Kraft
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.
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 back is said to be removable together with the bottom plate, like on the Letix.[2]
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 and 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. On the nameplate, the serial number is written after the name KRAFT.
This model is offered in an advertisement dated January 1942[3], in two variants, both with a Kraft Anastigmat f/3.5 front-cell focusing lens and both equipped with a self-timer:
- 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).
The advertisement mentions a double exposure prevention device. However that would need a linkage from the shutter release lever to the advance mechanism, that is obviously not present in the variant equipped with an everset Licht. The focal length of the lens is not given. An example of the Kraft I has been observed with a Kraft Anastigmat 60mm f/3.5 lens.[4] Another example (serial number 2751) has been observed with a Kraft Anastigmat 5cm f/3.5 lens mounted in a B, 1–300 shutter marked KRAFT-WORKS on the speed rim and at the bottom of the shutter plate.[5] This shutter is maybe the Perfect with other markings.
The advertisement also displays the name of Ishii Shōkai, probably the distributor of the Kraft.
Late model
The late model has a modified top housing incorporating the viewfinder. The exposure counter disc is now under the top housing, and is only visible though a crescent-shaped window. There is a depression under the left hand button. On the nameplate, the serial number is written under the name KRAFT.
One example has been observed with a Kraft Anastigmat 5cm f/3.5 front-cell focusing lens mounted in the same Kraft-Works B, 1–300 shutter as described above.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 336.
- ↑ Back: this page at Asacame.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 68.
- ↑ Example pictured in this page at Asacame, with serial number 2785.
- ↑ Example pictured in McKeown, p. 548, with serial number 2751.
- ↑ Example pictured in McKeown, pp. 548–9, with serial number 5117.
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
