Difference between revisions of "Lord (Tōkyō Kōgaku)"
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== Bibliography == | == Bibliography == | ||
| − | * Advertisements. ''Asahi Camera'', January 1938, p. A74, February 1938, p. A30 and March 1938, p. A40. | + | * Advertisements. ''[[Asahi Camera]]'', January 1938, p. A74, February 1938, p. A30 and March 1938, p. A40. |
* {{Antonetto Russo}} Pp. 22–3. | * {{Antonetto Russo}} Pp. 22–3. | ||
* {{Showa10}} Item 332. | * {{Showa10}} Item 332. | ||
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[[Category: Topcon]] | [[Category: Topcon]] | ||
[[Category: Nobility]] | [[Category: Nobility]] | ||
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[[Category: L|Lord, Topcon]] | [[Category: L|Lord, Topcon]] | ||
Revision as of 11:22, 20 March 2007
The Lord (ロード) is a Japanese 4.5×6 camera with a coupled rangefinder. It was the first camera model made by Tōkyō Kōgaku (later Topcon).
Description
The Lord has a rigid body and a two-part telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. The tube is mounted on a large focusing helical driven by a focusing tab, with an infinity stop attached to the body. The combined range and viewfinder is enclosed in a top housing, with a LORD logo at the front. The eyepiece is at the right end of the camera.
There is a big advance knob at the left end of the top plate, containing an exposure counter. It is said that the camera has an auto-stop advance device with manual setting of the first exposure.[1] This device seems to be entirely contained inside the advance knob. The back is hinged to the right and contains a red window to set the position for the first exposure.
The shutter is a Seikosha, giving T, B, 1–250[2] speeds with a self-timer. The shutter plate is marked SEIKOSHA-TOKYO at the top and SEIKOSHA at the bottom, and has three metal strips on each side of the lens. There is a near-vertical bar attached to the shutter housing, serving as the shutter release; its top end resembles a flat-blade screwdriver.[3] The lens is a 7.5cm f/3.5, and the aperture is set by an index at the bottom of the shutter plate.
History
Baird says that the project of the Lord was initiated in September 1936, the first prototypes were made in February 1937 and production began in July 1937.[4] It is estimated that only 50 examples of the Lord were built in 1937 and 1938.[5] It is said that the production was halted because the military designs took priority after the outbreak of war with China in 1937. This is probably only part of the truth, minimizing the fact that the camera was unreliable.[6]
The identical full-page advertisement for the Lord was placed in the January 1938 to March 1938 issues of Asahi Camera, and featured in the new products column (p. 470) of the March 1938 issue.[7] The Lord was offered for ¥180, soon (近日).
The lens described and pictured in the advertisement is a Toko Anastigmat (トーコー・アナスチグマット) 7.5cm f/3.5. The shutter is called S Seiko (Sセイコー), an alternative name of the original Seikosha.
Surviving examples
At least one example has survived and is presented in collectors' books.[8] It is equipped with a Simlar 7.5cm f/3.5 lens, said to be a four-element Tessar type while Toko lenses have three elements.
Two other changes are visible when compared with the camera illustrated in the advertisement. The advertised camera has a small button between the advance knob and the top housing, absent in the surviving example, and whose function is unknown. It also has a different helical: the distance scale is black with white engravings and needs half a turn to go from infinity to the closest distance (1, probably for one metre), while on the surviving example the distance scale is chrome with black engravings and only turns a quarter of a turn.
Notes
- ↑ Auto-stop advance with manual setting: Antonetto, p. 22; "Atarashii kikai to zairyō", p. 470. The March 1938 advertisement observed only says "new system of film advance" (巻取装置の新考案).
- ↑ Antonetto and Russo, p. 23, say 1/200 top speed by mistake.
- ↑ Antonetto and Russo, p. 23, mention folding rods running inside the telescopic tube to connect the release button to the shutter. Either it is a mistake, or their description applies to an unknown variant.
- ↑ Baird, p. 71.
- ↑ Baird, p. 71; Antonetto and Russo, p. 23; Sugiyama, item 3052.
- ↑ Baird, p. 71, and Antonetto and Russo, p. 23, both mention reliability problems in the rangefinder coupling mechanism but say that the Lord was stopped because of military priorities. They probably cite an internal source of the Topcon company. It is worth noted that the next camera made by Tōkyō Kōgaku (the Minion 4×5cm folder) was advertised as early as April 1938. (Source: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 341.) The same war priority story is told elsewhere about the Olympus Standard, with equal doubts about the camera's reliability.
- ↑ The advertisements differ only in ink color; they are on pp. A74, A30 and A40 of the January, February and March issues respectively. The advertisement is reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 105. See also Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 343.
- ↑ Antonetto and Russo, p. 23; Baird, p. 71; Schneider, p. 109; Sugiyama, item 3052; this page of the Topcon Club website. (The pictures are better in Schneider and Sugiyama.) The camera illustrated is probably the same, with lens number ending in "09", said by Sugiyama to belong to the company.
Bibliography
- Advertisements. Asahi Camera, January 1938, p. A74, February 1938, p. A30 and March 1938, p. A40.
- Antonetto, M. and Russo, C. Topcon Story. Lugano: Nassa Watch Gallery, 1997. ISBN 88-87161-00-3. Pp. 22–3.
- 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 332.
- "Atarashii kikai to zairyō" (新しい機械と材料, New equipment and materials). Asahi Camera, March 1938, pp. 467–71. The monthly survey of new products; the Lord is written up on p. 470.
- Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6. P. 71.
- Schneider, Jason. Jason Schneider on Camera Collecting, Book Two. Des Moines, Iowa: Wallace-Homestead, 1982. ISBN 0-87069-419-7. P. 109.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 3052.
Links
In Japanese:
- Lord in a page of the Topcon Club website (a 75/6.3 lens is mentioned by mistake)
