Tomy
This page is about the Tomy 4.5×6 camera. It seems that some digital cameras also wear the name "Tomy".
The Tomy is a Japanese 4.5×6 camera with an unusual design. It has a folded light path, the rays going out of the lens being reflected by two mirrors before hitting the film. The purpose of this construction is to make a rigid camera with a standard 75mm lens without being too thick.
The Tomy is presented in 1952 in Japanese magazines. The designer of the camera is Sakurai Minoru[1] (桜井実),[2] and the maker is first announced to be Ars[3] Seiki Kōgyō (アルス精機工業).[4] The lens is a Paragon 75/3.5, the shutter is synchronized and gives B, 5–200 speeds.[5] No picture has yet been observed of the original variant made by Ars.
Still in 1952, the production of the Tomy is taken over by the company Zuihō Kōgaku Seiki (that also produced the Honor). The lens name becomes Zuiho, the shutter's lowest speed becomes 1/10, a depth-of-field scale is added and the shutter winding command is changed from knob to lever.[6] The camera is advertised until 1953, the price at the time being ¥9,700.[7]
The Tomy has a rigid construction, with a die cast body and the back hinged to the left. There is a red window at the bottom left of the back, to control film advance. The front of the body is covered by a metal square casing, engraved TOMY at the bottom. This casing contains the two mirrors. It supports the lens, off-centered to the left (when held by the photographer) and surrounded by a large leather-covered aperture ring, with the aperture numbers engraved on the casing itself. There is a lens cap engraved Tomy. The front casing also supports the shutter speed knob, styled and positioned like the slow speed knob of the Leica screw models. Near the bottom there is a lever that looks like a self-timer command but is certainly the shutter winding lever.
On the top plate, we find from left to right the advance knob, the tubular finder situated above the lens, the accessory shoe with an ASA bayonet synch connector just in front, the shutter release and a fake knob holding the film spool. The top plate is engraved PAT.A N° 16929 in the empty space behind the shutter release.
Notes
- ↑ Family name first.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 356.
- ↑ It is unknown if it is related with the photo magazine Ars Camera (アルスカメラ). The publisher of this magazine once offered the Arsen camera.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 356.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 356.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 356.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Tomy, published in the June 1953 issue of Photo Art, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 624.
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. Items 623–4.
- 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). Pp. 80–1, shows one picture.
Links
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