Nishida lenses

Nishida made a number of lenses from the 1930s to the 1950s, sold to other camera makers or used on its own cameras.

For 6×6cm format: 75/4.5 and 75/3.5

From the late 1930s, Nishida offered a standard three-element 75mm lens for 6×6cm or 4.5×6cm format cameras, in f/4.5 and f/3.5 aperture. It was called Wester Anastigmat on most cameras, but was also supplied as the Lucky Anastigmat to go with the Fujimoto products.

The following list of cameras is probably incomplete, and the inclusion of a model does not mean that all the versions were equipped with Nishida lenses:

• Semi Lucky (Lucky 75/4.5 and Lucky 75/3.5)
• Semi Sport (Lucky 75/4.5 and Lucky 75/3.5)
• Semi Prince (Lucky 75/4.5, one isolated example)
• Semi First and First Six (Wester 75/4.5 and Wester 75/3.5)
• Semi Makinet (Wester 75/4.5 and Wester 75/3.5, wartime)
• Heil (Wester 75/3.5, one isolated example)
• Ricohflex B (Wester 75/4.5)
• Luminaflex (Wester 75/3.5, perhaps not original)
• BB Kuri (Wester 75/3.5)
• Semi Leotax (Wester 75/3.5, early postwar)
• Semi Masmy (C. Wester 75/3.5, postwar)
• National and Ugein (Wester 75/3.5)
• Ruvinal and Ruvikon (Wester and C. Wester 75/3.5)
• Semi Proud (postwar) (Wester 75/3.5)
• Apollo and Mikado (Wester 75/3.5)
• Wester (wartime 4.5×6)
• Semi Wester (postwar)
• Wester 6×6 folders

The Reginon and S-Reginon 75mm f/3.5 lenses of the postwar Semi Leotax and Semi Leotax DL and R are normally paired with Nishida's NKK Wester shutter, and were perhaps made by Nishida too.

For 4×4cm format: 70/4.5 and 65/3.2

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Nishida made the Super Anastigmat 70/4.5 and 65/3.2 lenses mounted on the Super Flex Baby 4×4cm SLR made by Umemoto and distributed by Kikōdō.

Bibliography

• "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.
• Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Semi Purinsu kara Rakku made — Takahashi Kenzō shi ni kiku." (セミプリンスからラックまで・高橋健三氏にきく, "From the Semi Prince to the Luck — Asking Takahashi Kenzō") 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.11, March 1988. No ISBN number. Shirarezaru kamera (知られざるカメラ, special issue on unknown cameras). Pp.50–1. Based on an interview of Takahashi Kenzō, former CEO of Fujimoto, who entered the company in 1934. (About the supply of lenses to Fujimoto.)