Kraft
Template:127 Japan The Kraft (クラフト) is a 4×4cm format camera, using 127 film, made by Ehito Kōgaku Kōgyō from 1941 to 1943.[1] It has a metal body and a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly, and two models are known. All the Kraft cameras have a nameplate screwed on the front of the top housing, with the KRAFT name and the serial number.
Contents
Original model
The original model is very similar to the Letix sold by Riken. It is unknown if the two cameras are related or if Ehito simply copied the Letix. The main difference is the body in metal instead of bakelite, and the slightly more angular shape.
The camera is covered by a top housing except the space around the advance knob, at the left end of the top plate. The advance knob itself is very thick has an arrow engraving above, and the camera is equipped with auto-stop film advance. The tubular optical finder is a distinct part, centred above the top housing, and the accessory shoe is on the right end. Between the shoe and the finder is an exposure counter made of a fully exposed disc engraved from 1 to 12. This device was necessary because at the time, the film paperback was not marked for 4×4cm pictures. Between the finder and the advance knob there is a button that perhaps unlocks the auto-stop advance device.
This model is offered in an advertisement dated January 1942[2], in two variants, both with a Kraft Anastigmat 5cm f/3.5 lens:
- Kraft I: Licht shutter by Seikosha giving T, B, 25, 50, 100 speeds (¥109);
- Kraft II: Perfect shutter by Neumann & Heilemann giving B, 1–300 speeds (¥125).
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 336.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 68.
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. Item 76.
- 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). Pp. 548–9.
Links
In Japanese:
- Kraft in the A–Z 127 film cameras at Asacame
