Nifcarette

Template:127 Japan The Nifcalette (ニフカレッテ), made in 1929, was the first camera by Nichi-Doku, the later Minolta. For its conception, Kazuo Tashima, the founder of the company, was helped by the German engineers Billy Neumann and Willy Heilemann (see Neumann & Heilemann). At the time, the lens and shutter were imported from Germany, only the body was made in Japan.

The Nifcalette was a vertical style folding camera, taking 4x6.5cm exposures on 127 film. It had a brilliant finder, sometimes also a folding frame finder. Winding was by a key and the advance was controlled by a red window. It had black or metal trim.

The book by Francesch lists eleven lens/shutter combinations, in three body variants called Nifcalette A, Nifcalette B and Nifcalette D.

The camera that is most often illustrated is the one displayed at Konica Minolta's page. It has a folding frame finder, metal trim, a Wekar Anastigmat 75/6.3 lens, a Pronto 25-50-100-B-T shutter with the AGC logo, and is marked Nifca 3774 in handwritten style under the shutter.

Other variants known by pictures, with no frame finder and black trim:

• Hellostar Anastigmat Munchen 75/6.3, Koilos 25-50-100-B-T shutter marked Nifca Photo in handwritten style, no frame finder, black trim (camera often illustrated, with lens s/n 75004)
• f/8 lens and Vario or Pronto shutter

The Nifcalette name

"Nifca" comes from Nichi-Doku Foto Camera (explanation given at Konica Minolta's official site, also in the book by Francesch). Nichi in Nichi-Doku means Japan, and it is certainly not coincidental that "Nifca" can also be read as Nippon Foto Camera.

Nifcalette is sometimes written Nifcarette. In Japanese it is written the same and it is unsure which Roman transcription was used by Nichi-Doku at the time. This name was certainly inspired by the names of some German cameras of the time, like the Icarette, Cocarette and Rollette, as well as the Japanese Pearlette.

Bibliography

• Histoire de l'appareil photographique Minolta de 1929 à 1985, D. & J.P. Francesch, ed. Dessain et Tolra

Links

• A page about the Minolta folding cameras, at the Manual Minolta website.
• A page about the Nifcalette at kefk.net
• The Nifcalette page at the Konica Minolta official history site
• A page with the Nifcalette at the Yone Lab website