Baby Suzuka
From Camerapedia.org
The Baby Suzuka[1] (ベビースズカ) is a 3×4 folding Japanese camera, sold by Sankō[2] between 1951 and 1954. It is the last example of that type of camera, inspired by the Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta.
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Description
The Baby Suzuka is a vertically folding camera, with a folding optical finder and curved struts like the Baby Pearl from Konishiroku. There is an advance knob on the left of the finder and on the right is the folding bed release button. The back is hinged to the left and has a single red window, protected by a vertically sliding cover, to control film advance.
The front leather is embossed SuzuKa in the examples observed[3] and SUZUKA in the advertising pictures. The back latch also has a small SUZUKA engraving.
The lens is a Teriotar Anastigmat 5cm f/3.5, advertised as a coated one and marked with a red C. The lens serial numbers observed have five digits, sometimes including the letter "A" or "B" at the beginning. The shutter has 150, 100, 50, 25, B speeds and is marked SUZUKA. The aperture scale is at the bottom of the shutter plate and the release lever is directly situated on the shutter housing.
   
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| Baby Suzuka II, Teriotar Anastigmat C 5cm f/3.5 lens no.B2496. Pictures courtesy of Jay Tepper. (Image rights) |
Evolution
The original Baby Suzuka is not synchronized. It cost ¥3,500 — case extra ¥700 — in January 1952.[4]
The Baby Suzuka II (introduced in 1952) adds flash synchronization via a pin at the bottom left of the shutter housing. It cost ¥4,300 in December 1952[5] and ¥5,000 in 1954.[6]
Notes
- ↑ It is called "Suzuka Baby I" in McKeown, p. 870, the reverse of what appears in the advertisements.
- ↑ The company name that appears in the advertisements observed is K.K. Sankō (㈱三光), but it is only mentioned as the distributor (発売元). Kokusan kamera no rekishi, items 547–8, and this page of the AJCC attribute the camera to Sankō. Many other sources, like Sugiyama, item 1420, McKeown, p. 870, Lewis, p. 75, Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten, p. 18, and this page of the Asacame website attribute the Baby Suzuka to Sanwa Shōkai (三和商会), but this is probably a mistake.
- ↑ In Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten, p. 18, in this page at Asacame and in online auctions.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 142. A similar advertisement, originally published in the April 1952 issue of the same magazine, is reproduced in this page of the Media-Planet website.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 142.
- ↑ Price list including a Baby Suzuka II, published in 1954, reproduced in the Shashin-Bako website.
Bibliography
- 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 547–8.
- Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), ISBN 0-935398-16-3 (hard). P. 75 (brief mention only).
- 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). P. 870.
- Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten (思い出のスプリングカメラ展, Exhibition of beloved self-erecting cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P. 26.
- 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. Item 1420.
Links
In Japanese:
- Baby Suzuka II (second camera from the top) in the A-Z 127 film cameras at Asacame
- Advertisement for the Baby Suzuka published in the April 1952 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in this page of the Media-Planet website
- Price list including a Baby Suzuka II, published in 1954, reproduced in a page of Japanese postwar advertisements at the Shashin-Bako website
