Seica and Andes Four
Template:127 Japan The Riken Seica was a 4x4cm format camera sold by Riken around 1939. The lens and shutter assembly was mounted on a telescopic tube. According to Ricoh, the lens was a Seica 60/4.5 triplet and the shutter speeds were 25-50-100-250-B-T. The Seica had a tubular optical finder and an accessory shoe. At the time, the rollfilm paperback was not marked for 4x4 pictures, so the film advance was not by red window but there was an exposure counter with the same mechanism as on the Adler IV. Film loading was by the bottom plate.
Note: Seica means "bloom" or "flower" in the figurate sense of "elite". It is written 精華 (modern transcription would be Seika). During the war period, Riken used "patriotic" names, as well as names reminding Japan's alliance with Germany.
The Seica is listed in McKeown under the entry Kondo Seiko Co, pictured with a Neumann & Heilemann 25-50-100-250-B-T shutter said to be a Perfekt and a 5cm f/4.5 lens said to be an Helios Anastigmat. In photographica-world.de the company is named Kondo Seiki (probably 近藤精機), also said to have made a camera named Cordlef.
Links
Ricoh's corporate website:
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