Meteor, Vestkam, Epochs and Beauty 14
The Meteor, Vestkam, Epochs and Beauty 14 are subminiature cameras taking 17.5mm film, made by Taiyōdō in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Description
All the models take ten 14×14mm exposures on 17.5mm film. They are better finished than the average Hit-type cameras, and have a much sleeker design. The viewfinder is contained in a clean top housing, covering the whole length of the camera. The advance knob is integrated at the left end (as seen by the photographer).
The back is hinged to the left for film loading, and is locked by a sliding bar on the right. It contains a single red window, protected by a sliding cover. The film plane is incurved to compensate the lens aberrations, and the pressure plate is shaped accordingly. The spool holder on the supply side in hinged and can pulled out to make film loading easier.
All the models have a fixed focus and aperture. The details of the lens engraving and shutter unit vary according to the models.
Single finder models
Meteor
The Meteor (メテオール) was first announced in the January 1948 issue of Kohga Gekkan.[1] Advertisements appear in Japanese magazines from March 1948 to June 1949.[2] The name "Meteor" is spelled correctly in advertisements until late 1948, but all later advertisements have the name "Meteall" instead.[3] No actual camera has been observed with "Meteall" markings, and the newer spelling is thought to be a misprint, because "Meteall" and "Meteor" would be pronounced the same by a Japanese speaker. However the fact that this misprint lasted for six months and displaced the correct spelling (instead of the reverse) remains unexplained.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.370; Awano, p.1 of Camera Collectors' News no.239. Awano reports that the column refers to an earlier US-made Meteor camera. He speculates that this is a confusion with the Japanese camera, but the US camera is most probably the Universal Meteor.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.370; Awano, p.1 of Camera Collectors' News no.239.
- ↑ Awano, p.1 of Camera Collectors' News no.239, says that the name appears as "Meteor" in Ars Camera until September 1948 and in Kohga Gekkan until December 1948, and as "Meteall" after that date. The advertisement in Ars Camera October 1948 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.200, is confirmed to have "Meteall". The advertisement on p.6 of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin April 20, 1948, reproduced on p.84 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku, has "Meteor".
- ↑ This is commented in Awano, p.1 of Camera Collectors' News no.239.
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. Items 727, 802 and 959.
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Meteōru, Besutokamu, Epokkusu" (メテオール、ベストカム、エポックス, Meteor, Vestkam, Epochs). In Camera Collectors' News no.239 (May 1997). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha.
- 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.113 and 911–2.
- Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin (日本写真興業通信). Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku (百号ごと十回の記録, Ten records, every hundred issues). Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin Sha (日本写真興業通信社), 1967. No ISBN number. Advertisements on p.84, corresponding to p.6 of the April 20, 1948 issue.
- Pritchard, Michael and St. Denny, Douglas. Spy Cameras — A century of detective and subminiature cameras. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1993. ISBN 1-874485-00-3. Pp.77–9.
- 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. Items 5014, 5034, 5063 and 5155.
Links
In English:
- Epochs, Meteor and Vestkam at Submin.com (the page on the Beauty shows a Beauty 16)
- Beauty 14, Epochs, Meteor and Vestkam among 17.5mm film cameras at Subclub.org
- Vestkam in Moshe Bar-El's camera collection
- Vestkam in Nigel Richards' website
- Vestkam among other subminiature cameras at the Subminiature site of Gary Sivertsen