Light (shutter)

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The Light is a leaf shutter mounted on some Japanese cameras in the second half of the 1930s.

General description and manufacturer

The front plate of the Light shutters is inscribed Light at the bottom and Patent Pending at the top, and has a round MB logo on the right.[1] The aperture scale is screwed to the bottom. The speeds are engraved on the moving rim.

A similar MB logo appears on the Japanese "Tokyo Compur" and "Rapid Compur" shutters, notably mounted on the Rollekonter 6×6 TLR made by Mori Seisakusho. A wartime document says that these shutters were made by Bikōdō, a company that was related to Mori.[2] The "MB" initials might stand for Mori and Bikōdō, and the Light shutters were perhaps an earlier product of these two companies.

The Light brand name might also indicate a relationship with Ōhashi Kōki Seisakusho, a company which is known to have used this trademark and to have mounted Light shutters on its Roll Light Ref camera.

Versions and cameras equipped

Two main models exist, in #0 or #00 size.

#0 size

The #0 size model has been observed once, with 25, 50, 100, B, T speeds and a thread and needle release, on a Masnette plate folder. It is certainly the model advertised on the Venus FF plate folder.

#00 size

The #00 size model exists in at least three versions:

  • Light B (5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, B, T)
  • Light C (25, 50, 100, B, T)
  • F Light (5–150, T, B)

The exact shutter version is not always mentioned in the available documents. Here is a list of cameras with a #00 Light:

The Rosen shutter mounted on the Semi Rosen has the same aspect and features as the Light B, and is certainly a name variant.

Notes

  1. Close-up picture in Inoue, p.130, picture in Sugiyama, item 1176, and pictures in various advertisements for the cameras mentioned below.
  2. See Bikōdō.

Bibliography