Olympic
Olympic was the name of a series of Japanese cameras made before World War II. They were introduced in 1934 by the Olympic Camera Works (オリンピックカメラ製作所株式会社, Olympic Camera Seisakusho Kabushiki Kaisha) and sold by the trade company Asahi Bussan Gōshi Kaisha (旭物産合資会社). Both companies were bought in 1937 by Riken Kankōshi K.K. (理研感光紙株式会社, Riken Sensitized Paper Co Ltd). The Olympic and Asahi Bussan company names remained in use for some time, then were dropped.
Riken Kankōshi set up the Asahi Optical Industries (旭光学工業株式会社, Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K.), then itself became Riken Optical Industries (理研光学工業株式会社, Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K.) in 1938. It is unclear whether it was Riken Optical or Asahi Optical who maintained the camera business.
127 film
The first model was the Olympic A, taking 3x4 pictures on 127 film. Introduced in 1934, it was the first Japanese camera made of bakelite. The lens was a fixfocus 50mm f/8 Japar (?) and the shutter was of the time & instant type. The lens and shutter assembly, of an octogonal shape, was mounted on a retracting bakelite helical. This also served as a crude focusing device. On the top of the body there was a folding frame finder.
The Olympic B, also from 1934, had a 50mm f/6.3 Olynar Special lens, a B-25-50 shutter and a rigid optical finder, but it still had the same crude focusing system. Both the Olympic A and B were introduced in 1934.
In 1936, the Olympic A was probably replaced by the Olympic Junior, that looked like the Olympic B with a 50mm f/8 Olynar lens and a time & instant shutter.
The New Olympic C, also from 1936, used the same 3x4 format. It had a Ukas Anastigmat 50mm f/4.5 triplet lens with front cell focusing and a 25-50-100-150-B-T shutter advertised as "Olympic System". It had a rigid optical viewfinder of a different shape, and different knobs too. Behind the lens and shutter assembly the helical ring was now metallic, marked New Olympic Mod. C 3x4cm. On the shutter plate there was marked New Olympic and Pat. No. 194303, and a logo with "A" and "B" mixed in a circle, probably for Asahi Bussan. There was also a plate engraved The Olympic Camera Works on the camera body, near the back opening. The Olympic Junior and the Olympic C were still advertised in 1938.
The New Olympic C also existed in 4x4 format, exactly like the 3x4 version except the finder. There were three red windows in the back because the rollfilm paper was not adapted for 4x4 exposures. It was marked New Olympic Mod. C 4x4cm on the helical ring (seen here at asacame). The same model has been seen with Olympic Four instead of New Olympic on the shutter plate, maybe a transition with the following model.
The Olympic Four, taking 4x4 pictures, was almost the same as the New Olympic C 4x4. The lens and shutter were the same. Only the knobs and the helical ring were different. The helical ring had no markings. The shutter plate was marked New Olympic or other markings. The lens was later renamed Heil Anastigmat. (The names used by Riken, like Adler or Heil, remind sinister times.)
A Vest Olympic was introduced in 1938 for 4x6.5 pictures, with a metal body. It had a Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 lens and a 25-50-100-150-B-T shutter, with Vest Olympic and Fiskus engraved on the shutter plate. Vest Olympic was also engraved in the back. The lens and shutter assembly was mounted on a telescopic tube. In the finder there were two red lines, delimiting the frame of a 3x4 picture. It was probably possible to take 3x4 pictures with a mask, but there is only one red window in the back.
A Regal Olympic was advertised in 1938 as a 4.5x6 and 3x4 dual format body, with Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 lens and the same 25-50-100-150-B-T shutter. In the illustration, it looks like the Olympic C, but bigger and with a probably metal body. It is not shown at Ricoh's Japanese corporate site.
120 film
A Semi Olympic was introduced in 1937, taking 4.5x6 pictures on 120 film. It had a folding optical finder, a 75mm f/4.5 Ukas Anastigmat lens and the ubiquitous 25-50-100-150-B-T shutter. It was maybe also called New Olympic II.
35mm film
The Super Olympic D was the first 35mm Japanese camera with a leaf shutter (the first 35mm Japanese camera was the Hansa Canon). It had the same features as the Olympic 3x4. The lens and shutter were the same: Ukas Anastigmat 50mm f/4.5 and Olympic System 25-50-100-150-B-T. It used 35mm film in daylight cassettes. The original version used two cassettes and no film rewind, while the Super Olympic DIII could use only one film cassette with a film rewind knob.
Miscellaneous
Shutters from 1s to 1/250 and lenses with f/3.5 maximal aperture were advertised in 1938 as "available on request".
An Olympic enlarger model D was also sold, with darkroom equipment and tripods.
There is a Semi Renky 4.5x6 camera that looks very much like an Olympic. It is apparently made by a company named Rengo Koki (連合光機). There are at least two versions:
- Semi Renky with bakelite body, 25-50-100-150-B-T shutter, f/4.5 lens and accessory shoe, RengoKoki and Tokyo on the helical ring, Semi Renky on the shutter plate and Semi Renky in capital letters on a body plate similar to the plate with The Olympic Camera Works (illustrated here at Japan Family Camera)
- New Semi Renky with a different metal body, same shutter, Tenobar Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens
- marked RengoKoki (and Tokyo?) on the helical ring, New Renky on the shutter plate, no body plate
- marked New Semi Renky and Rengo Koki Tokyo? on the helical ring, Semi Renky on the shutter plate, no body plate
Source
The main source of this article is the Ricoh corporate site, together with a 1938 ad in the British Journal Almanac and a couple of Japanese websites.
Links
Ricoh corporate site:
Asacame:
- Riken 127 film cameras at asacame
- Olympic at asacame, (first camera presented probably not an Olympic?)
- Vest Olympic at asacame
Japan Family Camera:
- Olympic Four at Japan Family Camera
- Vest Olympic at Japan Family Camera
- Semi Renky at Japan Family Camera
Other:
