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). Some of the first Olympic cameras had an AB logo, surely for Asahi Bussan.

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), who formed the depending company Asahi Optical Industries (旭光学工業株式会社, Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K., unrelated to the company who later became Pentax). The name Asahi Bussan still appeared in a 1938 ad. In 1938, Riken Kankōshi itself became Riken Optical Industries (理研光学工業株式会社, Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K.), the later Ricoh. It seems that both Riken Optical and Asahi Optical produced cameras. It was probably Asahi Optical Industries who produced the Olympic cameras after 1937, and the late Olympic cameras have an AKK logo, surely for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō.

127 film

Template:127 Japan The first model was the Olympic A, taking 3×4 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 (probable Roman writing of ジャパー) 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 T, B, 150-100-50-25 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 4×4 format, like the 3×4 version except the finder. There were three red windows in the back because the rollfilm paper was not adapted for 4×4 exposures. It was marked NEW OLYMPIC MOD.C 4X4CM on the helical ring. Shutter speeds were always T, B, 150-100-50-25. Three different shutter plates have been observed:

• marked Olympic Four with AB logo (on a camera with a flush metal part replacing the top right knob)
• marked Olympic Four with AKK logo
• marked New Olympic with AKK logo in a circle, surely for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō (see for example here at Asacame)

The Olympic Four, taking 4×4 pictures, was almost the same as the New Olympic C 4×4. The knobs differed and the helical ring was now unmarked. The lens was the same Ukas Anastigmat 50/4.5. It has been observed with a shutter plate marked New Olympic with AKK logo (see here at Japan Family Camera) and reversed 25-50-100-150, B, T shutter speeds. At Ricoh's site it is shown with a shutter plate marked Heil and shutter speeds apparently 5-10-25-50-100-150, B, T. According to Ricoh, the lens was renamed Heil Anastigmat at some point. (The names used by Riken, like Adler or Heil, remind sinister times.) A 1940 advertisement, shown at some website and barely readable, seems to list two variants, Olympic Four I and Olympic Four II, at two different prices. A Japanese catalogue, probably from 1942, listed the Olympic Four for ¥37, case in supplement for ¥6.70.

The Vest Olympic was introduced around 1938 for 4×6.5 pictures, with a metal body. It had a Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f:4.5 lens and a 25-50-100-150, B, T shutter. The shutter plate was engraved Vest Olympic and Fiskus, with the AKK logo. 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 3×4 picture. It was probably possible to take 3×4 pictures with a mask, but there is only one red window in the back. The Vest Olympic shown at Ricoh's site has a black accessory shoe at the right of the viewfinder. The same catalogue as above listed the Vest Olympic for ¥48, case in supplement for ¥6.70.

The Vest Alex was a name variant of the Vest Olympic, sold by the distributor Misuzu Shōkai. Only the lens and shutter differed. It is illustrated in McKeown (at the Misuzu Trading entry): the shutter plate is marked Vest Alex and Complete, the B, 25-50-100 shutter speeds are selected by a moving index, and the lens is reported as an Efith Anastigmat 75/6.3. It is also pictured at this page of the All Japan Classic Camera Club, very similar except reversed 100-50-25, B shutter speeds selected by the rim, and an intricate logo. According to Asacame, the Vest Alex also existed with an f:4.5 lens.

A Vest Adler has been reported with a 75/4.5 Ukas Anastigmat, a Fiskus shutter and telescopic tube (for sale at a dealer). It could be another name variant of the Vest Olympic.

A Regal Olympic was advertised in 1938 as a 4×6.5 and 3×4 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

The Semi Olympic was introduced in 1937, taking 4.5×6 pictures on 120 film. It had a 75mm f:4.5 Ukas Anastigmat lens and a 25-50-100-150, B, T shutter. Two variants exist, one with a folding optical finder and the other with a tubular optical finder similar to the other models. The winding knob was at the bottom right, and there were two red windows at the top of the back to control the film advance. The body was molded with imitation leather. The shutter plate was marked SEMI OLYMPIC on top, MADE IN JAPAN and FISKUS at the bottom with the AKK logo on the right (see for example here at Oozusi's site). The helical ring was marked SEMI OLYMPIC SIZE 4.5X6CM, there was the usual plate marked The Olympic Camera Works on the left, and the back was embossed NEW.OLYMPIC. Indeed the Semi Olympic may also have been called New Olympic II, according to Ricoh's site.

A very similar camera has been observed at a Yahoo Japan auction, probably called Semi Kinsi. It was like the Semi Olympic with folding optical finder but the advance knob was at the top left and there was an accessory shoe at the top right. The shutter plate was marked Kinsi with the AKK logo on the right, and the shutter had T, B, 150-100-50-25 speeds. The helical ring was marked SEMI KINIS (with a typo) and SIZE 4.5X6CM. There was the usual plate marked The Olympic Camera Works on the left. The lens marking was barely legible in the auction's picture, but Kinsi Anastigmat 75mm f:4.5 is plausible. The name Kinsi normally applies to a 3×4cm folder sold by Riken.

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 T, B, 150-100-50-25 everset. 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. The Super Olympic D was embossed SUPER at the left side of the bakelite body. It was marked SUPER OLYMPIC MOD.D PICTURE SIZE 3.6 X 2.4 CM on the helical and the shutter plate was marked Super Olympic with the AB logo (Asahi Bussan).

Three variants have been observed:

• simple advance knob, at the left there is a flat disc with a window (exposure counter?) and a small button (variant most commonly observed, marked MOD.D for sure, thought to be the Super Olympic D)
• two part advance knob, at the left there is a two stage rewind knob (?) (variant only observed in a 1938 ad in the British Photography Journal Almanac, maybe marked MOD.DII, barely readable, could be the Super Olympic DII?)
• two part advance knob, same as above, simple rewind knob at the left, flat disc with a window (exposure counter?) between the rewind knob and the finder (variant pictured at Ricoh's site, maybe marked MOD.DIII, barely readable, could be the Super Olympic DIII?)

Miscellaneous

Shutters from 1s to 1/250 and lenses with f:3.5 maximal aperture were advertised in the 1938 British Photography Journal Almanac as "available on request". None has been observed since.

An Olympic enlarger model D was also sold, with darkroom equipment and tripods.

Links

In English:

• Innovative 135 non SLR page at Massimo Bertacchi's camera site

In Japanese:

• Pages from the Ricoh corporate site: an article about the Olympic A-C, another about the Super Olympic D and the Ricoh camera list, with:
  • Olympic A
  • Olympic B
  • Olympic Junior
  • Olympic C
  • Olympic Four
  • Semi Olympic / New Olympic II
  • Vest Olympic
  • Super Olympic D & DIII
• Pages at the Asacame website: a page about Riken 127 film cameras and A-Z 127 film cameras, with the Olympic (the first camera presented is a Baby Chrome, not an Olympic) and the Vest Olympic
• Vest Olympic and Olympic Four (rear picture is from a Vest Olympic) at Japan Family Camera
• The Olympic Junior and the Super Olympic D in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology
• Semi Olympic at Oozusi's Ricohflex site, the viewfinder is self-made, not original
• Prewar Japanese 127 camera page at Nekosan's website
• A Vest Alex in a page of the All Japan Classic Camera Club