Tsubasa Chrome
Template:127 Japan The Tsubasa Chrome (ツバサ・クローム) is a dual format camera, taking both 4×6.5cm and 3×4cm format pictures on 127 film, that was made by the Japanese company Optochrom. Its lens and shutter assembly is mounted on a telescopic tube. There is a tubular optical finder, with delimitations for both formats. The leatherette is embossed TSUBASA on the left of the body. No focusing device is visible; maybe it was fixfocus.
On the cameras observed, the lens is a Lucomar Anastigmat 75/6.3 and the shutter has T, B, 150, 100, 50, 25 speeds. The shutter plate is marked WING ANCHOR at the top and MADE IN JAPAN at the bottom and there is a logo at the right (NE in a circle). Two variants have been observed:
- no shutter release visible, maybe the shutter is everset or only a soft release can be used (see at Mediajoy Cla_came)
- body release (at least there is a button on the body, pictured in McKeown)
It appeared in a 1938 ad (in the September 1938 issue of Asahi Camera, visible here) as the Tsubasa Chrome New (ツバサ・クローム新型, means "New Model"). There is a body release in the picture, which might be the significance of the "new model". It was offered with a Tsubasa shutter, speeds maybe T-B-25-50-100-150 (barely readable). The lens name was maybe Lucomar (barely readable in the ad, but name observed on the cameras). The price was ¥25 with a f/6.3 (probably) lens, and ¥34 with a f/4.5 lens. The case was sold for 5 yen. On the ad's picture, the shutter plate could be the same as described above. Another Japanese catalogue, probably from 1942, listed the Tsubasa Chrome for ¥40, with a Lucomar f/6.3 lens and a Tsubasa T-B-25-100-150 shutter (1/50 speed omitted maybe by mistake). The case was offered for an additional ¥6.70.
Notes
Printed 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 143–4 and 146–7.
