Sakura-flex
The Sakura-flex (サクラフレックス) is a prototype 6×6 TLR made by Konishiroku around 1940. It is said that a few dozens were built before the model was abandoned.[1]
Documents
Tanimura says that the Sakura-flex was announced in a 1939 advertisement as available in September for ¥260.[2]
Description
The Sakura-flex is a 6×6 TLR. It is said that it was designed by Hasegawa Zenkyō (長谷川全享).[3]
The focusing is done by moving the front plate back and forth. The focusing knob is on the photographer's left and is surrounded by a fixed distance scale; depth-of-field indications are inscribed on the rotating knob itself. The left side of the camera also has two film flanges, as most other TLR cameras.
The film advance knob is on the photographer's right, and there is a round exposure counter window at the top of the right-hand side plate.
The nameplate is screwed above the front standard and is inscribed Sakura–flex. The viewing hood is two-fold, and its front part has the shape of a truncated pyramid, as on the prewar Minoltaflex. A set of two mirrors placed inside, one of them mobile, and a fixed loupe on the rear provide optional eye-level viewing.
Both the taking and viewing lenses are four-element Hexar Ser.II 75mm f/3.5, engraved Hexar Ser.II 1:3.5 f=75m.m Rokuoh–sha Tokyo N°xxxx. The shutter is a Durax, giving T, B, 150–1 speeds selected by turning the rim. The shutter plate is marked Rokuoh-sha at the bottom and has three metal stripes on each side of the lens. Small plates are screwed to the main shutter plate, the one at the top has the name Durax and the one at the bottom is the aperture scale. The shutter is cocked by a lever at the top left (as seen from the front); the release lever is in front of the shutter plate, to the left of the lens, and is tripped by the photographer's right-hand finger. A third lever, distinctively shaped as a scythe and placed at the right of the lens, controls the self-timer.
The Durax shutter is in #0 size, an unusual choice for a TLR camera. This large diameter is not justified by the lens aperture (f/3.5) and it is not known if plans were drawn to release the camera with a brighter lens. The 1/150 top shutter speed is quite low and the release lever looks quite primitive compared with other contemporary TLRs.
Actual examples
At least two surviving examples are known. One has taking lens no. 2277 and viewing lens no. 2266, the other has taking lens no. 2382 and viewing lens no. 2534.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Hishida, p. 81 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 10.
- ↑ Tanimura, p. 122 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 27.
- ↑ Tanimura, p. 122 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 27.
- ↑ Lenses no. 2277 and 2266: example pictured in Hishida, p. 81 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 10. Lenses no. 2382 and 2534: example pictured in Tanimura, pp. 122–4 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 27.
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 141.
- Hishida Kōshirō (菱田耕四郎). "Konica History 11: Maboroshi no kamera to tokushu kamera" (幻のカメラと特殊カメラ, Phantom cameras and special cameras). 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.10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp. 81–2.
- 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. 537.
- 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 2026.
- Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Senzen umare no maboroshi no kokusan nigan-refu: 6×6-han no Sakurafurekkusu" (戦前生まれの幻の国産二眼レフ6×6判のサクラフレックス, A Japanese phantom TLR born before the war: the 6×6 Sakura-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.27, December 1993. No ISBN number. Stereo World (ステレオワールド). Pp. 122–4.
The Sakura-flex is not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
