Yashica Future 127
The Yashica Future 127 is a 4×4cm prototype camera with automated exposure, announced by Yashica in 1959. It was the first Japanese camera with auto-exposure, a feature called "Electric Eye" at the time.
Contents
Context
In 1957, the release of the 4×4cm Baby Rolleiflex and that of various 4×4cm Brownie cameras caused a brief upsurge of interest for this format. Various Japanese 4×4cm TLRs followed, including the Yashica-44 released in 1958.
In 1958–59, a trio of American 4×4cm auto-exposure cameras was released in quick succession: the Electric Eye 127 by Bell & Howell, the Eye-Matic EE 127 by Revere and the Brownie Starmatic by Kodak. These were among the first popular cameras with automatic exposure, after Agfa's expensive Automatic 66.
In that context, Japanese manufacturers undertook their own research on auto-exposure cameras, and the first two prototypes officially shown to the public were the Yashica Future 127 and Olympus Eye 44. The Future 127 was presented in March 1959, a few months before the Olympus Eye 44 which was shown to the press on May 6, the same day as the Olympus Pen.[1] (The same year 1959, Ricoh launched the Ricohmatic 44, another 4×4cm camera with easy exposure settings, but it did not have true automatic exposure.)
At the period, the 4×4cm camera boom was already coming to an end, and both the Yashica and Olympus were shelved. A single functional example of the Future 127 was made, followed by a mock-up for further research.[2] The experience gained with this camera was used for later 35mm auto-exposure models, such as the 1961 Flash-O-Set and 1962 Yashica 35EE.
Development
The camera's development was started in February 1958.[3] The body shape was designed by Someha Keiichi (染葉桂一), and the internals were designed by Takahama Sachi (高浜祥) of the Konan Camera Laboratory.[4]
It is said that the camera was thought from the start for display in the American press or photography shows, rather than as a commercial product, and that it was designed so that it would be easy to assemble a handmade prototype for that reason.[5]
The Future 127 was displayed in the 35th annual convention of the Master Photo Dealers and Finishers’ Association (ancestor of the PMA), held in Philadelphia in March 1959.[6] It was featured in Japanese magazines dated April and May 1955,[7] and a detailed
Description
The body has a vertically elongated boxy shape. The film travels vertically, as on TLR cameras, and is advanced by a knob on the photographer's right. The L-shaped back is hinged to the bottom for film loading. The film advance is manually controlled via a red window.[8] The company certainly wanted to keep the prototype simple and concentrate on the exposure system, hence the absence of an automatic advance.
The viewfinder is contained inside the body, at the top right, and contains no bright frame.[9] The grid for the selenium cell is placed next to the viewfinder window. The main release is placed on the right-hand side, at the bottom, as on some TLR cameras. There is an accessory shoe at the top, towards the rear left. A small hole is visible in front of it, certainly containing a flash synch post. Strap attachments are placed on both sides of the body.
The lens and shutter are contained in a cylindrical barrel, protected by a circular sheet glass at the front. A black focus ring surrounds the front part of the barrel, and certainly moves the lens front element only. The distance scale is engraved in feet, from ∞ to 3.5ft, set by visual estimation. The absence of a rangefinder is certainly explained by the same reasons as that of automatic advance: to keep the prototype relatively inexpensive and easy to make.
Behind the focus ring, the only visible controls are an M/X selector for flash synchronization, a self-timer lever, and an index at the bottom, moving along a sensitivity scale graduated in ASA with B, 12, 25, 50, 100, 200 positions. That index actually turns the speed ring of the Copal-SV shutter contained inside the lens barrel, and each sensitivity setting corresponds to a fixed shutter speed, from 1/500 at ASA 200 to 1/30 at ASA 12.[10]
The diaphragm is electro-mechanically controlled by the exposure meter. When the release button is pressed, the spring-loaded diaphragm ring is released until a stair-like part gets blocked by the meter needle.[11] Then the button trips the shutter at the end of its course. When the light is insufficient, the meter needle becomes visible in the viewfinder[12] and the exposure is presumably impossible. After the exposure, the meter needle is freed and the diaphragm ring is reloaded when the shutter is wound for the next picture.[13]
Notes
- ↑ Shirai, p.59 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.58 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.61 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.62 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.62 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.66 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte. Details of the show are found in the May 1959 issue of Shashin Kōgyō.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.410, and Shirai, p.59 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.65 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.65 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.65 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Article in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, pp.604–5, and technical details in Shirai, p.63 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Shirai, p.64 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
- ↑ Article in Shashin Kōgyō June 1959, pp.604–5, and technical details in Shirai, p.63 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte.
Bibliography
Original documents
- Ino Kisaburō (猪野喜三郎). "Yashika Fyūchā 127 to Erekutorikku Ai kamera" (ヤシカ・フューチャー127とエレクトリック・アイ・カメラ, The Yashica Future 127 and Electric Eye cameras). In Shashin Kōgyō no.86, June 1959. Pp.603–5.
- Shashin Kōgyō no.85, May 1959. "News Flash". P.571.
- Someha Keiichi (染葉桂一), of the Yashica Corp. planning department (㈱ヤシカ企画部). "IAN Spotlight: Yashica Future 127" (IANスポットライト・ヤシカ・フチュア127). Article in Kōgei News volume 27 no.4, July 1959. Available in pdf version in the AIST Tohoku website.
Recent sources
- 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 1710.
- Shibano Daisuke (柴野大輔). "Tasai ni tenkai suru mittsu no burando: Yashika, Kontakkusu, Kyōsera no kamera" (多彩に展開する三つのブランド・ヤシカ、コンタックス、京セラのカメラ, Three brands developing in various ways: Yashica, Contax and Kyocera). In 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.26, September 1993. No ISBN number. Yashika Kyōsera Kontakkusu no subete (ヤシカ・京セラ・コンタックスのすべて, special issue on Yashica, Kyocera and Contax). Pp.8–11.
- Shirai Tatsuo (白井達男). "Yashica Futura 127". Pp.57–66 of Maboroshi no kamera o otte (幻のカメラを追って, Pursuing phantom cameras). Gendai Kamera Shinsho (現代カメラ新書). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1982. ISBN 4-257-08077-9. (First published in Kamera Rebyū / Camera Review. no.7, May 1979.)
The Future 127 is not listed in Sugiyama.
