Tsubame
The Tsubame is a Japanese subminiature camera taking 14×14mm pictures on 17.5mm paper backed rollfilm, made in the late 1940s or early 1950s by an unknown company. It seems that the camera has no marking except for the lens name; the name "Tsubame" itself (meaning "swallow" in Japanese) is therefore unconfirmed.
Description
The Tsubame is slightly better than the average Hit-type camera, and has some strange features. It has a waist-level finder only, contained in the middle of the top housing, and no direct vision finder. There is a body release on the right of the viewfinder (as seen by the photographer), an unusual feature on Hit-type models. The film is advanced by a knob on the left, with numbers engraved at the top, certainly a crude form of exposure counter. It is not known if there is a red window on the back or if the frame spacing relies on these numbers only. The back is probably hinged to the left, and there is a spring-loaded latch on the right. The leatherette covering is clear-coloured leatherette and has a decorative pattern.
The lens is a fixed-focus Tsubame Anastigmat 20mm f/4.5, and the aperture is reportedly adjustable from 4.5 to 9. The shutter has B, 100, 50, 25 speeds selected by turning the rim.
A single example of the Tsubame is known so far, pictured in Sugiyama,[1] and no document mentioning the camera has been found yet.
Notes
Bibliography
- 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 5154.
The Tsubame is not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
