picture of a Semi Olympus II appears in an advertisement dated May 1938 with the transitional name DAURED on the shutter rim.[4]
Koho shutter to 1/200, unusual variant with no T setting.
Picture courtesy of Richard Marks. (Image rights)
Versions of the Koho
The first version of the Koho is similar to the Laurel, with the same speed range: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, B, T. As seen from the front, it has the winding lever at the top right, the release lever at the top left, the selftimer lever with a red dot at the bottom left and a distance release post on the left. It was mounted on the regular version of the Semi Olympus II, and at least one example is known on an original Semi Olympus.[5]
The second version has the same controls and a top speed of 1/200. It has been observed on late examples of the Semi Olympus II and on at least one example of the original Semi Olympus.[6]
The third version has the same speed range (1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, B, T) but it is adapted for a body release. It has the winding lever at the top left, the selftimer lever with a red dot at the bottom left, and the release also at the bottom left, activated by the cam of the body release. The aperture setting has moved to the top of the shutter housing. This version was mounted on most variants of the Olympus Six. In some advertisements for the Olympus Six the shutter was sometimes called Koho II, Koho III or New Koho III.[7]
Other cameras equipped with a Koho shutter
This list is incomplete.
- first version
- V Semi First (with a First Anastigmat 7.5cm f/3.5 lens)[8]
- Semi Kelly[9]
- second version
- New Semi Condor[10] (It has what looks like a complicated linkage to a body release.)
- Ugein (single finder)[11]
- third version
- Mamiya Six III[12]
- Zeitax with a folding optical finder and a Zeitax Anastigmat 7.5cm f:3.5 lens[13]
- Sintax
- unknown version
- Semi Proud II (Baldax copy)
On all the above cameras except perhaps the Sintax, the shutter plate is marked Olympus Tokyo N. This plate has a cut for an aperture scale placed at the bottom, and it does not fit very well with the third version of the Koho. The Sintax has a SINTAX marking at the bottom of the shutter plate, probably filling the cut.
The Kōhō name
The name Kōhō was written コーホー in katakana, but it certainly comes from the word 高峰, which means "high peak" or "high mountain".[14] This is a clear allusion to the Olympus name (itself from Mount Olympus).
Notes
- ↑ Sakurai Eiichi, p. 65 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 20.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera (October 1937) reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 62, and in Hibi, p. 62 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 8. Brochure available in pdf format in this page of the Zuiko Club website.
- ↑ Francesch, p. 24. Hibi, p. 63 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 8, says that it was registered by Tōkyō Kōgaku but this is perhaps a confusion with the postwar Laurelflex made by that company.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Hibi, p. 62 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 8.
- ↑ Example pictured in Francesch, p. 57, in McKeown, p. 747, in Sugiyama, item 1214, in this page of the Olympus corporate site and in many other sources.
- ↑ Semi Olympus II: see for example this page of the Olympus Photo Club website. Semi Olympus: example pictured in Hibi, pp. 62 and 63 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 8, and in the catalogue of the Olympus exhibition of the JCII (cover, pp. 3 and 4).
- ↑ For example in an Olympus Six brochure available in this page of the Olympus corporate site.
- ↑ Example pictured in Baird, p. 75, and observed in an online auction.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 336.
- ↑ Example observed at an online auction.
- ↑ Example observed in an online auction.
- ↑ Example pictured in McKeown.
- ↑ See here.
- ↑ See this page of the Olympus corporate site, and Francesch, p. 24.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Baird, John R. Collectors guide to Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras. Grantsburg, WI (USA): Centennial Photo Service, 1991. ISBN 0-931838-16-9. P. 75.
- Francesch, Dominique and Jean-Paul. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27679-X.
- Hibi Takashi (日比孝). "Nihon no supuringu kamera: Orinpasu" (日本のスプリングカメラ・オリンパス, "Japanese folding cameras: Olympus"). 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.8, September 1986. No ISBN number. Supuringu kamera (スプリングカメラ, special issue on spring cameras). Pp. 62–5.
- Maitani Yoshihisa (米谷美久). "Kamera-zukuri he no bōken" (カメラ創りへの冒険, "Venturing into camera production"). Volume 1 of Haikei — Sekkeisha yori (拝啓・設計者より, "Dear Sir, from the designer"). Published in the Zuiko Club website, belonging to the Olympus Imaging Corp.
- McKeown
- Orinpasu-ten — oputo-dejitaru-tekunolojī no kiseki (オリンパス展・オプトデジタルテクノロジーの軌跡, Olympus exhibition, the tracks of opto-digital technology). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.)
Links
In Japanese:
- Olympus history pages at the Olympus Photo Club website:
- Brochures reproduced (in pdf format) in the in this page of the Zuiko Club website:
