Please Six

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The Please Six is a Japanese 6×6cm folding camera, about which little is known.

Description

The Please Six is a horizontal folder, with three-part folding struts inspired by the 6×6 Ikonta. It is said to have an unusually large size.[1] There is a direct vision finder in the middle of the top housing, and a brilliant finder on the left, as seen by the photographer. The round window of the brilliant finder is easily mistaken for a rangefinder second image window when seen from the front, and this was certainly the effect sought by the designers of the camera. There is an accessory shoe between the two finders, and the folding bed release is placed in front of it.

The advance knob is at the right end of the top housing; it has an arrow engraved to indicate the turning direction and has a round leather patch at the top. The shutter release is at the usual location next to it. There is a sliding lever at the front of the top housing, under the advance knob, certainly meant to look like the unlock lever of an auto-stop advance mechanism. This lever actually removes an orange mask which appears in the viewfinder when the shutter release is pressed;[2] the practical utility of this device is of course very low.

The back is removed together with the bottom plate for film loading; they are locked into place by a rotating knob under the camera in the middle. There is a single red window in the middle of the back, protected by a horizontally sliding cover. The pressure plate is removable and curiously has a large squarish hole with round edges in the middle; this might be reminiscent of the Mamiya Six.[3]

Markings

The name Please SIX is engraved in the top housing, on the left of the advance knob, and there is a PLEASE logo with three rings, above the direct vision finder. There is a similar logo with three rings and the word FUJI on the left folding strut, absent on the right-hand one. The name "Please" is also reported on the leather of the folding bed.[4] These markings give no clear indication on the camera's origin.

Surviving examples

At least three surviving examples of the Please Six are known. One appears in an article by Furukawa in Camera Collectors' News;[5] no details of the lens and shutter are known for this camera. The other is pictured in the AJCC website. Its lens is a Seriter Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5, and its shutter is certainly a TKS (B, 1–200, self-timer); its shutter plate has four black stripes and is not the same as on the example displayed by Furukawa. The third is depicted on the images with this article.

Notes

  1. Unusually large size: Furukawa, p.15 of Camera Collectors' News no.265.
  2. Function of the mask: Furukawa, p.16 of Camera Collectors' News no.265.
  3. Comparison with the Mamiya Six: Furukawa, p.19 of Camera Collectors' News no.265.
  4. "Please" on the leather of the folding bed: Furukawa, p.17 of Camera Collectors' News no.265.
  5. Example pictured in Furukawa, pp.15–9 of Camera Collectors' News no.265.

Bibliography

  • Furukawa Haruo (古川保男). "Purīzu Shikkusu: 'Kore ha burakku-yūmoa na no ka'" (プリーズシックス・'これはブラックユーモアなのか', Please Six: 'is this black humor?'). In Camera Collectors' News no.265 (July 1999). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.15–20.

The Planet is not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi or in Sugiyama.

Links

In Japanese: