Olympus Eye 44

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The Olympus Eye 44 (オリンパス・アイ44) or Olympus Eye Flex (オリンパス・アイフレックス)[1] 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).[2] The camera was presented to the press on May 6, 1959 in the Shiseidō Kaikan building, the same day as the Olympus Pen,[3][4] It was featured in the June issue of various Japanese magazines;[5] 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.[6] The July issue of the same magazine has various articles devoted to 4×4cm cameras, again featuring the Eye 44;[7] and the July issue of Olympus Photography has an article on the camera too.[8] The Eye 44 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 is cocked simultaneously with the film advance,[8] and released by a button 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[6][9] — this issue was particularly important for a camera using 127 film, prone to severe curling because of its narrow spools. 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.[10]

Eye 44 f/3.5, shown to the press

The prototype shown to the press is sometimes described as the Eye 44 A. This name was not used in the press at the time, but was used in an article by Sakurai Eiichi in the early 1980s;[8] it was perhaps used as an internal code by the company. The Eye 44 A has a C.Zuiko 60/3.2 viewing lens and a D.Zuiko 60/3.5 taking lens[11] — the letters "C" and "D" indicating that the lenses respectively have three and four elements. The film is advanced by a knob, and the advance control is fully manual, via a red window.[8][12]

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 and are displayed inside a window above the viewing lens.[6] The position of the speed control is unclear: it might correspond to the index visible next to the taking lens, the lever visible underside the lens casing being perhaps used for manual shutter reset (see below).

The film sensitivity is selected from ASA 10 to 800[6] 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.[6] The release button is blocked if no appropriate aperture can be selected because of insufficient or excessive light.[6] In that case, the user has to reset the shutter by hand to be able to use the diaphragm control again.[6]

After its original presentation to the press, the Eye 44 A has never surfaced again. Its current fate is unknown, though it was probably destroyed.

Eye 44 f/2.8, surviving prototype

The other prototype was never announced to the public, but has been kept in the collection of the Olympus company. It is sometimes called Eye 44 B, again after an article by Sakurai Eiichi.[8] Pictures of the camera were first published in an article by Shirai Tatsuo in the late 1970s,[13] and at least one colour picture is available on the website of the company. The body has a blue and silver finish, with gray leatherette on the sides — the trend for coloured 4×4cm cameras was set by the Baby Rolleiflex, and the Minolta Miniflex is another example of a 4×4 TLR with an innovative two-tone design.

The lenses are four-element D.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8, with serial number 100001 for the taking lens and 100002 for the viewing lens;[14] these were certainly the only two lenses produced to these specifications.

The film is advanced by a lever on the right, and film advance is semi-automatic,[12][15] The first exposure is set via a start mark,[8] but the red window remains in the back, certainly used as an exposure counter. A rather large roller is visible inside the camera under the exposure chamber, perhaps to control the auto-stop mechanism.

The shutter is a Seikosha-S giving B, 1–500 speeds in geometric progression. The camera can work both in shutter-priority automatic or in manual mode. The speed and aperture are selected by two indexes, symmetrically placed on the sides of the taking lens. The aperture scale, placed on the left as viewed from the front, goes from 2.8 to 16 and has an AUTO position past the minimum setting. The ASA sensitivity is selected by a small index at the bottom, and is displayed in a small window under the taking lens. There is a window above the viewing lens, that probably contains a needle indicating the aperture in manual mode.

There is a rotating ring concentric to the taking lens, used as a flash exposure calculator. It has a distance scale from 1 to 10m, placed along the aperture scale and indicating the correct aperture at a given distance for flash photography. This scale is properly positioned by the photographer via a yellow scale of guide numbers, from 7 to 80, according to the flash unit and film sensitivity. The shutter name SEIKOSHA–S is inscribed at the bottom of the rotating ring, and the M/X synch selector is placed next to it. The synch post itself is placed on the front plate at the bottom right, opposite the shutter release.

Notes

  1. ↑ The name "Olympus Eye 44" was used in the original press release, notably in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594, where it was presented as a provisional name. Sakurai Eiichi, p.104 of Zuikō yawa says that the camera was called "Olympus Eye 44" and its provisional name was "Olympus Eye Flex", which is also the name engraved on the viewing hood. The camera was never released anyway, and no definitive commercial name was ever applied.
  2. ↑ Shirai, p.100 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte, quoting Maitani Yoshihisa.
  3. ↑ Shirai, p.98 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
  4. ↑ The chronology of the Olympus official website says 1958 by mistake.
  5. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.380.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Column in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, p.594.
  7. ↑ Kitano, pp.63–4 of Shashin Kōgyō July 1959, and Matsuda, pp.68–71 of the same.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Sakurai, p.104 of Zuikō yawa.
  9. ↑ Sakurai, pp.104–5 of Zuikō yawa.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ 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 Shirai, p.101 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte, in Sakurai, p.105 of Zuikō yawa, and in various other sources is certainly a mistake.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Shirai, p.101 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
  13. ↑ Shirai, p.97–106 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
  14. ↑ The numbers are notably visible in the pictures in Francesch, p.79.
  15. ↑ 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.

Older historical account

  • Sakurai Eiichi (桜井栄一). Zuikō yawa: Orinpasu kamera gaishi (ズイコー夜話・オリンパスカメラ外史, Zuiko night talks: Unofficial history of Olympus cameras). Gendai Kamera Shinsho (現代カメラ新書) 86. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1979. ISBN 4-257-08086-8. Pp.98–110.

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.

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