Stereo Hit
The Stereo Hit (ステレオヒット) is a Japanese camera taking pairs of 3×4cm exposures on 127 film, made by Tougodo around 1955.
Contents
Description
The Stereo Hit has a body made of plastic, looking very similar to contemporary models using 35mm film. There is a top housing covering the whole length of the body and containing the viewfinder in the middle. This top cover also has an accessory shoe on the right and shows no engraving. The advance knob is at the top left and has an arrow engraved to indicate the winding direction; the film runs from right to left. The back is hinged to the right and contains two red windows in the middle, protected by horizontally sliding individual covers. Plates are screwed to the back, displaying user instructions in an approximate English. Above the red windows we read:
| FOR STEREO PICTURES, ROLL FILM |
| TO HAVE UNDERMENTIONED NUMBERS |
| APPEAR ON RIGHT OR LEFT |
| WINDOWS |
| USE NO. 127 ROLL FILM |
The table placed below the red windows explains how to position the numbers of the paper backing to have proper alignment of the stereo pairs:
| LEFT WINDOW | RIGHT WINDOW |
| 2nd Pair 1 | 1st Pair 1 |
| 4th Pair 3 | 3rd Pair 3 |
| 6th Pair 5 | 5th Pair 5 |
| 8th Pair 7 | 7th Pair 7 |
This means that you have to display the no.1 in the right window for the first pair, then in the left window for the second pair, then the no.3 in the right window again for the third pair, and so on. On the right of the red windows are instructions to use the camera in single picture mode, using only the right-hand lens:
| TO TAKE 16 SINGLE PICTURES, |
| ROLL FILM TO HAVE 1 APPEAR |
| ON RIGHT WINDOW FOR FIRST |
| PICTURE. THEN ROLL FURTHER |
| TO HAVE 1 APPEAR ON LEFT |
| WINDOW FOR SECOND PICTURE. |
| REPEAT SAME OPERATION FOR |
| CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS. |
A black rectangular casing protrudes on the front of the camera, containing the shutter mechanism. On top of this casing we find the release button on the right, a PC synch socket on the left and a sliding lever in the middle, used to wind the shutter, which is certainly of the guillotine type. The front part of the casing has a silver-coloured rectangular plate with rounded angles, encompassing the two lenses and inscribed STEREO HIT in large uppercase letters in the middle. Above and below this marking are two small knobs: the upper one has a red dot and selects the lens aperture, it has 9 and 16 positions and the word STOP is inscribed above; the lower one has a green dot and B and I indications, for Bulb and Instant shutter settings.
The lenses are fixed-focus and the rims are inscribed COATED S–OWLA F=4.5cm. There is no diaphragm iris but a Waterhouse sliding plate. Next to the right-hand lens is a small lever switching the shutter operation from STEREO to SINGLE. The S-Owla is a meniscus lens;[1] its name is perhaps related to the Owla company which made the later Owla Stereo, announced in 1951.
History
The Stereo Hit only briefly advertised and covered in Japanese magazines, in the period from August to October 1955.[2] The September advertisement in Asahi Camera says that the camera was "recommended by Pr. Yoshimochi Hayao (吉用速男先生御推奨)".[3] It also advices to make stereo pairs of contact prints and attach them in a cardboard insert for three-dimensional viewing. The camera was offered for ¥2,000 including a fold-out viewer made of metal. The camera was sold as a set in an orange box marked STEREO-HIT WITH VIEWER, together with the viewer, the cardboard insert, a tan case embossed STEREO-HIT at the front, and a bulb flash unit.
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 723.
- 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. 92.
- 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. 931.
- 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 6033.
Links
In English:
- Stereo Hit at Caméra Collection (in both English and French)
- Stereo Hit in the Westlicht Photographica Auction no.11, 26 May 2007, lot no.754
In German:
In Dutch:
In Swedish:
- Stereo Hit in a page about stereo cameras at Ove Karlsson's camera collection
