Olympic

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Picture courtesy of Rick Soloway. (Image rights)
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The Olympic are Japanese bakelite cameras made before World War II. They were distributed from 1934 by Asahi Bussan and from 1938 by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō (the predecessor of Ricoh). It seems that they were made by a company called Olympic Camera before 1937 and by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō after that date (a company that is unrelated to the predecessor of Pentax).[1]

This article deals with the 3×4cm and 4×4cm models using 127 film: see also the 24×36mm Super Olympic, the 4.5×6cm Semi Olympic and the 4×6.5cm Vest Olympic and Regal Olympic.

The Olympic A, B and Junior

General description

The Olympic A, B and Junior take 3×4 pictures on 127 film and share the same rounded bakelite body. There is a bakelite helical supporting the lens and shutter assembly and driven by a bakelite ring. This helical is used both to collapse or extend the lens and to focus the camera: there is a small distance scale on the right of the ring (as seen from the front). The advance knob is at the top right (as seen by a photographer holding the camera) and the viewfinder is in the middle of the top plate. The back is hinged to the right and has two uncovered red windows. The back is opened by pushing a button placed at the left end of the body.

The Olympic A

The first model was the Olympic A (オリンピックA型). Introduced in 1934, it was certainly the first Japanese camera made of bakelite.[2] It seems to be a copy of the Rubette or Baby Ruby by the German company Ruberg & Renner.

The Olympic A has a folding frame finder and a concave advance knob with a hexagonal nut in the middle. The shutter housing is octogonal and the shutter only has time and instant settings. The shutter plate is inscribed Olympic and probably MADE IN JAPAN on one side and seems to have patent numbers on the other.. There are only two aperture settings: SMALL and LARGE.

The Olympic A is one of the very first Japanese cameras that was offered for export. It was advertised under the name "Olympic" in the March 1934 issue of The British Journal of Photography.[3] The advertisement was by F. Charten & Co., based in Kobe and had the mention "Agent wanted".[4] The advertisement says that the lens is a double achromatic f/8.[5] The Olympic A was advertised in Japan in December 1934 for ¥9.75.[6] It was still advertised in August 1936 for the same price along more recent Olympic models.[7]

Surviving examples are pictured in Tanaka, in this page of the Ricoh website and in McKeown.[8]

The Olympic B

399252334_8fd0a9185b_m_d.jpg 399253753_a4c6ed695c_m_d.jpg 399252338_9fd70bddb3_t_d.jpg 399252331_afb39d0816_t_d.jpg
399252340_03ebb38515_t_d.jpg 399252341_7f38029ab8_t_d.jpg
Olympic B.
Pictures courtesy of Adrian Gotts. (Image rights)

The Olympic B (オリンピックB型) has a tubular optical finder and an advance knob with a flat top. The shutter gives B, 25, 50 speeds selected by an index. The shutter plate is inscribed Olympic on one side, PAT. NO. 194303 and sometimes MADE IN JAPAN on the other. The lens is engraved OLYNAR SPECIAL 1:6.3 F=50mm N°xxxxx. The aperture scale is at the bottom of the shutter plate and reads 6.3, 8, 12.5, 16, 25 on some examples and 6.3, 8, 10, 12, 15 on others.[9] It seems that the 6.3 to 15 scale is found on the examples marked as made in Japan, which were perhaps the examples made for export. The camera was sold in a box written OLYMPIC MOD. B and LENS OLYNER f:6.3 (the spelling of the lens name differs from the lens engraving).[10] The lens received quite unfavourable comments in an article by Kawara Kanji, where it is stated that the image is soft wide open and that there is strong vignetting at small apertures, the only satisfying aperture being f/8.[11]

The Olympic B was released in 1934, some months after the previous model. It was offered for ¥15 in the December 1934 and August 1936 advertisements cited above.[12] It was also offered for the same price in an advertisement dated March 1937 along with the Super Olympic and Olympic Junior.[13] The Olympic B was still listed for ¥19 in the Template:Kakaku1940 short compiled in October 1940.[14]

Surviving examples are pictured in Tanaka, in this page of the Ricoh website, in McKeown and in Sugiyama.[15]

The Olympic Junior

304283157_fe01c9c17b_m_d.jpg
Advertisement for the Olympic Junior
in Popular Photography February 1938.
Scan by Montanaman1. (Image rights)

The Olympic A was replaced by the Olympic Junior (オリンピックジュニアー) at the very end of 1936.[16] The new model is very similar to the Olympic B but only has B and 25 speed settings and an Olynar 50/8 lens. The shutter plate has a different design and is inscribed OLYMPIC JUNIOR on one side and PAT NO 194303 on the other. The shutter casing is silver instead of black. The lens is engraved OLYNAR 1:8 F=50mm NO. xxxxx and the aperture scale goes from 8 to 24.

The Olympic Junior was offered for ¥8.50 in advertisements dated February and March 1937.[17] It was exported to the United States and advertised by Candid Camera Supply Co. for $5.95 in February 1938.[18] It was also briefly mentioned in an advertisement by Asahi Bussan published at the end of 1937 in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938.[19] The Olympic Junior was still listed for ¥19 in the list of set prices compiled in October 1940.[20]

Surviving examples are pictured in Tanaka, in this page of the Ricoh website, in Lewis and in Sugiyama.[21]


The Olympic C

211819794_9933ec574f_m_d.jpg
Olympic C.
Picture courtesy of Rick Soloway. (Image rights)

The Olympic C (オリンピックC型) was released in 1936. It has a different bakelite body with angled edges. The lens is front-cell focusing and the bakelite helical is used only to collapse or extend the lens and shutter assembly. The helical is usually driven by a massive metal ring at the base, engraved NEW OLYMPIC MOD. C 3X4CM. (Despite this engraving, the camera was always called Olympic C in the advertisements and the name written on the original box is "Olympic Mod. C".)[22] The knobs and the tubular finder are different from the previous models. The back is hinged to the right and is opened by sliding a button. The name Olympic is moulded in the bakelite at the top of the back and there are two uncovered red windows. There is a nameplate inscribed The Olympic Camera Works next to the back latch.

The shutter plate is inscribed NEW OLYMPIC (in capital letters with larger "N" and "O") at the top, PAT. NO. 194303 and sometimes MADE IN JAPAN at the bottom, and has an AB logo for Asahi Bussan on the right. The speed settings are engraved T, B, 150, 100, 50, 25 in that order in the shutter rim. The lens is engraved UKAS Anastigmat 1:4.5 F=50mm Nr xxxxx. On the early examples, the distance numbers are engraved on the front of the lens rim; on later examples the distance scale is on the outer edge of the rim (one such example is pictured in this page).

The Olympic C was offered for ¥24 in the August 1936 advertisement cited above.[23] The advertising picture shows a very early example, perhaps a prototype. It has the same bakelite ring at the base of the helical and the same advance knob as the Olympic A, B and Junior, and it has only T, B, 100, 50, 25 speed settings.

The regular version of the camera, with the older focusing ring, was offered for the same price in February and March 1937 advertisement cited above.[24] It was also offered in an advertisement by Asahi Bussan published at the end of 1937 in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938.[25] (This advertisement also offered T, B, 1–250 shutters and f/3.5 lenses, mentioned as "available on request". None has been observed since on the Olympic C, but a Ukas Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 lens and a shutter giving T, B, 250, 150, 50, 25 speeds have been observed on a Super Olympic.)

An Olympic C with the later type of focusing ring was pictured in an advertisement by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō dated September 1939.[26] The Olympic C was still listed for ¥32 in the Template:Kakaku1940 short compiled in October 1940.[27]

The 4×4 models

The Olympic Four I

The Olympic Four (オリンピックフォアー) is a version of the Olympic C taking 4×4cm pictures. It appeared in 1938 and was called in retrospect Olympic Four I (オリンピックフォアーⅠ型) after the introduction of the model II.[28] This model is very similar to the Olympic C except for the finder and the back. There are three uncovered red windows because the rollfilm paper backing was not adapted for 4×4 exposures at the time. The helical ring is engraved NEW OLYMPIC MOD. C 4X4CM.

The lens and shutter are the same as on the Olympic C. It seems that the Olympic Four I only exists with the later type of focusing ring. Three types of shutter plates have been observed, differing by the marking at the top and the logo on the right (AB for Asahi Bussan or AKK for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō). They are listed in presumed chronological order:

  • OLYMPIC FOUR marking, AB logo;
  • OLYMPIC FOUR marking, AKK logo;[29]
  • NEW OLYMPIC marking, AKK logo.[30]

The first of these markings has been observed on a camera having a flush metal part instead of the top right knob, presumably a feature of the early examples.

The Olympic Four was offered for ¥32 in an advertisement dated May 1939.[31] It was also listed for the same price in advertisements dated March, April and June 1940, together with the Olympic Four II.[32] In all the advertising pictures observed so far, the shutter plate is inscribed OLYMPIC FOUR. The Olympic Four was listed for ¥32 in the Template:Kakaku1940 short compiled in October 1940.[33]

The Olympic Four II

The Olympic Four II (オリンピックフォアーⅡ型) is an updated version of the Olympic Four. It has a metal telescopic tube instead of the bakelite helical. The back latch is modified and consists of a long sliding bar, and the advance knob and film retaining knobs are different too. The lens is the same Ukas Anastigmat 50mm f/4.5 as on the previous models.

The early examples have the same NEW OLYMPIC and AKK shutter plate and the same speed engravings as on the model I. This is the variant pictured in the advertisements observed so far. Later examples have 25, 50, 100, 150, B, T speed settings in that order and a slightly altered shutter plate, without the patent number at the bottom.[34]

The camera was offered for ¥33 in advertisements dated December 1939, March, April and June 1940 (with the older shutter plate).[35] The Olympic Four II was listed for ¥32 in the Template:Kakaku1940 short compiled in October 1940.[36] It was offered for that price in an advertisement dated April 1941.[37] A Japanese catalogue said to be dated 1942 listed the Olympic Four II for ¥37 (case extra ¥6.70).[38]

At least one example is known with a Heil Anastigmat lens and a shutter giving 5–200, B, T speeds with a HEIL nameplate screwed at the top of the shutter plate and an AKK logo on the right.[39] It was perhaps called "Heil Four".[40] (Many of the names used by Riken, like Adler or Heil, remind sinister times.)

Notes

  1. ↑ The name "K.K. Olympic Camera" (㈱オリンピックカメラ) is given in Arimura, p. 6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14, but this article of IR Magazine and this article of the Riken News bulletin say "Olympic Camera Seisakusho" (オリンピックカメラ製作所) instead. The name of the manufacturing company has not been observed in any original document so far. The early Olympic cameras have an AB logo, surely for Asahi Bussan, and later cameras have an AKK logo, surely for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō.
  2. ↑ 1934 release date: Tanaka, pp. 8 and 12 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  3. ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Tanaka, p. 8 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  4. ↑ The address of F. Charten & Co. was P.O. Box 1153 Sannomiya Kobe.
  5. ↑ The lens is called Japar (ジャパー) by Tanaka, p. 12 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14, but this is unconfirmed.
  6. ↑ Advertisement published in Sunday Mainichi 23 December 1934, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
  7. ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63.
  8. ↑ Tanaka, p. 12 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14; McKeown, p. 747 (misidentified as an Olympic Junior).
  9. ↑ Tanaka, p. 12 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14, elaborates about the possibility that the f/6.3 aperture is expressed in US numbers.
  10. ↑ Box pictured in Dokusha-dayori, p. 161 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  11. ↑ Kawara, reproduced on p. 85 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  12. ↑ Advertisement published in Sunday Mainichi 23 December 1934, reproduced in the Gochamaze website. Advertisement published in Asahi Camera August 1936, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63.
  13. ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63.
  14. ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 1, section 1.
  15. ↑ An example with aperture to 25 and no "made in Japan" engraving is pictured in Tanaka, pp. 12–3 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14. Examples with aperture to 15 and MADE IN JAPAN engraving are pictured in McKeown, p. 747 and Sugiyama, item 4058 (misidentified as an Olympic Junior), and another has been observed in an eBay auction.
  16. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 335, says that the camera was announced as a new model (新発売) in a December 1936 advertisement.
  17. ↑ Advertisement published in Camera Art February 1937 and advertisement published in Asahi Camera March 1937, both reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63. Advertisement published in Shashin Salon March 1937, reproduced in Tanaka, p. 9 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  18. ↑ Advertisement published in Popular Photography, reproduced in Montanaman1's Flickr stream. The address of Candid Camera Supply Co. was 303 West 42 Street, Dept. J7, New York, N.Y.
  19. ↑ Advertisement by Asahi Bussan published at the end of 1937 in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, pp. 694–5.
  20. ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 1, section 1.
  21. ↑ Tanaka, p. 13 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14; Lewis, p. 43; Sugiyama, item 4057.
  22. ↑ Original box pictured in an advertisement published in Sunday Mainichi 10 September 1939, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
  23. ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63.
  24. ↑ Advertisement published in Camera Art February 1937, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 63. Advertisement published in Shashin Salon March 1937, reproduced in Tanaka, p. 9 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  25. ↑ Advertisement by Asahi Bussan published at the end of 1937 in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, pp. 694–5.
  26. ↑ Advertisement published in Sunday Mainichi 10 September 1939, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
  27. ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 1, section 2.
  28. ↑ 1938 release date: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 335, says that it was featured in the new products column of the June 1938 issue of Asahi Camera.
  29. ↑ See McKeown, p. 746 (the camera is called "New Olympic C 4×4cm").
  30. ↑ See for example Sugiyama, item 4059 (the camera is called "New Olympic C") and this page at Asacame.
  31. ↑ Advertisement published in Shinkō Graph, reproduced in Tanaka, p. 9 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14.
  32. ↑ Advertisements published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp. 64 and 104.
  33. ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 1, section 2.
  34. ↑ Early examples observed for sale at various locations. Later examples are pictured in Sugiyama, item 3041 (misidentified as a "New Olympic"), in Tanaka, pp. 15–6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14, and in this page at Japan Family Camera.
  35. ↑ Advertisement published in Shinkō Graph December 1939, reproduced in Tanaka, p. 9 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14. Advertisements published in Asahi Camera March, April and June 1940, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp. 64 and 104.
  36. ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 1, section 2.
  37. ↑ Advertisement published in Gakusei no Kagaku April 1941, reproduced in the Gochamaze website.
  38. ↑ Catalogue by Gold Camera Kōgyō-sho observed in a Yahoo Japan auction.
  39. ↑ Example pictured in Tanaka, p. 15 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14. A small version of the picture is reproduced in this page of the Ricoh official website.
  40. ↑ Tanaka, p. 8 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14, briefly mentions a Heil Four but does not elaborate.

Bibliography

Links

General links

In English:

In Japanese:

Original documents

In English:

In Japanese:


Asahi Bussan and Riken prewar and wartime cameras (edit)
rigid or collapsible
Vest Adler | Gokoku | Semi Kinsi | Letix | Olympic | New Olympic | Regal Olympic | Semi Olympic | Super Olympic | Vest Olympic | Riken No.1 | Ricohl | Roico | Seica | Zessan
folders pseudo TLR TLR
Semi Adler | Adler III | Adler A | Adler B | Adler C | Adler Four | Adler Six | Gaica | Heil | Kinsi Chukon Ref Ricohflex | Ricohflex B
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