Light (4×6.5)

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Japanese Vest (4×5 and 4×6.5) (edit)
folding
4×4.5 Orient
4×5 Minion
4×6.5 Clover Vest | Dianette | Eagle | Friend | Kooa | National | New Vest | Nifcarette | Pearlette | B Pearlette | Special Pearlette | Pionette | Pocket Prince | Sirius Bebe | Speed Pocket | Tsubasa Spring | Victory
rigid or collapsible
4×5 Alfax | Olympus Standard | Sakura (bakelite) | Well Standard
4×6.5 Vest Adler | Vest Alex | Kowa Kid | Light | Light Super | Baby Minolta | Minolta Vest | Regal Olympic | Vest Olympic | Tsubasa Chrome | Zen-99
box
4×6.5 Baby Clover | Sakura (box) | Spirit
unknown
4×5 Vesten
4×6.5 Victor Vest
unknown Meiro
Japanese 3×4 and 4×4, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

The Light (ライト) is a Japanese camera using 127 film, distributed in 1940 by various companies, including Sasaki Shōten, Tōyō Shōkai and Yamamoto Shashinki-ten.[1]

Description of the body

The Light is a dual-format camera, taking 4×6.5 and 3×4 exposures. The lens and shutter assembly is mounted on a telescopic tube. The body has a chrome top plate, with a knob at each end. The finder is slightly offset to the left and is contained in a rectangular housing, with a built-in accessory shoe. The name Light is inscribed above, in the same style as the contemporary Leica engravings. It seems that the bottom plate is chrome too.

Lens and shutter equipment

The Light was advertised in June 1940 by Sasaki Shōten and in November 1940 by Tōyō Shōkai and Yamamoto Shashinki-ten.[2] It was offered for ¥28 with a Light Anastigmat f/6.3 lens and a shutter called Colt or New-Colt, giving B, 25, 50, 75, 150 speeds and probably everset. The shutter plate is marked NEW-COLT at the top. The advertisements have a Light logo, similar to the top engraving. They mention a helical (ヘリコイド式) but it actually seems that the camera is fixed-focus.

Notes

  1. Date: advertisements and articles listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 342.
  2. June 1940: advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 100. November 1940: advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Awano, p. 7 of Camera Collectors' News no. 274.

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 290.
  • Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Maikuro kamera (senzenhen)" [マイクロカメラ(戦前編), Mycro cameras (prewar)]. In Camera Collectors' News no. 274 (April 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp. 1–10.

The Light is not listed in Sugiyama.