Shinkoflex
The Flex Six and Shinkoflex are Japanese 6×6 SLR cameras, dated 1940 and identical except for the name.[1] It is said that the Shinkoflex was the first Japanese 6×6 SLR, the first Japanese rollfilm SLR with a focal plane shutter and the first Japanese camera to have an advance lever.[2]
Contents
Maker and distributor
The Shinkoflex is attributed to Yamashita Shōten (some sources say "Yamashita Shōkai" by mistake) but this was probably only the distributor.[3] Yamashita later distributed the Shinko Super in 1942.
The Flex Six is attributed to Kyōto Seiki for an unknown reason.[4] If this attribution is true, it is very probable that the cameras were made by Kyōto Seiki and called Shinkoflex only when distributed by Yamashita.
Description of the body
The Shinkoflex and Flex Six are strongly influenced by the Reflex-Korelle, with a focal plane shutter and a cube-like mirror box protruding from the body. The left half of the top plate has an advance lever and perhaps an exposure counter. The right half has the speed setting knob, with B, 10–500 speed settings.[5] It seems that the release button is on the right-hand side of the mirror box. The nameplate (Shinkoflex or Flex Six) is above the lens, in front of the viewing hood. The back is hinged to the right.
Lens equipment
It is said that the lens is interchangeable.[6] It is not known if it used the same mount as the Reflex-Korelle.
Two actual examples of the Shinkoflex have been observed. One is pictured in Sugiyama and has a Radionar 7.5cm f/3.5 lens by Schneider, a lens that was perhaps originally made for the Reflex-Korelle.[7] The other is pictured in Lewis[8] and in this page of the JCII collection and has a different lens and a larger lens plate, almost covering all the front plate.
One example of the Flex Six is pictured in Sugiyama with a front-cell focusing U.L.L. Anastigmat 80/3.5 lens mounted on the larger lens plate.
Kanko mirror lenses
The Kanko mirror lenses made by Kansai Kōgaku were available for the Flex Six or Shinkoflex body. (See the article about Kansai Kōgaku for the full range.) Surviving examples are known of the 450mm focal length Kanko 2600. One is pictured in Sugiyama and another in this page of the Old Telescope website.[9]
Speculation about the origin of the camera
The Kanko mirror lenses were advertised as an evolution of the Miya Type 2 telescope camera (ミヤ二式反対望遠写真機). An original picture of the Miya Type 2 is reproduced in this page of the Old Telescope website but it is impossible to recognize the camera body. A possible speculation is that Kyōto Seiki initially made a special purpose telephotography camera for Kansai Kōgaku, another company based in Kyoto, and that the Flex Six evolved as a general purpose camera, later distributed by Yamashita as the Shinkoflex.
Notes
- ↑ Date: Sugiyama, items 2008, 2027 and 6008; McKeown, pp. 592 and 1020; this page of the JCII collection.
- ↑ See for example Sugiyama, item 2027, and McKeown, p. 1020.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 2027, and McKeown, p. 1020, attribute the camera to "Yamashita Trading Co." This page of the JCII collection says "Yamashita Shōkai", but an advertisement for the Shinko Super reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 74, gives the name Yamashita Shōten. Lewis, p. 57, says Yamashita Shōten too.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 2008, McKeown, p. 592.
- ↑ Speed range: Sugiyama, items 2008 and 2027, McKeown, pp. 592 and 1020.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 2027, McKeown, p. 1020.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 2027.
- ↑ Lewis, p.nbsp;57.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 6008, calls it the Flex Six (military version), but nothing indicates that it was made for the military.
Bibliography
- 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. 57.
- 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). Pp. 592 and 1020.
- 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 2008, 2027 and 6008.
These cameras are not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
Links
In Japanese:
- Shinkoflex in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology
- Advertisement for the Kanko 2600 published in the March 1942 issue of Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Japanese camera page of the Gochamaze website
- Documentation page of the Old Telescope website, with Kanko mirror lenses
