Simlar
Simlar (シムラー) lenses were made by Tōkyō Kōgaku (predecessor of Topcon) from c.1935 to 1955. The name Simlar (written shimurā in Japanese) is derived from Shimura (志村), a place name in Tokyo where the company plant was located.[1] The Simlar brand was originally used for a four-element lens design, copy of the Tessar. From the late 1930s or early 1940s, the name was applied to all the lenses made by Tōkyō Kōgaku with advanced specifications, as opposed to the Toko or State brands, used for three-element lenses. In 1955, the names Toko and Simlar were replaced by the single brand Topcor.
Contents
Simlar lenses in leaf shutters, for civilian cameras
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| Simlar 10.5cm f/4.5 lens no.25150 on a Luxury Pearl. Picture by eBayer imagemeister. (Image rights) |
Simlar 6cm f/3.5
The Simlar 6cm f/3.5 was mounted on the Minion III, released during World War II but mainly sold in the postwar period.
Simlar 7.5cm f/3.5
At least one example of the Simlar 7.5cm f/3.5 was mounted on a Lord by Tōkyō Kōgaku, made c.1937–8, though the camera was normally advertised with a Toko 7.5cm f/3.5 three-element lens.
Simlar 10.5cm f/4.5
The Simlar 10.5cm f/4.5 was offered from c.1935 on the First, Special First, First Etui and First Roll, made by Kuribayashi and distributed by Minagawa. The lens was normally paired with a Seikosha shutter (T, B, 1–250). These cameras were certainly the first equipped with a Simlar.
The same lens was also mounted on the Luxury Pearl and New Lily released in 1937 by Konishiroku, in combination with a Leo shutter, name variant of the Seikōsha.
Simlar interchangeable lenses, for rangefinder cameras
See the main article on Tōkyō Kōgaku lenses in Leica screw mount.
Other Simlar lenses
Regular barrel lenses
The Simlar lens was offered in barrel mount for general use in large-format cameras, both before and after World War II.[2] It is said that various focal lengths were offered.[2] Examples of a 21cm f/4.5 are known,[3] and a 18cm f/4.5 is reported.[4] On the 21cm f/4.5, the barrel is black and is surrounded by an aperture ring graduated from 4.5 to 45. The focal length 21cm is repeated next to the aperture scale.
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| Simlar 7.5cm f/3.5 lens in a KOO-Tiyoko shutter on a GSK-99. Picture by Dirk HR Spennemann. (Image rights) |
Aerial lenses, for military use
The Simlar 7.5cm f/3.5 was mounted on the GSK-99 aerial camera. The Simlar is normally found on those cameras made by Tōkyō Kōgaku, whereas those made by Konishiroku normally have a Hexar.
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| Simlar 179.5mm f/4.5 no.53 and 180.2mm f/4.5 no.187, for SK-100 aerial camera. Picture by eBayer Hbpartner. (Image rights) |
Simlar 180mm f/4.5 lenses were also made for the larger SK-100 aerial camera. The lenses are engraved with the precise focal length, for example 179.5mm or 180.2mm on the actual examples photographed in this page.
Tele-Simlar 40cm f/5 lenses were used on other aerial cameras, such as the Type 1 vertical mapping camera by Tōkyō Kōgaku, displayed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.[5]
Wide-aperture lenses
Notes
Bibliography
- Shirasawa Akishige (白澤章茂). Topukon kamera no rekishi. (トプコンカメラの歴史, History of Topcon cameras.) Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 2007. ISBN 978-4-257-12051-3.
Links
In English:
- Type 1 mapping camera by Tōkyō Kōgaku, with Tele-Simlar 40cm f/5 lens, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
In Japanese:
