Reise
Reise (ライゼ) was a Japanese camera maker of the 1950s, specialized in Leica copies.
History
It is said that the company was founded by a former employee of Kumatani Genji at Kōgaku Seiki (the maker of the Nippon).[1]
Since the first half of the 1950s, Reise made the Chiyoca cameras for Chiyoda Shōkai, a photo shop in Tokyo. These cameras were a nice Leica-like camera series. Later the cameras were rebranded Chiyotax because the name Chiyoca was close to Chiyoko, used as a short name by the company Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō, predecessor of Minolta. The Chiyotax camera line was discontinued in Summer 1957. It was replaced by the very similar Alta, announced and advertised by Misuzu Kōgaku Kōgyō. It is not known if Reise was absorbed by Misuzu, or acted as a subcontractor, and all trace of the company is lost after that time.
Names
The company's full name perhaps varied with time. According to some sources, it was first "Reise Optical Institute" (presumably a translation for Reise Kōgaku Kenkyūjo, ライゼ光学研究所),[2] and later "Reise Camera Company, Ltd." (maybe for Reise Kamera K.K., ライゼカメラ㈱).[3] The name Reise–Kogaku appears on the Reise-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 lens made for the Chiyoca, and Reise Camera Company, Ltd. appears at the top of the late Chiyotax IIIF. In the September 1956 issue of Shashin Kōgyō, the maker of the Chiyotax appears as Reise Camera (ライゼカメラ),[4] but it is quoted as Reise Kōgaku (ライゼ光学) in the October issue.[5]
The names "Chiyoca Camera Company, Ltd." and "Chiyotax Camera Company, Ltd." found on the top covers of Chiyoca and Chiyotax cameras are presumably dummy names, hiding the actual name of the manufacturing workshop.
The Lena-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 lens, ostensibly made by a Lena Kōgaku, is exactly identical to the Reise-Q.C lens, and was certainly made by Reise, "Lena Kogaku" being perhaps another dummy name.
Cameras
No viewfinder:
- Chiyoca 35, for the police
Viewfinder only:
- Chiyoca 35 or Chiyoca I (today, the version with flash synchronization is sometimes called "Chiyoca 35 IF")
Rangefinder:
Rangefinder and slow speeds:
Notes
- ↑ Shirai, pp.25–6 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte: 熊谷氏の会社の職人だった人々が作ったカメラに、やはりライカそっくりの[...]「チヨタックス」[...]があるという.
- ↑ Sugiyama, items 3214–5 and 3220, HPR, p.175.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 3218, HPR, p.175.
- ↑ Shashin Kōgyō no.52, p.173.
- ↑ Shashin Kōgyō no.53, p.269.
Bibliography
- HPR. Leica Copies. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-874485-05-4.
- 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.
- Shashin Kōgyō no.53, October 1956. "Renzu kōkan-gata kamera go-shu o kentō suru" (レンズ交換型カメラ五種を検討する, Inspecting five cameras with interchangeable lens). Pp.265–9.
- Shirai Tatsuo (白井達男). "Nippon Kamera" (ニッポンカメラ, Nippon Camera). Pp.17–26 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.2, February 1978.) Contains an interview of Kumatani Genji, mentioning the Chiyoca and Chiyotax as made by a former employee.
