Olympus Eye 44

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The Olympus Eye 44 (オリンパス・アイ44) is a 4×4cm TLR camera with automatic exposure, made by Olympus as a prototype in 1959, in two versions.

Context

The release of the Baby Rolleiflex in 1957 and that of various 4×4cm Brownie models created a brief vogue for 4×4cm cameras. Auto-exposure cameras in that format appeared in the US in 1958–59, with the Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127, Revere Eye-Matic EE 127 and Kodak Brownie Starmatic.

In that context, Japanese manufacturers undertook research on similar auto-exposure cameras. Yashica announced the Future 127 4×4cm prototype in March 1959, and Olympus followed with the Eye 44 TLR a few months later. At the period, the 4×4cm camera boom was already coming to an end, and both the Yashica and Olympus were shelved. The experience gained with the Eye 44 was used for later Olympus auto-exposure models, such as the 1960 Olympus Auto Eye and 1961 Olympus Pen EE.

Development and announce

The Olympus Eye 44 was developed from 1958 by Satō Masaaki (佐藤正昭).[1] The camera was presented to the press on May 6, 1959 in the Shiseidō Kaikan building, the same day as the Olympus Pen,[2][3] It was featured in the June issue of various Japanese magazines;[4] for example the corresponding issue of Shashin Kōgyō has a column on the camera, showing a picture and saying that the name "Olympus Eye 44" was provisional only.[5] The July issue of the same magazine has various articles devoted to 4×4cm cameras, again featuring the Eye 44;[6] the camera was no longer mentioned after that date.

General description

The Olympus Eye 44 has the typical TLR shape. The lenses are contained in a fairing, and are moved back and forth for focusing by turning a knob on the photographer's left. The shutter release is at the bottom, tripped by the right finger. The rest of the front plate above the viewing lens is occupied by a large honeycomb window for the selenium meter. The viewing hood contains a magnifying lens and can be turned into a sports finder by raising a flap, engraved EYE FLEX OLYMPUS. There are strap attachments on both sides, under the hood.

The film runs from top to bottom, a configuration that was deemed better for film flatness.[5] There is a single film flange at the bottom left, next to the focus knob. The L-shaped back is hinged to the top, and contains a red window. The tripod thread is at the front, in the main body casting.[7]

Eye 44 f/3.5, shown to the press

The prototype shown to the press is sometimes described as the "Eye 44 A", though that name was never used at the time and was crafted in the 1980s.[8] It has a C.Zuiko 60/3.2 viewing lens and a D.Zuiko 60/3.5 taking lens[9] — the letters "C" and "D" indicating that the lenses respectively have three and four elements. The film is reportedly advanced by a knob, and the advance control is fully manual, via a red window.[10]

The shutter is a Seikosha-SLV, clearly labelled as such under the taking lens. It provides B, 1–500 speeds, freely selected by the user.[5] These are perhaps set by an index visible next to the taking lens, and are displayed under a window above the viewing lens.[5] It seems that the shutter is manually wound by a lever visible under the taking lens.[11]

The film sensitivity is selected from ASA 10 to 800[5] at the bottom, opposite the release button. The accessory shoe and flash socket are on the camera's left side, near the focus knob. There is an M/X/V selector for flash synchronization and control of the self-timer, on the side of the taking lens, above the ASA sensitivity control.

The aperture is automatically selected by the camera. Before tripping the shutter, the diaphragm must be closed to that aperture by pressing a button situated on the left of the lens casing, in front of the focus knob.[5] The release button is blocked if no appropriate aperture can be selected because the light is insufficient or too intense.[5]

Eye 44 f/2.8, surviving prototype

The film is advanced by a lever on the right, and film advance is semi-automatic.[10][12] The red window in the back is certainly used to set the position of the first exposure and as an exposure counter. A rather large roller is visible inside the camera under the exposure chamber, perhaps to control the auto-stop advance mechanism.

To be continued

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The Eye Flex B had a pair of four element 60/2.8 lenses. It is the best known variant, because one of them is kept at the Olympus collection. On this particular camera, the lenses are marked Olympus D.Zuiko with serial number 100001 for the taking lens and 100002 for the viewing lens. This indicates that they were the two first lenses produced. Maybe this is the first body produced. The finish is chrome and blue, with a grey leatherette. This trend was clearly set by the Baby Grey.

It has an advance lever on the right and a focusing knob on the left. There is a big selenium cell covering the top part of the front panel, and small levers on both sides of the taking lens, to set the aperture and speed. The Eye Flex B had shutter priority automatic exposure, and the aperture scale has a position marked AUTO past the 16 setting. There is a control window above the viewing lens, that probably contains a needle indicating the aperture in manual mode.

The shutter is a Seikosha-S with B, 1–500 speeds in geometric progression and M-X sync selector. The sync post is at the bottom right, opposite the shutter release. The ASA setting is at the bottom of the shutter cover. There is also a guide number scale. There is no accessory shoe on the Eye Flex B pictured on this page at the Map Camera Museum. On one of the pictures in the book by Francesch, it would seem that there is one on the body preserved by Olympus.

Note: Some sources call it Eye Flex 44 or Eye 44 with or without hyphen. In this page it is called "Eye Flex" because both variants were only marked EYE FLEX and OLYMPUS on the finder hood. Japanese: オリンパスアイフレックス.

Notes

  1. ↑ Shirai, p.100 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte, quoting Maitani Yoshihisa.
  2. ↑ Shirai, p.98 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
  3. ↑ The [http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/corc/history/camera/chron_1936.cfm?ote=0 chronology of the Olympus official website says 1958 by mistake.
  4. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.380.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Column in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594.
  6. ↑ Kitano, pp.63–4 of Shashin Kōgyō July 1959, and Matsuda, pp.68–71 of the same.
  7. ↑ The configuration of the back and bottom sides is well known for the f/2.8 camera only; no picture is available for the f/3.5 model. The column in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594, confirms the position of the tripod thread on the f/3.5 camera.
  8. ↑ The names "Eye-44.A" and "Eye-44.B" were certainly crafted by Francesch, by analogy with the naming system of the Olympus Chrome Six IV, V and RII.
  9. ↑ Column in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594. Close scrutiny of the only available picture seems to confirm the name C.Zuiko on the viewing lens. The mention of two D.Zuiko 60/3.5 lenses in various sources is certainly a mistake.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Shirai, p.101 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
  11. ↑ The column in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594, mentions manual shutter winding.
  12. ↑ Column on p.59 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20.

Bibliography

Original documents

  • Kitano Kunio (北野邦雄). "44-han fushin no gen'in" (44判不振の原因, Reasons for the little success of 4×4cm format). In Shashin Kōgyō no.87, July 1959. Pp.63–4.
  • Matsuda Fumirō (松田二三郎). "Kokusan 44 kamera o kentō suru" (国産44カメラを検討する, Investigating Japanese 4×4cm cameras). In Shashin Kōgyō no.87, July 1959. Pp.68–71.
  • Shashin Kōgyō no.86, June 1959. "Orinpasu Ai 44 (kashō)" (オリンパス・アイ44[仮称], Olympus Eye 44 [provisional name]). P.594.

Recent sources

  • 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. Item 1168.
  • Francesch, Dominique and Jean-Paul. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27679-X.
  • Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp.98–9.
  • "Orinpasu kamera shisakuki 2-shu" (オリンパスカメラ試作機2種, "Two experimental Olympus cameras"). Anonymous column about the Olympus Standard and Olympus Eye Flex. 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. 20, 25 March 1992. No ISBN number. Orinpasu no subete (オリンパスのすべて, special issue on Olympus). P.59.
  • Orinpasu-ten — oputo-dejitaru-tekunolojī no kiseki (オリンパス展・オプトデジタルテクノロジーの軌跡, Olympus exhibition, the tracks of opto-digital technology). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P.24.
  • Shirai Tatsuo (白井達男). "Orinpasu Ai 44" (オリンパス・アイ44, Olympus Eye 44). Pp.97–106 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte (幻のカメラを追って, Pursuing phantom cameras). Gendai Kamera Shinsho (現代カメラ新書). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1982. ISBN 4-257-08077-9. (First published in Kamera Rebyū / Camera Review. no.5, May 1980.)
  • Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 2206.

Links

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In German:

In Japanese:


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