Vest Alex and Vest Olympic

The Vest Alex (ベスト・アレックス) is a Japanese camera taking 4×6.5cm and 3×4cm pictures on 127 film, sold from 1936 to 1938 by Misuzu Shōkai. The Vest Olympic (ベスト・オリンピック) is a rebadged version, introduced in late 1937 by Asahi Bussan. After that company was absorbed into Riken, the distribution was taken over by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō from 1938 until 1941 or 1942. The Vest Adler (ベスト・アドラー) is a name variant, sold in the early 1940s.

The actual manufacturer of the camera is unknown. It was probably some subcontractor, working for Misuzu Shōkai then for Asahi Bussan and Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō. It might also have been Asahi Bussan's manufacturing facilities, which made the bakelite Olympic models, and which were renamed Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō in 1938.

See also the 3×4cm and 4×4cm Olympic, the 24×36mm Super Olympic, the 4.5×6cm Semi Olympic and the 4×6.5cm Regal Olympic.

General description

All the models have a metal body and a silver telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There are ear-like tabs on each side of the tube, to grab it and pull it forward.

There is a tubular finder in the middle of the top plate, with two red lines indicating the field of view for 3×4cm exposures. The advance knob is at the left end, as seen by the photographer. The release lever is on the shutter housing, and there is a thread to attach a cable release. The lens is focused by turning the front element.

The back is hinged to the right for film loading and locked by a latch on the left. It contains a single red window in the middle, with a pivoting black cover. (The rollfilm sold in Japan at the time probably had markings on the paper backing for 3×4cm exposures, allowing to use a single red window for the two formats.) The name Vest Alex, Vest Olympic or Vest Adler is embossed in the leather above the red window.

The Vest Alex

The Vest Alex was sold by Misuzu Shōkai from 1936 to 1938. An advertisement in the March 1936 issue of Asahi Camera lists the camera as a new model, priced at ¥19.50, and makes no mention of 3×4 exposures. (The lines in the viewfinder delimiting the frame for 3×4 pictures are not visible in the advertising picture, perhaps because it is heavily retouched. All the actual examples observed have such lines.)

The lens is an Erith–Anastigmat 75mm f/6.3, whose maker is unknown. The shutter is called Complete and gives B, 25, 50, 100 speeds. The shutter plate is marked Vest Alex at the top and COMPLETE at the bottom, with an intricate logo on the right, perhaps reading MS for Misuzu Shōkai, indicating that it was made by the company itself.

Minor variations are known, described below in the presumed chronological order. The early examples have a conical advance knob and have no other film flange at the top right or at the bottom. The tripod thread is at the right end of the bottom plate, slightly offset to the front. The viewfinder is black painted. The back is opened by pulling a lever. The shutter plate has no decorative strips and has two apparent screws. The markings are directly engraved on it, in thin letters. The speed is selected by an index, and the scale is inscribed at the top of the shutter plate in that order: B, 25, 50, 100. The aperture scale has 6.3, 8, 10, 12, 15 positions.

The middle examples have a larger and lower advance knob and metal film flanges on all other corners. The tripod thread in inside one of these, at the bottom right. The viewfinder is chrome plated. The back is opened by a sliding button. The shutter plate has bolder markings and decorative strips on each side of the lens. These and the logo perhaps consist of separate parts, attached to the main plate in some fashion. The aperture scale has 6.3, 8, 11, 16, 22 positions.

On the late examples, the speed is selected by turning the shutter rim and the settings are engraved on the rim itself in the reverse order: 100, 50, 25, B.

The Vest Olympic

Vest Olympic. Picture courtesy of Rick Soloway. (Image rights)

The Vest Olympic is a rebadged version of the Vest Alex, with a different shutter and an f/4.5 lens, released in late 1937. The body is identical to that of the middle or late Vest Alex. One example pictured in various recent sources has an accessory shoe added to the right of the viewfinder, which is presumably not original.

Advertisement for the Olympic cameras in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938. (Image rights)

The lens is a Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5. The shutter is a Fiskus, marked VEST OLYMPIC at the top and FISKUS at the bottom, with the AKK logo of Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō on the right, certainly indicating that it was made by that company. The speeds are selected by turning the shutter rim, engraved 25, 50, 50, 100, 150, T, B in that order. This lens and shutter equipment is identical to that of the Semi Olympic.

The Vest Olympic is briefly mentioned in an advertisement placed by Asahi Bussan in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, published at the end of 1937.

The Vest Olympic is mentioned in the official price list compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, for ¥42. An advertisement in the September 1941 issue of Asahi Camera, inserted by Doi Shōten, lists the camera for the same price of ¥42. It says that the camera was sold (not necessarily made) by Riken Kōgaku (理研光学発売). The Vest Olympic is still listed for ¥48 in a catalogue reportedly dated 1942.

The Vest Adler

The Vest Adler is a name variant of the Vest Olympic, mainly recognized by the name embossed in the back leather. At least one example is known with an AKK Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 and a shutter plate slightly different from that of the Vest Olympic: it has Olympic at the top in fancy letters, the AKK logo on the right, Fiskus in fancy letters and MADE IN JAPAN at the bottom. The camera has also been reported with a Ukas Anastigmat 75/4.5.

The Vest Adler appears in the official price list dated November 1941, where it is attributed to Riken Kōgaku. No other original document is known to mention the camera.

Bibliography

Original documents

• "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 2, section 5A.
• "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9. Type 2, section 5A.
• The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, edited by Arthur J. Dalladay. London: Henri Greenwood & Co., Ltd. Publication date not indicated, certainly late 1937. Advertisement by Asahi Bussan on pp.694–5.

Recent sources

• Arimura Katsumi (有村克巳). "Rikō Ryakushi" (リコー略史, Ricoh short history). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.6–7.
• 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 16 and 51.
• McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). Pp.692 and 747.
• 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. Items 3042 and 4017.
• Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Rikō kamera no nagare" (リコーカメラの流れ, Evolution of the Ricoh cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.8–11.
• Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Senzen no kamera 1: Orinpikku" (戦前のカメラ1・オリンピック, Prewar cameras 1: Olympic). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.12–6.

Links

In English:

• Vest Olympic at Early Photography

In Japanese:

• Vest Alex in a page of the AJCC website
• Vest Olympic in the Ricoh camera list of the Ricoh official website (copied in this page of the Kitamura Camera Museum)
• Vest Olympic at Japan Family Camera
• Pages of the Asacame website:
  • Vest Olympic among the 127 film cameras from A to Z
  • Riken 127 film cameras