Difference between revisions of "User talk:Heritagefutures"

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==Beck==
 
==Beck==
  
* Asymmetrical Lens CLean mine!
+
* Asymmetrical Lens clean mine!
 
+
USE?:
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skink74/147824376/
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skink74/147824376/
 +
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skink74/147824376/" title="Face On by Skink74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/52/147824376_173236d1a9_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="Face On"></a>
  
  

Revision as of 06:28, 30 December 2011

Comments & talk up here please

Comment placement

Hello. I do notice "FEEL FREE TO LOOK, BUT PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH" above; but user talk pages are conventionally for comments to the user, and I don't know where else to post this comment of mine. Of course you are welcome to delete it. I noticed your recent question on Camera-wiki.org talk:Sandbox. I believe that that is intended for discussion of CW's "sandbox", the place where people are invited to muck around without fear of retribution if they screw things up. I really wonder if anyone will see the comment there. Since it's about Template:Flickr image, you may wish to post it to Template talk:Flickr image; if you do, your edit will of course pop up on the watchlist of anyone who has the template on their watchlist. Zuleika 02:04, 22 April 2011 (PDT)

no worries...fixed... ;-) --Heritagefutures 02:19, 22 April 2011 (PDT)




Everything below this header is my personal sandbox ... feel free to look, but please don't touch






Collapsible Pictures and explanations -- Boxes
Press me !
Again !
 Blabla





This is a work in progress.


This is a work in progress.


Military Cameras
Aerial Cameras | XXX | Fairchild F8 | Fairchild K-17 | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | Solar-Vought Torpedo Camera |
     | Konishiroku GSK-99 | | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX |
Combat Cameras | XXX | XXX | Simmon PH-501/PF | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX |
Gun Cameras | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX |
Missile Cameras | WRECISS | WREROC | WRETAR | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX |


This is a work in progress.

Missile Stuff

Missile Cameras

Cameras played a major role in documenting the experiments and testing carried out the early days of guided weapons development. A suite of specialised cameras were developed in the mid- to late 1950s by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in the UK and the Weapons Research Establishment (South Australia) as part of the Anglo-Australian Joint Project (1946 to 1980) which focussed on guided weapons and missile development. The research focussed on a missile's behaviour in flight relying on observation and general telemetry data. While the latter would be displayed on an cathode-ray oscilloscope in real time, they needed recording to allow for detailed analysis. Film was a suitable medium to record such transitory analog data. To this end, high-speed cine cameras were developed which capable of 100 frames/second and more. While recorded data would be viewed as segments of motion film many were analysed on a frame-by-frame basis.

The telemetry cameras

  • Ground based cameras
    • Missile behavior
    • Telemetry recording

Recording of moving Oscillograph data occurred principally with the GW 3 camera. Such cameras also existed in the civilian arena (such as the Cossor 1428).[1]

  • Missile borne cameras
  • Target Aircraft Cameras

Notes

  1. The Fairchild F-296 is an example of camera used to record stable oscillograph data where a single image sufficed for the purposes documentation.



This is a work in progress.

GW cameras

During the early period of the Cold War the United Kingdom carried out wide-ranging missile research, partly in collaboration with Australia (under the umbrella of the Anglo-Australian Joint Project, which ran from 1946 to 1980). [1] The testing of the missiles required a range of sophisticated devices to record and document missile behaviour in flight, approaches to targets and also to record telemetry data that were obtained on the ground. In the days prior to digital data collection this occurred analog, with film being the preferred option. All cameras carry the type specification GW for Guided Weapons. While technically most of the cameras where high speed cine cameras (100 frames/second), many of them were used for frame-by-frame analysis:

  • GW 1 Target Aircraft Camera (Dekko Ltd, 1954)-- a high-speed 35mm cine camera mounted in the target aircraft to record the missile approach angles (and miss distances).
  • GW 2 Target Aircraft Camera (Beck, 1955)-- a high-speed 35mm cine camera mounted in the target aircraft to record the missile approach angles (and miss distances).
  • GW 3 Continuous Record Camera (Cinetra Ltd, 1958). The GW3 was a high-speed 35mm cine camera developed to record cathode ray oscillograph images at various speeds.[2]
  • GW 9 Missile Camera (Specto Ltd, 1960)—A 16mm high-speed cine camera with interchangeable lenses, carried by missiles in flight.[3]

In Australia a number of similar cameras were built which carried different designations: WRECISS, WREROC and WRETAR.


Notes

  1. For background on the project see Morton, Peter (1989) Fire across the desert. Woomera and the Anglo-Australian Joint Project 1946–1980. Canberra: AGPS.—For general context of UK guided weapons development in the 1950s see Twigge, S.R. (1993) The early development of guided weapons in the United Kingdom, 1940-1960. London: Routledge.—For Woomera see also: Southall, Ivan (1962) Woomera. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
  2. The camera was jointly developed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment and Cinetra Ltd. It took 200ft rolls of daylight loadable 35mm cine film. The design had a geared advance that allowed for recording speeds of 1 inch/sec to 128 inches/sec. The camera came with three interchangeable lenses (1 ¼", 2" and 3") all with f/1.9. A time marker unit was also fitted.-- For details and specifications, see: Brooks, J.H. (1958) Type GW 3 continuous record camera. (UK National Archives AVIA 6/23834).
  3. The 16mm camera, running at 100 frames/sec, was designed and built by Specto Ltd, (London. Specto were manufacturers of cine cameras and projectors, operating from 1935 to 1960 (list of manufacturers of vintage cinematographic equipment). --The GW 9 came with four Specto Ltd. lenses (1/2” f/4; ¾, f/4.5; 1 ½”, f/1.9 and 3’, f4). In addition, it could accept lenses designed for the G.S.A.P. cameras. The camera used a circular disc shutter with two sectors cut out of the rim. At 100 frames/sec the shutter speed was 1/210th. The 50ft of daylight loadable 16mm film allowed for 20 seconds of running time.--For details and specifications, see: Husbands, C.W. (1960) The type GW 9 missile camera. Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Note TD47, March 1960. London: Royal Aircraft Establishment (Farnborough), Ministry of Aviation (UK National Archives AVIA 6/23847).

WRE

The Weapons Research Establishment (located in Salisbury, South Australia) was managed by the Commonwealth of Australia's Department of Supply and collaborated with various defense contractors.[1] In conjunction with the Joint Anglo-Australian Missile Testing program,[2] WRE developed an ultra-wide 186° fish-eye lens (design by RA Dixon [3][4]). This lens found application in a number of specialised cameras:[5]

WRECISS

The Weapons Research Establishment Camera Interception Single-Shot WRECISS unit (developed 1957) was mounted in the nose telemetry bay of the surface-to-air missile. Although the firing lever must be replaced after each mission, it was estimated that some 30 per cent of the units could be re-used without repairs and a substantial further proportion could be repaired relatively cheaply. WRECISS shot single negatives using 0.93in discs punched from 35 mm Ilford Photo SR101 film., exposure time 0.3 millisec

Weight 801; diameter 1.5in; length 1.25in; field of view 186 ° (Dixon lens); effective relative aperture, approximately f/8; 192 cameras were made in the initial production run.[6]

WREROC

The Weapons Research Establishment Roll Orientation Camera (WREROC) was developed to record the roll (rotation) of a missile in flight in relation to the horizon. The coverage of the ultra-wide angle Dixon lens was restricted to a narrow slit. The 35mm colour negative film was moved at a constant speed past the slit so that the resulting image is a continual strip that shows the horizon throughout the duration of the flight.[7]

WRESTAR

The Weapons Research Establishment Small Target Aircraft Recorder (WRESTAR-A) was a camera designed to form the centre section of a towed Rushton airfcraft target. The camera, which measures 190mm in diameter, carries eight ultra-wide (186 degree) Dixon lenses. The camera was desined that it successively exposed four image pairs (using diametrically opposed lenses) over a period of 30 milli-seconds. Each lens pair cover the entire sky around the target.[8]

WRETAR

While technically the Weapons Research Establishment Target Aircraft Recorder (WRETAR) is a high speed cine camera mounted on a target aircraft. The resulting negatives were not projected as a film but examined individually in order to assess the miss distance of the missile in relation to its target.[4]


Notes

  1. Such as Fairey Aviation Co of Australasia Pty Ltd (later merged into AWA Defence Industries of Australia).
  2. For back ground see: Morton, Peter (1989) Fire across the desert. Woomera and the Anglo-Australian Joint Project 1946–1980. Canberra : AGPS; as well as Twigge, S.R. (1993) The early development of guided weapons in the United Kingdom, 1940-1960. London: Routledge.
  3. ‘Wide Angle Lens Systems.’ US Patent Filed 23 Dec 1957; Issued 18 Dec 1962. Applicants: Robert P. Bonnell, Jack V. Ramsey and Francis Alfred Thomas Dixon, assigned to The Commonwealth of Australia. US Pat. Nº 306875
  4. 4.0 4.1 Dixon, F.A. (1961) Cameras with Wide Fields of view used in Rocket Research at the Woomera Range, South Australia. In: K.J. Habell (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Optical Instruments and Techniques London 1961. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp.273-278.
  5. Many of the lenses used for the WRETAR, WRECISS and WREROC cameras were produced by Etherington Optical in Mildura, Victoria: Edgar, Don (2000) Obituary Reginald Robert Etherington. Clinical and Experimental Optometry vol. 83 nº 4, pp. 234-235.
  6. Missiles and Spaceflight. Flight 1 January 1960, p. 4
  7. For an in-depth description, see Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the WREROC missile cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :} ¶¶
  8. Spencer, F. (1969) WRESTAR-A (Weapons Research Establishment Small Target Aircraft Recorder Type A). Weapons Research Establishment Technical Note PD 98 (February 1969). Salisbury (Austra-lia): Weapons Research Establishment, Dept. of Supply
This is a work in progress.

WRETAR


The WRE Target Aircraft Recorder (WRETAR) is one of a suite of specialised cameras developed in the mid- to late 1950s the Weapons Research Establishment (South Australia) in conjunction with the Anglo-British guided weapons development. The WRETAR is as a more compact and light weight alternative to the Dekko GW 1 and Beck GW 2 target aircraft cameras. While technically a high speed cine camera, shooting at 100 frames/second, the resulting negatives were not projected as a film but examined individually in order to assess the miss distance of the missile in relation to its target.

In 1955-56, the Australian Government Aircraft Factories (GAF), in collaboration with Australia’s Weapon Research Establishment (WRE), developed a newly designed ultra-wide lens with 210º coverage.[1] When fitted to a newly designed 35mm film camera capable of 100 frames / second (WRETAR), the lens yielded a coverage of 186º. Thus one unit could cover a full hemisphere. Two design options had been developed, a short back-focus version and a more slender long back-focus one. The first option was the preferred version and entered service in 1957.[2][3] The whole sky could be covered with two units in the standard wind-pod configuration, with one camera mounted looking up and the other one looking down.[4] This required only small blisters to protrude from the pods. WRETAR was capable of ‘recognising’ a missile within 250ft of the camera (larger missiles at a greater distance). [3]

The film magazine took a standard 50ft roll of 35mm cine film, which gave the camera a run time of 12 seconds.[5]. Variant models of the camera used 100 foot daylight loadable rolls of 35mm film on a thinner base, which allowed for 24 seconds run time (or to record two trials at 12 sec each).[5][6]

A number of WRETAR versions were produced with varied advance speeds, exposure times and apertures:[7]

  • WRETAR Mk 1 is capable of 100 frames /second at 1 milli-second exposure with an aperture of F/8 (when fitted with a minus bluefilter).[5] A roll of 35mm film gives a maximum running time of 20 seconds.[7]
  • WRETAR Mk 2 Listed but no details known. Additional versions with altered advance speeds (up to 160 frames/second,[5]had been developed.
  • WRETAR Mk 3 Listed but no details known.[8]


Notes

  1. Dixon, F.A. (1961) Cameras with Wide Fields of view used in Rocket Research at the Woomera Range, South Australia. In: K.J. Habell (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Optical Instruments and Techniques London 1961. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp.273-278.—‘Wide Angle Lens Systems.’ US Patent Filed 23 Dec 1957; Issued 18 Dec 1962. Applicants: Robert P. Bonnell, Jack V. Ramsey and Robert A Dillon, assigned to The Commonwealth of Australia. US Pat. Nº 3068752.—This was a major development for the Australian optics industry: Steel, W. H. (1964) Optics in Australia. Applied Optics vol. 3, nº 7, pp. 839-842.
  2. The first production run was 192 units (DSTO Timeline 1946 - 2007).—In the U.K. the WRETAR was called WRE Mk. 1
  3. 3.0 3.1 Evans, J.B. (1963) Analysis of records obtained from target aircraft camera systems. Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Note IR 32, November 1963. London: Royal Aircraft Establishment (Farnborough), Ministry of Supply (UK National Archives AVIA 6/25551).
  4. Frost, J.M.R. & Morton, P. (1988) Instrumentation at the Woomera Rocket Range. Australian Journal of Instrumentation and Control vol. 3 nº 3, pp. 18-20.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Wood, J. (1962) Wide Angle Lens Instrumentation. Missile. Quarterly Magazine for the Members of the Weapons Research Establishment Institute vol. 8 nº 1, pp. 4-6,
  6. Royal Aircraft Establishment (1968) Air Targets at the R.A.E. Aberporth Range. Air Targets Issue 3, November 1968. AVIA 6/23916. Royal Aircraft Establishment (Ranges Division).
  7. 7.0 7.1 Anon (1963) This is Fairey: Fairey Aviation Company of Australasia Pty Ltd. Fairey Review, vol. 5 nº 3, p. 39-43.
  8. Smith, A. T. (1973) Miss Distance Measurement Using One Camera. Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Report 73162 (9 October 1973). London: Royal Aircraft Establishment (Farnborough), Ministry of Defence.



This is a work in progress.

WREROC

The Weapons Research Establishment Roll Orientation Camera (WREROC) is one of a suite of specialised cameras developed in the mid- to late 1950s the Weapons Research Establishment (South Australia) in conjunction with the Anglo-British guided weapons development. WREROC was developed to record the roll (rotation) of a missile in flight in relation to the horizon. It drew on the Dixon lens developed for WRETAR cameras.[1]

Background

One of the major challenges encountered when testing missiles in the 1950s and early 1960s was to determine the amount and angle of roll during the flight. Some missiles intentionally used roll as a part of their stabilisation, while others developed roll during experiments. Ground observations were not always possible or accurate and in-flight telemetry was still in its infancy. To document the nature and speed of missile roll, WRE developed a unique camera, the WREROC (WRE Roll Orientation Camera). It drew on the ultra wide lens[2] also used in WRETAR[3] and WRECISS[3][4][5] The camera had to be designed very small and compact to fit into the missile, but also robust enough to withstand ground impact for those occasions where the missile crashed accidentally or where the standard parachute recovery was not used.[3].

Description

The extreme 186° fish-eye angle of the lens was restricted to a narrow slit of 2 mm width. The 35mm film was moved at a constant speed past the slit and was exposed at f/8 with an exposure time of 2 milliseconds. The camera had the capacity of 15 foot roll of colour film, which gave a total exposure time of 3 minutes. A time base was recorded at the film’s edge and three stadia lines were imprinted on the film.[3] While technically a WREROC is a high speed cine camera, the resulting film was not projected as a movie. Rather, the resulting negative is a continual strip that shows the horizon throughout the duration of the flight. Two cameras were installed in the missile at right angles to the roll axis, pointing in opposite directions. This dual installation provided instrumentation redundancy, but also removed ambiguity in situations where the white glare coming of salt lakes could be confused with the sky just above the horizon.[3]

The camera measures 7 x 8 x 5 cm (3 x 3 5/8 x 2 inches) and weighs 1.32kg (2.9 lb) ! It has been milled from a single piece of steel. Access to the internal mechanism (film advance, shutters, electro motor, diodes for time-base), as well as loading the unit with film, is achieved by two solid side plates that are securely bolted down in recessed (flush with the body).

Sample Images

Links

  • Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the WREROC missile cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :} ¶¶

Notes

  1. For an in-depth description, see Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the WREROC missile cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :} ¶¶
  2. Wide Angle Lens Systems.’ US Patent Filed 23 Dec 1957; Issued 18 Dec 1962. Applicants: Robert P. Bonnell, Jack V. Ramsey and Robert A Dillon, assigned to The Commonwealth of Australia. US Pat. Nº 3068752
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Dixon, F.A. (1961) Cameras with Wide Fields of view used in Rocket Research at the Woomera Range, South Australia. In: K.J. Habell (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Optical Instruments and Techniques London 1961. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp.273-278.
  4. WRECISS—Weapons Research Establishment Camera Interception Single-Shot
  5. ‘Midget Camera for Guided Missiles.’ The Photographic Journal vol. 100, 1960, 173.—‘Midget Camera for Guided Missiles.’ Industrial and Commercial Photographer vol. 1, nº 2, 1960 p. 40.—‘Midget Camera for Guided Missiles.’ Aircraft Engineering vol. 32, 1960, p. 119.—‘Midget Camera for Guided Missiles.’ Military Review vol. 40, nº 1, 1960, p. 78.—‘Camera measures missile accuracy.’ Missiles and Rockets vol. 6, 1960, p. 32.—Beharrell, B | Collier, M J (1966) Photogrammetric methods applied to WRECISS computation (Photogrammetric methods applied to calculation of target position and attitude relative to missile). WRE Technical Note TRD-22, 16pp. Salisbury (Australia): Weapons Research Establishment, Dept. of Supply
This is a work in progress.

Beck

  • Asymmetrical Lens clean mine!

USE?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skink74/147824376/ <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skink74/147824376/" title="Face On by Skink74, on Flickr"><img src="147824376_173236d1a9_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="Face On"></a>


Beck Sky Camera

Beck Guided Weapons Lenses

The folowing lenses have been documented

The lens is
The lens is similar to the Type 2 M2, but is surrounded by four diodes for @@@




This is a work in progress.

Dekko

Between the 1930s and 1950s Dekko Cameras Ltd[1] produced a range of cine cameras for civilian application[2] In addition, Dekko produced a range of projectors for 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm format.[3]

Civilian Cameras

  • Dekko Standard (1934)—a Bakelite 9.5mm camera (1.2kg, 59x125x133 mm)[4][5] on record with:
  • Dekko 104 DeLuxe (1935)—a bakelite 9.5mm camera, 8-64 fps, could shoot stills (1.45 kg, 59x125x150 mm) on record with:
  • Dekko 110 (1947)—a metal 8mm camera fitted with National Optic Anastigmat f/2.5 12.5mm
  • Dekko 128 (1950)—a 8mm camera (0.9 kg, 63x127x127 mm) with National Optic Anastigmat f/2.5 12.5mm

????

  • Wray Dekko 20mm Anastigmat F/3.5[7]

Military Cameras

During World War II the company had also designed the Dekko type N model 136 (1940) aircraft magazine camera. After World War II it was approached by the Royal Air Force to develop a high speed camera to record missile strikes on target aircraft (the Dekko GW 1).[8] Even though the latter was technically a high speed cine camera, shooting at 100 frames/second, the resulting negatives were not projected as a film but examined individually in order to assess the miss distance of the missile in relation to its target.

It seems that Dekko withdrew from the civilian movie camera market in the late 1950s and expanded into the business of electronics instrumentation[9]. High speed cameras for research and instrumentation purposes continued to be produced,[10] as were adaptations of movie cameras to single shot devices for data recording of experiments[11].

Links

  • ¶¶ Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the GW Target Aircraft Cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :}
  • 9.5 mm equipment catalogue
  • 9.5mm cameras (Anna & Terry Vacini Binocular and Cine Collection

Notes

  1. Addresses:1934-1938: Slough, Buckinghamshire; 1938-1950s: Telford Way, East Acton, London, W3, UK
  2. For patents held by Dekko see: Perfectionnements aux chargeurs de film pour caméras. Inventors Alan Percy Smith and Henry Arthur Bence-Trower. Applicant Dekko Cameras Ltd. Application date 25 August 1938. Publication date 14 June 1939. French Patent nº FR 842562 (A).—Improvements in or relating to cinematograph projectors. Inventors Dekko Cameras Ltd. and Frederick Wheeler Stanley. Applicant Dekko Cameras Ltd. Application date 28 February 1948; Publication date 6 January 1952. British patent nº GB 665136 (A).
  3. Dekko 1 (1937?), 9.5mm projector with crank 60 ft reels 40V. 15W; Dekko 2 (1937?), 9.5mm projector with motor 60 ft reels 40V. 15W; Dekko 3 (1939), 9.5mm projector with crank 50V 25W; Dekko 4 (1939), 9.5mm projector with motor 50V. 25W; Dekko 5 (1939), 9.5mm projector 400 ft; Dekko 6 (1939), 9.5mm projector 400 ft; Dekko 7 (1939), 9.5mm projector 400 ft; Dekko 8 (1939), 9.5mm projector 400 ft; Dekko 48 (1939), 9.5mm projector 100/115V. 50 W. 400 ft.; Dekko 118a (1947), 8mm projector 500 W; Dekko 118b (1947), 8mm projector 500 W; Dekko 118c (1947), 8mm projector 500 W; Dekko 119a (1947), 9.5mm projector 110V. 500 W.; Dekko 119b (1947), 9.5mm projector 110V. 500W; Dekko 119c (1947), 9.5mm projector 110V. 750W; Dekko 126A (1949), 16mm projector 500W; Dekko 126B (1949), 16mm projector 500W; Dekko 126C (1949), 16mm projector 500W.—See also: Dekko Cameras Ltd. (1952) Projector for 16 mm cinematograph films. Journal of Scientific Instruments vol. 29 nº 2, pp. 62-63.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 9.5mm cameras (Anna & Terry Vacini Binocular and Cine Collection).
  5. Advertisement The Straits Times, 4 April 1935, Page 1 Column 2.
  6. National Media Museum / Science & Society
  7. Lens only, has three holes on flange, one section of flange is a straight cut: Ebay 110729130708 (August 2011)
  8. Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the GW Target Aircraft Cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :}
  9. ‘The Industry’ ‘’Flight’’ 29 July 1957, p. 145
  10. Coleman, K R (1967) Some recent work on the photography of transient events. ‘’Journal of Scientific Instruments’’ vol 44 nº 5, pp. 321
  11. Howell, R.S (1963) The Flight Recorder. Appendix 2 to: W.F. Fielding, Kinetic and solar heating of 1000lb bombs examined at R.A.F. Idris, August-September 1962. Technical Note WE 13. Farnborough: Royal Aircraft Establishment. Page 16


This is a work in progress.

Dekko GW 1



Background

While technically a high speed cine camera, shooting at 100 frames/second, the resulting negatives were not projected as a film but examined individually in order to assess the miss distance of the missile in relation to its target. The film magazine took a standard 50ft roll of 35mm cine film, which gave the camera a run time of 12 seconds.


Technical designs

Mk 1A

Mk 1B

The existence of a Mark 1B camera can be inferred but units of this type have not been available for examination at the time of writing.

Mk 1C

Mk 1D

The identification data engraved on the cover for the film magazine-loading bay read the same as those documented for the Mark 1C, with the exception that the text Mk 1C’ has been replaced by ‘Mk 1D.’ The sole Mk 1D unit examined carried a R&J Beck GW Type 3 lens. There is no readily visible difference between the Mk1C and Mk1D models, either in overall appearance, lenses or mechanics.

Links

  • ¶¶ Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the GW Target Aircraft Cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :}

Notes




This is a work in progress.

Beck GW 2



Background

While technically a high speed cine camera, shooting at 100 frames/second, the resulting negatives were not projected as a film but examined individually in order to assess the miss distance of the missile in relation to its target. The film magazine took a 100 foot roll, which gave the camera a run time of 12 seconds.

Technical designs

Links

  • ¶¶ Spennemann, Dirk HR (2012) History, Description and Technical Details of the GW Target Aircraft Cameras. vers. 1.0 {: CAMERA | TOPIA :}

Notes




This is a work in progress.

PAGE ONE -- MAIN ENTRY FOR MAMIYA-SIX

Japanese Six (6×6)
Prewar and wartime models (edit)
folding
Adler Six | Bonny Six | Clover-Six | Condor Six | First Six | Gelto Six | Gotex | Green | Lyra Six | Super Makinet Six | Mamiya Six | Miyako Six | Mulber Six | Mulix | National Six | Neure Six | Oko Six | Olympus Six | Pilot Six | Romax | Ugein | Vester-Six | Victor Six | Weha Six
collapsible
Ehira Chrome Six | Minolta Six | Shinko Super | Weha Chrome Six
unknown
Freude Six | Heart Camera | Konter Six | Tsubasa Six
Postwar models (edit)
folding
Aires Viceroy | Angel Six | Aram Six | Astoria Super Six | Atom Six | Balm Six | Baron | Beauty Six (1950) | Beauty Six (1953) | Calm Six | Carl Six | Centre Six | Crown | Crystar Six | Daido Six | Dorima Six | Doris Six | Ehira Six | Elbow Six | First Six | Flora Six | Fodor Six | Frank Six | Fujica Six | Super Fujica Six | Futami Six | Gotex | Grace Six | Kohken Chrome Six | Kyowa Six | Liner Six | Lyra Six | Mamiya Six | Middl Six | Mihama Six | Mine Six | Minon Six | Mizuho Six | Motoka Six | Mount Six | Muse Six | Super Naiku | Ofuna Six | Olympus Six | Olympus Chrome Six | Orion Six | Oscar Six | Pigeon Six | Planet | Please Six | Pluto Six | Poppy Six | Press Van | Press Van-120 | Proud Chrome Six | Proud Super Six | Renown Six | Ricoh Six | Ruvikon | Ruvinal | Sanon Six | Silver Six | Sisley 1 | Sisley 2 & 3 | Sister Six | Tenar Six | Toho Six | Tomic | Toyoca Six | Ugein Six | Wagen Six | Walcon 6 | Welmy Six | Wester | Windsor Six
rigid or collapsible
Dia Six | Ehira Chrome Six | Enon Six | Flora | Flashline | Fujipet | Harmony | Mikono-6 | Orion | Ponix | Rich-Ray-6 | Shumy | Weha Chrome Six
Japanese SLR, TLR, pseudo TLR and stereo models ->
Japanese 3×4 and 4×4, 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6 and older 6×9 ->

This article is about the spring-folder camera made by Mamiya in the 1940s and 50s. For the 1990s camera, see Mamiya 6.

The Mamiya Six is a series of 6×6 folders with a coupled rangefinder, made by Mamiya from 1940 to the 1950s. All of them are focused by moving the film plane, rather than the more common front-cell focussing of other folders of the time.

History

The brain behind the development of the Mamiya Six was the inventor Seiichi Mamiya. His camera design departed from the common method of front cell focussing. In order to be able to control the camera when looking through the rangefinder while maintaining a steady hold,[1] he designed a method that allowed the film plane to move in relation to the lens. He filed his invention on 1 July 1939 in Japan[2], on ¶¶ 1940 in the United Kingdom[3] and on 5 June 1940 in the U.S.A. The U.S. Patent (nº 2,305,301) was granted on 15 December 1942, but, because of the state of war between the USA and Japan, was vested in the Alien Property Custodian.[4]


Evolution


The first model (Mamiya Six I) was advertised in September 1940 and first went on sale in December 1940. Until the end of the World War II, the Mamiya Six was significantly modified at least three times: first in early 1941 (model Ia) with two additional improved models introduced in the next two years. Erratically, model III was released in 1942[5] before model II appeared in 1943. All pre-war and war-time models have a twin set of range finder windows as well as a small, seperate Brillant-type waist-level viewfinder, resulting in three windows at the front. All units have a single red film frame counter window counter on the back with a horizontal slider opening to the left. The Mamiya Six III added an exposure counter with double exposure prevention. The pre-war and war-time models were all 6x6 format cameras.

Production of the Mamiya Six was restarted after World War II. The first cameras to be sold were Mamiya Six III. It is not clear to what extent these units were assembled from existing spare parts, or whether all are totally new construction. The official Mamiya history states that ¶¶¶ These post-War Mamiya Six III were fitted with which was introduced in Takatiho Tokio Zuiko f/3.5 75mm lenses, which debuted in 1946.[6] The first new model to appear was the Mamiya Six IV, introduced in 1947, which dispensed with the waist-level finder. It remained the sole model until 1953. The Mamiya Six V added the dual 6×6 and 4.5×6 format capability, with an exposure counter functioning with both formats. The Mamiya Six K was a simpler model, with film advance via red windows.

In 1955, the Mamiya Six IVb introduced a squarer body design, easily recognized by the square rangefinder window. Its features were similar to the model IV. The Mamiya Six K2 was similar to the model K with the new body. The body design was slightly modified again for the Mamiya Six IVs and simpler Mamiya Six P.

From 1955, the Mamiya Six Automat and the later Automat 2 added a coupling between the shutter cocking and the film advance.


Chronology of Models

Given the quite erratic nature of model numbering that occurred over the years, the chronology of the thirteen major Mamiya Six models is set out in Table 1. The characteristcs of the individual models, as well as the variants within these models, are described further below. If in doubt about some of the features mentioned in the type descriptions, please refer to the visual documentation of the critical elements which provides a dichotomous key as well as a series of illustrations showing the model-specific details.


Table 1 Chronology of Mamiya Six Cameras

Release Date     Model/Variant
pre-War Production 1940, September    Mamiya Six I
1941, January
 
   Mamiya Six Ia
 
War Production 1942, January    Mamiya Six III
1943    Mamiya Six II
1943?    Mamiya Six IIa
1945
 
   Production Ceased
 
post-War Production   1946, November    Mamiya Six III
1947    Mamiya Six IV
1953, November    Mamiya Six V
1954, August    Mamiya Six K
1955, May    Mamiya Six IVb
1955, December    Mamiya Six Automat
1956, March    Mamiya Six K2
1957, October    Mamiya Six IVs
1957, December    Mamiya Six P
1958    Mamiya Six Automat 2
 
 


Dichotomous Key to aid identification of models

The Mamiya Six comes in a bewildering range of variants. The interactive, dichotomous key provided below provides an avenue at identifying the types of Mamiya Six. Once you have identified your model, click on the model name to be taken to a full description. If you are unclear about any of the criteria, either click on the criterion name or jump to this page for visual identification guides.


NON INTERACTIVE DICHOTOMOUS KEY

START : How many viewfinder windows are on the front?
TWO Windows
Is there a horizontal bar underneath the lens?
Yes
The right hand, square viewfinder window is:
Flush with the casing→Mamiya Six Automat
Surrounded by a small back rim → Mamiya Six Automat 2
No
The right hand, square viewfinder window is:
Flush with the casing
Film Advance knob is
Solid with film speed on top→Mamiya Six P
Mushroom shaped
Depth of Field Indicator is
in a small raised ring → Mamiya Six IVb
flush with top housing → Mamiya Six K2
Surrounded by a small black rim → Mamiya Six IVs
Surrounded by small rectangular plate
Viewfinder housing to the left of the shutter release is
Curved→ Mamiya Six IV
Straight → Mamiya Six K
Surrounded by a rectangular plate that encompasses the left round window as well → Mamiya Six V
THREE Windows
Does the body have triangular neckstrap lugs?
Yes
How many Struts ?
Two → Mamiya Six Ia
Three → Mamiya Six I
No
Is there a Flash Contact?
Yes
The cold shoe for the flash is fastened with
two screws, set diagonal → Mamiya Six III post-War production
front door release is
single raised button → Variant A
twin set of buttons → Variant B
three screws → Mamiya Six III war-time production
No
How many Struts ?
Two → Mamiya Six IIa
Three → Mamiya Six II


Notes

  1. Seiichi Mamiya had field an earlier application with the British Patent Office (for an improvement in single lens reflex cameras) again emphasising the need to be able to maintain control when focussing. While that application was successful, the patent was not granted as Mamiya failed to pay the sealing fee: "Improvements In Or Relating To Photographic Cameras. Patent GB326688. Filed 17 April 1929; Published 20 March 1930.[| GB-Patent-326688/]
  2. Japanese utility model publication (実用新案出現広告) no.S15-14673. Applied for (出現) on Jul. 1, 1939 and published (公告) on Oct. 5, 1940.
  3. Improvements In And Relating To Focusing Devices For Portable Photographic Cameras. Patent GB542016. Filed ¶¶. Published 22 December 1941.
  4. Focussing Device for Portable Photographic Cameras. Patent application by Seiichi Mamiya, Ohita, Takata-Gun, Japan. Filed 5 June 1940, granted 15 December 1942. U.S. Patent nº 2,305,301.
  5. According to the official Mamiya history website | History of Mamiya Six (Mamiya history website)
  6. See the lens chronology on the Zuiko page.