Union Ref and Hansa Rollette Ref
The Union Ref and Hansa Rollette Ref[1] are Japanese 4.5×6 pseudo TLR cameras. They seem to be the first Japanese cameras with the TLR shape.[2]
Both models are nearly identical and they are believed to be name variants of each other. Their actual maker is unknown, with hints pointing to Optochrom and to Yamashita.
Contents
General description
Both cameras are shaped like a twin lens reflex but the viewing lens is not used for focusing. The cheaper versions are fixed-focus, but this is perhaps not the case for the better ones.[3]
The advance knob is on the top of the right hand sideplate. The viewing hood has an "X"-shaped decorative rib.
The Union Ref
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| Baby Ref and Union Ref leaflet. Click on the image for a translation. (Image rights) |
The Union Ref (ユニオンレフ) is only known from a leaflet dating around 1937[4] where it is presented together with the Baby Ref as an affordable reflex camera. No company name is indicated.
Three variants were offered:
- f/8 lens, B, 25, 50 speeds (¥20 — case ¥6 extra);
- Lucomar Anastigmat f/6.3 lens, B, 25, 50, 100 speeds (¥28);
- Milittle[5] f/4.5 lens, T, B, 25, 50, 100, 200 speeds (¥48).
The advertising picture shows the Lucomar f/6.3 variant. The lens appears to be fixed-focus but it is probable that the f/4.5 variant has front-cell focusing. The shutter plate is marked Optochrom at the top and something beginning with DUPL at the bottom (perhaps "Duplex"), with a logo in a circle on the right perhaps reading DK.
These markings and brand names indicate that the lens and shutter were made by Optochrom (the later Kigawa), and are similar to the markings found on the shutter plate of the original version of the Baby Chrome illustrated in the same leaflet.
YS logo.
(Image rights)
The nameplate reads Union Ref and there is a YS logo in a circle in the middle of the viewing hood. This logo might stand for Yamashita Shōten but this is merely a guess.
The Hansa Rollette Ref
The Hansa Rollette Ref (ハンザ・ローレット・レフ) was surely distributed by Ōmiya Shashin-yōhin, the owner of the "Hansa" brand. Its nameplate is only written Rollette Ref.
It was featured in the new products column of the February 1936 issue of Asahi Camera,[6] and it was listed in the catalogue of Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten dated April 20, 1937[7], but the YS logo is no more visible. The price was ¥16. The camera is said to have a Tribar 75/8 lens and a T, B, 25–100 shutter.[8]
Notes
- ↑ The name is spelled "Hanza Rollette Ref" in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339, but this is a typo.
- ↑ The Japanese Historical Camera, p. 23 (in Japanese and English); Japanese-only version in this page of the JCII.
- ↑ Fixed-focus: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339, about the Hansa Rollette Ref.
- ↑ Undated leaflet for the Victory, Semi Dymos, Reex, Baby Ref, Union Ref and Baby Chrome.
- ↑ Name inferred from the katakana ミリトル.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339.
- ↑ Extract of the catalogue reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 84.
- ↑ Lens and shutter: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339. The Tribar spelling is inferred from the katakana トリバー.
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. Item 183.
- The Japanese Historical Camera. 2nd ed. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2004. P. 23.
- Leaflet for the Victory, Semi Dymos, Reex, Baby Ref, Union Ref and Baby Chrome, published by an unknown company. Date not indicated.
- 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). P. 54 (brief mention only).
These cameras are not listed in Sugiyama.
Links
In Japanese:
