Roavic
The Roavic (ローヴイック) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera made by Miyoshi Kōgaku in 1941 and 1942.[1]
Contents
Description
The camera is an horizontal folder, with the folding struts and general design inspired from the Duo Six-20 Series II by Kodak AG. The lens and shutter assembly is mounted on a chromed metal plate. The optical finder is enclosed in a chromed top housing, with the advance knob on the right end, the body release, a ROAVIC engraving together with the serial number, an accessory shoe with the bed release button just in front, and a depth-of-field dial on the left end.
The back is hinged to the left has two rectangular red windows, protected by a common sliding cover. The back leather is embossed Roavic and the inner side of the back is engraved U.L.L. The latter engraving is an indication that the camera was indeed made by Miyoshi itself. The bottom plate is chromed, with the tripod screw in the centre.
Evolution
The Roavic is featured in a column of the February 1941 issue of Asahi Camera, with two variants mentioned:
- Roavic I: Parkur-Rapid shutter, T, B, 1–500 speeds;
- Roavic II: Parkur shutter, T, B, 5–200 speeds.[2]
An advertisement by Miyoshi Kōgaku, dated February 1942[3], mentions in the advertising text both U.L.L. f:4.5 and f:3.5 lenses and the Parkur-Rapid shutter, a copy of the Compur-Rapid with five shutter blades. However the two variants listed and priced do not correspond exactly to the text:
- Roavic f:3.5 lens, Rex shutter, T, B, 5–200 speeds (¥139);
- Roavic f:3.5 lens, Parkur-Rapid shutter, T, B, 1–500 speeds (¥182).
An example of the Roavic has been reported with a U.L.L. Anastigmat 7.5cm f:3.5 lens and a no-name shutter giving T, B, 5–200 speeds.[4]
The Roavic has a strong similarity with the postwar Apollo and Mikado, that cannot be explained only by the fact that both were inspired by the Kodak Duo. (For example both have a back hinged to the left unlike the Duo, and both have a very similar top housing, different from the Kodak camera.)
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 343.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 343.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 105.
- ↑ In this post at the Classic Camera Museum Yahoo group.
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 333.
Links
In English:
In Chinese:
- Post with detailed pictures of a Roavic at www.chinesecamera.net, the lens and shutter do not seem original
