Melcon
The Melcon is a Japanese Leica copy, made from 1955 by Meguro Kōgaku Kōgyō and distributed by Hinomaruya.
Description
The Melcon was developed by a former employee of Kumatani Genji at Kōgaku Seiki, the workshop which made the Nippon Leica copy during the war.[1] It is copied on the Leica screw mount models, with a horizontally running focal-plane shutter and a Leica screw mount.
The camera has a die-cast body and an integral top plate, as on the Leica IIIc and later. The position of the controls — advance knob, exposure counter, release button, rewind lever, speed dial and rewind knob — is the same as on the Leica. The advance knob contains a film reminder disc at the top, with ASA, COLOR and EMPTY positions. The main speed dial has the following positions: B, 25–1, X, 50, 75, 100, 200, 500, and the slow speed dial at the front has T, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25.
The camera is synchronized for flash, and has a single PC socket at the front. There is a knob at the rear of the top housing, next to the viewfinder eyepiece, with F and S indications, for synchronization at Fast or Slow speeds.[2]
The eyepieces of the viewfinder and rangefinder are somewhat distant, and the rangefinder eyepiece has a diopter correction lever, the same configuration as the Leica IIIa. The viewfinder window is surrounded by a rectangular bump, with a small screw certainly used for rangefinder adjustment. The frames around the rangefinder windows are not identical, that on the right window being thicker. There is no hump or lever under the rewind knob, unlike the Leica IIIc.
The back is hinged to the right for film loading, and is retained by a sliding bar on the left. The take-up spool is fixed,[3] and the camera cannot take Leica cartridges. The inside of the back has two ribs and a bridge-like metal part next to the pressure plate, presumably to enhance film planeity. The tripod thread is on the advance side, under the camera. There are no strap lugs on the camera body.
The name Melcon is engraved on the top plate, together with the company name Meguro Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. Japan and a black line and red dot indication the position of the film plane. The serial number is inscribed in front of the accessory shoe: N°xxxxx.
Notes
- ↑ Shirai, pp.25–6 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte: 熊谷氏の会社の職人だった人々が作ったカメラに、やはりライカそっくりの「タナック」、「チヨタックス」、「メルコン」があるという.
- ↑ Awano, p.4 of Camera Collectors' News no.32.
- ↑ HPR, p.228.
Bibliography
Original documents
- Asahi Camera Advertisements by Hinomaruya in October 1955 (p.180), November 1955 (p.110) and December 1955 (p.115).
- Asahi Camera October 1955. "Shashin-kai nyūsu" (写真界ニュース, Photographic News). Pp.156–7.
- Photo Art rinji zōkan: Kamera no chishiki (フォトアート臨時増刊・カメラの知識, Photo Art special issue: Knowledge of cameras). October 1955, no.87 of the magazine. "Kokusan kamera no saiten 1. 35-miri kamera" (国産カメラの祭典・1・35ミリカメラ, Japanese camera festival 1, 35mm cameras). P.82.
- Shashin Kōgyō no.40, October 1955. "Nyūsu furashu" (ニュースフラシュ, News flash). P.256.
- Shashin Kōgyō no.52, September 1956.
- "Renzu kōkan-shiki 35-miri kamera no genjō" (レンズ交換式35ミリカメラの現状, Current state of 35mm rangefinder cameras with interchangeable lens). Pp.171–3.
- "Kokusan kamera memo" (国産カメラメモ, Memo of Japanese cameras). P.217.
- Shashin Kōgyō no.53, October 1956. "Renzu kōkan-gata kamera go-shu o kentō suru" (レンズ交換型カメラ五種を検討する, Inspecting five cameras with interchangeable lens). Pp.265–9.
- Yashima Shōhei (矢島庄平). "Merukon kamera sekkei no yōten" (メルコンカメラ設計の要点, Main points of the design of the Melcon camera). In Shashin Kōgyō no.43, January 1956. Pp.16–8.
Modern sources
- 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 960.
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Merukon I-gata" (メルコンI型, Melcon I). In Camera Collectors' News no.32 (April 1980). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.4–6.
- HPR. Leica Copies. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-874485-05-4. Pp.226–8.
- 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). P.657.
- Pont, P.-H., and Princelle, J.-L. 300 Leica Copies. Neuilly: Fotosaga, 1990. ISBN 2-906840-03-3. Pp.216–7.
- 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 3413.
Links
In English:
- Melcon at Pacific Rim Camera
- Melcon and Melcon family at Ian Norris' Prime Lens
- Melcon at Nekosan's website
- Past sales by Westlicht:
- Melcon, body only: lot no.358 of auction no.6 (November 6, 2004)
- Melcon with Nikkor-H.C 5cm f/2: lot no.307 of auction no.8 (November 27, 2005)
- Melcon with Nikkor-H.C 5cm f/2: lot no.398 of auction no.9 (May 20, 2006)
In Japanese:
