Pluto Six

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Japanese Six (6×6)
Postwar models (edit)
folding
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rigid or collapsible
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Japanese 6×6 TLR, pseudo TLR and medium format SLR ->
Japanese Semi (4.5×6) and older 6×9 ->

The Pluto Six (プラトーシックス) are Japanese 6×6 folders made by Shichiyō Kōgaku Kōgyō and distributed by Pluto Shōkai in 1955.

Common features

The Pluto Six are horizontal folders. They have incurved three-part folding struts. The film is advanced by a knob at the left end of the top plate, as seen by the photographer. There is a decorative flange at the opposite end, and the shutter release is at its usual location on the right. The back is hinged to the right and contains two red windows placed one above the other, protected by horizontally sliding individual covers. The upper red window is for 4.5×6cm exposures and the middle one is for 6×6cm; the covers are accordingly inscribed 4.5X6 and 6X6. The camera reportedly has hinged masks in the exposure chamber, for 4.5×6cm exposures.[1]

The name "Pluto Six" is reportedly embossed in the back leather.[2] A Pluto 7 logo is embossed in the leather of the front door, engraved on the top plate and perhaps in the folding struts, and embossed at the front of the leather case. The number "7" is certainly an allusion to the company name Shichiyō (七洋): shichi means "seven" in Japanese.

The Pluto Six models were advertised from January to May 1955, and were featured in the March 1955 issue of Sankei Camera.[3]

The Pluto Six L

The Pluto Six L has only a viewfinder, contained in the middle of the top housing. The accessory shoe is placed immediately to the left, and the folding bed release is in front of it. The Pluto Six L was reportedly listed with B, 10–200 speeds in the original documents.[4]

Three surviving examples are known. One presumably early example has a no-name shutter (B, 1–200, self-timer), synchronized via a single pin at the bottom.[5] The lens is the Pluto 80mm f/3.5 no.8289, and has a silver rim.

The other two examples are presumably later, and differ from the previous one by minor details: the top housing has sharper edges, the advance knob and decorative flange at the top are slightly different. They have a Luzifer shutter (B, 10–200, self-timer), synchronized via an ASA bayonet post or a PC socket.[6] The shutter plate has an S logo on the side, repeated at the end of the aperture scale above the shutter casing, and the speed ring is engraved LUZIFER at the bottom. The lens is a Pluto Anastigmat 80mm f/3.5 with a black rim, and the lens numbers are 12070 and 12138.[7]

The Pluto Six P

The Pluto Six P has an uncoupled rangefinder, combined into the viewfinder. The common eyepiece is offset to the right, as seen by the photographer. The rangefinder is driven by a wheel falling under the left thumb. The accessory shoe and folding bed release are placed above the second image window, very slightly offset to the left.

The advertisement dated May 1955 in Sankei Camera lists the Pluto Six P with B, 1–200 speeds, for ¥9,400 (case included).[8]

Various surviving examples are known. All of them have a Luzifer shutter (B, 1–200, self-timer), with a PC socket and the same markings as described for the Pluto Six L.[9] The lens is a Pluto Anastigmat 80mm f/3.5 with a black rim, and the known lens numbers are in the 50xxx and 51xxx range.[10]

Notes

  1. Hinged masks: McKeown, p.890.
  2. McKeown, p.890.
  3. Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.362.
  4. Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.362.
  5. Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1402, where it is called "Pluto Six L (DX)" for an unknown reason.
  6. ASA post: example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1401. PC socket: example pictured in McKeown, p.890.
  7. No.12070: example pictured in McKeown, p.890. No.12138: example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1401.
  8. Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.173.
  9. Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1403, and examples observed in online auctions.
  10. Known lens numbers: 50764 (online auction), 50860 (Sugiyama, item 1403), 51842 (online auction).

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. Item 776.
  • 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). P.86 (brief mention only, the camera is called Plato Six by mistake).
  • McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P.890.
  • 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. Items 1401–3.