Olympic

Olympic was the name of a series of Japanese bakelite cameras made before World War II. They were produced from 1934 by the company Olympic Camera and sold by the associated trade company Asahi Bussan. Most early Olympic cameras have an AB logo, surely for Asahi Bussan.

Both companies were bought in 1937 by Riken Kankōshi and were reorganized as the depending company Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō (unrelated to the company Asahi Kōgaku that later became Pentax). It seems that from that date the Olympic models were made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō and sold by Riken Kankōshi, that became Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō in 1938, the predecessor of Ricoh. The cameras have an AKK logo, surely for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō.

For the 4×6.5 Vest Olympic and Regal Olympic metal models, see Vest Alex and Vest Olympic.

Models using 127 film

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.

Models using 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.

Models using 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.

Bibliography

• Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7.
• Ricoh Camera no Subete (リコーカメラのすべて, All the Ricoh cameras), issue no. 14 (1 October 1989) of Classic Camera Senka (クラシックカメラ専科). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama.

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
  • Super Olympic D & DIII
• Pages of the Asacame website:
  • Olympic (the first camera pictured is a Baby Chrome, not an Olympic) among the 127 film cameras from A to Z
  • Riken 127 film cameras
• Olympic Four at Japan Family Camera (the back picture mistakenly shows a Vest Olympic)
• Olympic Junior and 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, with an Olympic C and an Olympic Four