Lausar and Baika
The Lausar is only known from a letter by Ōishi Hiroshi (大石博) to the Japanese magazine Kurashikku Kamera Senka.[1] It is a 3×4 camera with a focal plane shutter, of which about ten prototypes were made by the company Tomioka: this was confirmed to Mr Ōishi by the company, the date being told as "at the time of the China events" (支那事変当時), an euphemism designating the war with China which broke out in 1937. According to the pictures, the camera's general aspect and the layout of the controls are very similar to the Gokoku but the body is slightly more angular. The name Lausar is engraved on the top plate above the viewfinder, together with a logo, the company name Tomioka Kogaku Tokyo and the serial number.[2] The speed dial seems to have Z, 30–500 settings. The lens is a collapsible Tomioka Lausar 5cm f/3.5 with a focusing tab and an infinity stop. It is not known if it is interchangeable. The striking design similarity leads to the hypothesis that Riken took over the Lausar project from Tomioka and developed it into the Gokoku.
The Baika (バイカ)[3] is only known from Kokusan kamera no rekishi, quoting a column in the April 1937 issue of Camera Club. It is said to be a 3×4 camera with a focal plane shutter giving B, 25–500 speeds, automatic stop film advance, chrome fittings and a collapsible Lausar f/4.5 lens.[4] It seems that it was presented as a Leica copy, and the name "Baika" itself is very close to Leica (ライカ, raika in Japanese). It is attributed to the department store Ōsaka Daimaru Hyakkaten which was obviously only the distributor.[5] The presence of the Lausar lens by Tomioka and the similarity of the specifications suggests that the Baika was another name for the Lausar camera.
Notes
- ↑ Dokusha-dayori, pp.161–2 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14.
- ↑ The serial number is in the 11xx range, perhaps 1198.
- ↑ The Roman spelling "Baika" is given in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.338, but it is unconfirmed.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.338.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.338.
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 172.
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Kokusan Barunakku-gata kamera: Gokoku, Rikōru" (国産バルナック型カメラ・ゴコク、リコール, Japanese Leica-type cameras: Gokoku, Ricohl). In 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.37, March 1996. No ISBN number. Leica Book '96 (ライカブック'96). Pp.58–9.
- Ōishi Hiroshi (大石博). Letter to Kurashikku Kamera Senka in Dokusha-dayori (読者だより, Readers' letters). 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.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.161–2.
- Pont, P.-H., and Princelle, J.-L. 300 Leica Copies. Neuilly: Fotosaga, 1990. ISBN 2-906840-03-3. P.198. (Brief mention only, the Lausar and "Baica" are wrongly described as name variants of the Riken No.1.)
The Lausar and Baika are not listed in Sugiyama.
