Nishida

Nishida was a Japanese camera maker, active at least in the 1950s. Its full name was Nishida Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. (西田光学工業株式会社).

The name "Nishida" consists of two parts: nishi, meaning "west"; and ta, whose pronunciation many Japanese people find distinguishable from the "ter" sound of English "turn". Thus the name "Wester" for Nishida's products: "west" from nishi, and "ter" from ta.

Nishida Kōgaku went bankrupt in January 1958.

120 film

6×6 folders

• Wester Chrome Six
• Wester Chrome Six R, some with a Zuiko F.C. 75/3.5 lens
• Wester Autorol
• Wester S2

4.5×6 folders

McKeown lists the Mikado Semi 4.5×6 folding camera under both Nishida and Sumida, but a page of the AJCC attributes it to the latter, and a picture of the back of a Mikado shows a plate marked SUMIDA OPTICAL WORKS.

35mm film

• Auto West

Links

In English:

• An article about the Wester S2 in English and the original Japanese version, at Takahara Minoru's website

In Japanese:

• An article about the Wester Chrome Six at Puppy's Island, with an ad and some sample pictures
• Wester Chrome Six repair notes at Takasaki Motohiro's camera site
• A post by Arcticchar with pictures of the Wester Chrome Six at his Fishing Diary blog
• Wester Chrome Six R and Wester S-2 at Japan Family Camera
• A Wester S2 at Vasolza's home page

Reference / further reading

• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper) ISBN 0-935398-16-3 (hard) (Source for bankruptcy.)