Takka and Tacker
The Takka is a Japanese subminiature camera, certainly made in the late 1940s.
Contents
Description
The Takka takes ten 14×14mm exposures on 17.5mm paper backed rollfilm. Its features are close to those of the average Hit-type cameras, but it is slightly heavier.
The lens is a Takka T.K.W. 20mm with an unspecified fixed aperture. The everset shutter reportedly gives B, 25, 50 settings selected by a button sliding on the side of the casing.[1] It is tripped by a lever on the right. The shutter plate has the name Takka inscribed at the top and the initials T.K.W. at the bottom. The meaning of these initials is unknown, though the "T" might stand for Tsukada (see below).
Origin
The Takka seems to share a number of parts — such as the top housing, advance knob and back latch — with the early Tacker pictured in this page at submin.com. The words "Takka" and "Tacker" would be pronounced roughly the same by a Japanese speaker,[2] and the Tacker was probably a successor of the Takka, whose name was changed to make it look like an English word. The Tacker is known to have been distributed by Tsukada Shōji in 1950, and this was perhaps also the case of the Takka.
Notes
- ↑ Speed range: Sugiyama, item 5145.
- ↑ This is why the Takka and Tacker are ostensibly identified in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.354.
Bibliography
- 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.913.
- Pritchard, Michael and St. Denny, Douglas. Spy Cameras — A century of detective and subminiature cameras. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1993. ISBN 1-874485-00-3. Pp.76 and 79.
- 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 5145.
The Takka is identified with the Tacker in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 583 (p.354).
Links
In English:
- Takka at Submin.com
- Brief mention of the Takka among 17.5mm film cameras at Subclub.org
