Difference between revisions of "Nōman Flex"
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Revision as of 16:43, 29 May 2007
The Nōman Flex[1] (ノーマン・フレックス) is a Japanese 6×6 TLR made in 1942 and 1943 by Ihara Kōgaku and distributed by Sugihara Shashinki-ten.[2]
Advertisements and other documents
The Nōman Flex was offered as a new model in advertisements dated May and October 1942, for ¥290 (a high price, the same as the Auto Semi Minolta).[3] The May advertisement said that the camera was the result of many years of research by the company Ihara Kōgaku (井原光学が多年研究の結果). In the advertisements, the lens was mentioned as a K.O.L. f/3.5.
The camera was also mentioned in the "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), listing the Japanese camera production as of April 1943.[4] The lens was given as a three-element K.O.L. Nōman Trio 75/3.5 made by Gojō (the successor of Kajiro Kōgaku) and the shutter as a Nōman I (B, 1–300) made by Ihara.[5]
Description
The Nōman Flex is a copy of the Rolleicord. The whole front plate moves back and forth for focusing, and the film advance is probably semi-automatic. The distance and advance knobs are to the photographer's right, and there is a round window at the top of the right-hand side plate, certainly for an exposure counter. The shutter release was advertised as completely suppressing motion blur. Two levers are visible and it is not known which one is the shutter release: one is sliding under the front standard and the other is on the left-hand side of the front plate.
The camera has some sort of internal synchronization device, and one of the advertising pictures shows the camera with a flash unit attached to the left hand plate.
The nameplate has a stepped frame and reads Nōman Flex (with a macron). The company name Ihara Kogaku is written below.
The only suriving example observed so far is pictured in Sugiyama.[6] The lens and shutter equipment is similar to what is described in the 1943 inquiry.[7] It seems that the shutter plate is written Nōman Model I.
Notes
- ↑ The spelling "Norman Flex" found in Sugiyama, item 2018, and in this page at Japan Family Camera is a mistake.
- ↑ Dates: advertisements listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 338.
- ↑ May 1942: advertisement reproduced in Inoue's article, p. 132. (The advertisement's reproduction has a handwritten note reading SB 1942.5, certainly indicating that the advertisement was found in the May 1942 issue of Shashin Bunka.) October 1942: advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 81.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 123.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item 123.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 2018. The lens
- ↑ The lens name is given as "K.O.L. Norman Trion" and the shutter name as "Norman Model 1" in Sugiyama, certainly by mistake.
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 166.
- Inoue, Mitsuo (井上光朗). "Shashin renzu no yoake. Renzu-ya Funsenki" (写真レンズの夜明け・レンズ屋奮戦記, Dawn of the photographic lens – Fierce war tales between lens shops). 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 128–132.
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7. Item 123.
- 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 2018.
