Tanack SD

This is a work in progress.

The Tanack SD (タナックSD) is a Japanese 35mm rangefinder camera, made from 1957 by Tanaka Kōgaku, in parallel to the Tanack IV-S which formed the bulk of Tanaka's production.

Inspired by the Nikon S2

The Tanack SD was a complete departure from the previous Tanack models, and took many design features from the Nikon S2. It was not the first time that its manufacturer Tanaka took inspiration on a product by Nippon Kōgaku, and the Tanar 5cm f/2 standard lens of the Tanack IV-S was already heavily inspired on the Nikkor 5cm f/2. In the case of the Tanack SD, the camera was not a plain copy of the Nikon, at least less so than the Melcon II released by Meguro a few months later. The major differences in the camera's architecture were the use of a Leica screw mount and the absence of a focusing wheel.

Description

The main body has an octagonal shape, as on the Nikon models. The dimensions of the body are 134×79×32mm, and the weight is 720g with the Tanar 5cm f/1.5 standard lens.

The viewfinder and rangefinder are combined in a single round eyepiece, offset to the left as seen by the photographer. The viewfinder has 1.0× magnification and a bright frame with automatic parallax correction — a feature that was not on the Nikon S2. The rangefinder has a large 60mm effective base. No dioptre adjustment is visible. The Tanar standard lenses sold with the SD focus down to 1.5ft, but they are not coupled to the rangefinder at close distance, under 3.5ft.

The back is detachable together with the bottom plate for film loading. It is locked by a key at the bottom, with O and C indications (for Open and Close), maybe allowing reloadable cassettes. The film is advanced by a lever at the top right. The lever contains a black exposure counter at the top, quite similar to that of the Nikon S2. There is a safety device, preventing to press the release button when the shutter is not fully wound. The rewind knob contains a folding crank, and is surrounded by a film reminder with ASA indications. The rewind selector is at the rear of the camera, with A and R indications. Original documents mention the ability to take double exposures; this might mean that the rewind selector completely disconnects the advance lever from the take-up spool, but this is unconfirmed.

From Shashin Kōgyō August 1958. (Image rights)

The horizontally running focal-plane shutter is controlled by two separate dials. The main dial has the following positions: B, 30–1 (in red), X, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000. It rotates during the exposure by less than a full turn; there is a main arrow index and a dot on the top cover to set the speed before winding. The slow speeds are set by turning the collar around the release button, with an index at the rear and the following positions: T, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 and presumably 30. The camera has an adjustable self-timer, controlled by a lever at the front, upside down compared to most other cameras.

Flash synchronization is provided via a single PC socket, whose location varies on the particular cameras. An original document mentions automatic selection of FP or X synchronization, depending on the position of the speed dial. The accessory shoe, on the viewfinder's right, is attached by four screws, and contains no flash contact. There is a film plane indicator engraved just behind. The tripod thread is right under the lens axis. There are strap lugs at both ends of the body, towards the front.

Commercial life

Announce in Shashin Kōgyō June 1957. (Image rights)

The Tanack SD was first announced and advertised in Japanese magazines dated May and June 1957. Advertisements in the June to October issues of Shashin Kōgyō list the camera for ¥47,000 with the Tanar 5cm f/1.5 standard lens, including a refillable cassette and an ever-ready case. At the time, the Nikon S2 was priced at ¥83,000 with Nikkor f/1.4 and ¥63,850 with Nikkor f/2, making a huge difference indeed.

June 1957	July 1957	Summer 1957
August 1957	September 1957	October 1957
Advertisements for the Tanack SD in Shashin Kōgyō. (Image rights)

The Tanack SD was tested as a new model by Kitano Kunio in the August 1958 issue of Shashin Kōgyō. (The camera was perhaps not yet readily available before that time.) Advertisements for the SD are known until February 1959; the last ones reportedly mention a Tanar f/1.2 standard lens.

Evolution

Prototype or early camera

The earliest documents dated mid 1957 show a picture of body no.85732 with a Tanar 5cm f/1.5 standard lens, reproduced below. This particular camera is perhaps a prototype, and has a number of unique features.

The speed dials and film reminder are all chrome, and the index of the film reminder is offset to the rear. The advance lever has a bulged tip. The main speed dial has a separate X position, intermediate between 30–1 and 60, perhaps corresponding to 1/45 or 1/50. The synch socket is at the front of the camera, outside the rangefinder window. There is an additional button below that window, believed to be the self-timer release.

The name Tanack is engraved between the two front windows, in the same cursive font as on earlier Tanack models, and is black filled. The model name TYPE–SD is engraved above the viewfinder, together with the company name Tanaka Opt. Co., Ltd. Japan, and the serial number is engraved in front of the accessory shoe: N°85732.

Tanack SD no.85732 with Tanar 5cm f/1.5. From Shashin Kōgyō July 1957. (Image rights)

Intermediate camera

All the later cameras have different markings. The name Tanack between the two windows is engraved in separate letters and is not black filled. The serial number is engraved above the viewfinder, towards the rear. The company name appears on the rear of the top cover as Tanaka Optical Co. Ltd. Japan. Only the model name TYPE–SD remains at the same location. As a consequence of the marking change, the film reminder index has moved to the side.

Advertisements dated August to October 1957 show an intermediate camera, with the new markings but retaining some older features. The flash socket is placed the same as on body no.85732, and the chrome speed dials are similar. The button under the rangefinder window has disappeared, certainly because the self-timer release has moved to another location under the lever. The film reminder is all black. The tip of the advance lever might have been modified, and the separate X setting might have been removed but these two points are unclear.

Tanack SD with Tanar 5cm f/1.5 no.15002. From Shashin Kōgyō August 1957. (Image rights)

Regular cameras

The regular cameras have the flash socket at the left end of the body, as on the contemporary Canon and Nikon models, and have an advance lever with a flat tip. The X indication on the speed dial is merged into the 30–1 setting, perhaps because full opening of the shutter at a higher speed was not reliable enough. (A similar change took place a few years earlier on the Tanack IV-S, whose first examples have a separate X setting, that was soon merged into 25–1.) It is not clearly known if the automatic selection of X synchronization, mentioned in an early announce dated June 1957, was retained despite the removal of the separate X setting.

Most cameras have black speed dials with white engravings, and a three-colour film reminder, with black, white and red sectors. These features are already visible on the camera tested by Kitano Kunio in August 1958, which might have body no.85931.

Tanack SD with Tanar 5cm f/1.5, alone and with a Canon VT. Body number is perhaps 85931. From Shashin Kōgyō August 1958. (Image rights)

The Tanack SD probably never reached true serial production, and some cameras have a mixture of older and newer parts: body no.85948 has black speed dials and an all black film reminder, and body no.86011 has chrome speed dials and a three-colour film reminder. Body numbers are known up to 86260, indicating a total production of little more than 500 units, in two years and a half.

Bibliography

Original documents

• Kitano Kunio (北野邦雄). "Atarashii kamera: Tanakku SD" (新しいカメラ・タナックSD, Testing new cameras: Tanack SD). In Shashin Kōgyō no.76, August 1958. Pp.188–9.
• Shashin Kōgyō. Advertisements by Tanaka Kōgaku:
  • no.61, June 1957, p.459;
  • no.62, July 1957, p.7;
  • no.63, Summer 1957, p.90;
  • no.64, August 1957, p.174;
  • no.65, September 1957, p.258;
  • no.66, October 1957, p.342.
• Shashin Kōgyō no.61, June 1957. "News flash". P.524.

Recent sources

• 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 1337.
• Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Kokusan Barunakku-gata kamera: Tanakku" (国産バルナック型カメラ・タナック, Japanese Leica-type cameras: Tanack). In Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.37, March 1996. No ISBN number. Leica Book '96 (ライカブック'96). Pp.52–5.
• Hattori Yutaka (服部豊). "Tanakku SD" (タナックSD, Tanack SD). In Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.45, March 1998. ISBN 4-257-13014-8. Sekai no Raika-gata kamera (世界のライカ型カメラ, Leica-like cameras of the world). Pp.24–5.
• HPR. Leica Copies. London: Classic Collection Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-874485-05-4. Pp.299–300.
• 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.914.
• 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 3768.

Links

In Japanese:

• Tanack SD in the AJCC website
• Tanack SD among other cameras at Chinpindō
• Tanack SD among Nikon S2 copies at Nikon kamera no koneta