Tōkyō Kōgaku

From Camerapedia.org

Tōkyō Kōgaku, later Topcon, is a Japanese optical manufacturer, previously a manufacturer of photographic equipment.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation as an optical company 1.2 First cameras 1.3 Topcon SLRs 1.4 End of camera production 2 35mm film 2.1 SLR 2.1.1 Exakta lens mount 2.1.2 Pentax K mount 2.1.3 Topcon UV lens mount 2.1.4 Fixed lens 2.2 Viewfinder 2.3 Rangefinder 3 120 film 3.1 6×6 TLR 3.2 4.5×6 telescopic 4 127 film 4.1 4×4 TLR 4.2 4×5 folding 5 Lenses 5.1 Interchangeable lenses 5.2 Fixed lenses on cameras from other makers 5.3 Miscellaneous 6 Other 7 Notes 8 Sources / further reading 9 Links 9.1 General links 9.2 Miscellaneous links

History

Foundation as an optical company

The company was founded in 1932 as Tōkyō Kōgaku Kikai K.K. (東京光学機械㈱, usually translated as Tokyo Optical Company). It resulted from the merge on 1 September 1932 of the measure instruments section of Seikōsha (the manufacturing branch of Hattori Tokei-ten) and Katsuma Kōgaku Kikai Seisakusho (勝間光学機械製作所), said to be a subcontractor or a dependent company.^[1] As its name indicates, it was based in Tokyo.^[2] It remained dependent of Hattori Tokei-ten until 1947.^[3]

It was first an optical company, like Nippon Kōgaku (later Nikon). It was a supplier of the Imperial Japanese Army whereas Nippon Kōgaku was a supplier of the Navy.^[4] The first lens was the State (ステート) triplet, made available in 1933. It was followed in 1934 by the Toko (トーコー) triplet and in 1937 by the Simlar (シムラー) four-element lens. The name Toko certainly stands for Tokyo Kogaku, and it is said that the name Simlar (written shimurā in Japanese) comes from Shimura, the quarter where the company plant is located.^[5] The company also made special purpose lenses, many of them for military use until 1945. It began producing 39mm screw lenses immediately after the war, notable mounted on the Leotax cameras.

First cameras

The company's first camera was the Lord, released in 1937, which was not a big success. It was followed in 1938 by the Minion 4×5cm folders. The company began the production of 35mm cameras in 1948 with the Minion 35 and of 6×6 TLR cameras in 1950 with the Topcoflex, mainly distributed as the Primoflex and Laurelflex. It was the first appearance of the "Topco" name, probably from Tokyo Optical Company. The Topcon brand name appeared in 1953 on the Topcon 35, successor of the Minion 35 series, and the Topcor lens name appeared in 1954, soon replacing all the previous lens names. (Topcon and Topcor were obviously modelled after Nikon and Nikkor.)

In 1953 and 1954, the dependent company Yamagata Kikai made the Semi Oscon that was advertised together with the company's own cameras.

Topcon SLRs

The company began the production of Topcon 35mm SLRs in 1957 (before either Nikon or Canon produced an SLR), and it very soon concentrated on these, stopping the production of all the other types. The Topcon RE Super, launched in 1963 at the Photokina, was the company's most innovative camera and one of its most rugged and versatile. It was the first SLR with a through-the-lens exposure meter. Pentax would follow the next year with the Spotmatic, and Nikon only in 1965 with the Nikkormat FT, and with the Photomic T prism for the Nikon F.

In parallel to the high end bodies, Tōkyō Kōgaku also manufactured simpler SLRs, at the beginning with a central shutter, later with a Copal Square focal-plane shutter.

The Topcon SLRs were imported in the USA by Beseler, which put its own name on the bodies. Some models were marked Hanimex when imported in the Commonwealth.

At the end of the 1960s, the company ceased to innovate on the SLRs, and produced variations on the same basic design until 1976. The bodies made after 1977 are not up to their predecessors, and the rumor says they were not designed by Tōkyō Kōgaku but elsewhere.

End of camera production

Tōkyō Kōgaku decided to stop the production of cameras in 1981. It thereafter concentrated on making specialist optical equipment of no direct relation to photography, and in 1989 took the name K.K. Topcon (㈱トプコン). It still (2007) exists.

Today the better Topcon models are eagerly collected in Japan. In 2003 Cosina designed and marketed an "Auto-Topcor" 58/1.4 lens (in Nikon F and M42 mounts) that externally resembles the genuine Tōkyō Kōgaku item and is even marked Tokyo Kogaku; it also created a variant of its M42-mount Bessaflex SLR whose distinctive pentaprism housing resembles that of the Topcon RE Super.

35mm film

SLR

Exakta lens mount

RE Auto

• Topcon R = Beseler B Topcon (1957-1960)
• Topcon RII = Beseler C Topcon (1960-1961)
• Topcon RIII Automatic (1961-1963)
• Topcon RS (1963), rare variant of the RE Super with no meter
• Topcon RE Super = Beseler Topcon Super D (1963-1972)
• Topcon RE-2 = Beseler Topcon D-1 = Hanimex Topcon RE-2 (1965-)
• Topcon Super D = Beseler Topcon Super D (1972-1973)
• Topcon Super DM (1973-1976)
• Topcon RE200 = Exakta EDX2 = Carena KS1 (1977-)
• Topcon RE300 = Exakta EDX3 = Carena KS2

All of these take Exakta lenses.

Pentax K mount

• Topcon RM300, the same body with minor modifications was sold under the names of Quantaray Delta 2-RZ, Carena KSM1, Exakta KE4 and Exakta KE5
• Topcon AM-1, never sold, released in 1983 by Cima as Cimko LS-1

They take Pentax K lenses.

Topcon UV lens mount

Unirex

• Topcon Uni = Beseler Topcon Auto 100 = Hanimex Topcon RE Auto (1964-1969)
• Topcon Unirex = Beseler Topcon Unirex (1969-1973)
• Topcon Unirex EE (1972-1974)
• Topcon IC-1 Auto (1974-1976)
• Topcon New IC-1 Auto (1976-1978)

All of these take Topcon UV lenses.

Fixed lens

• Topcon PR (1959-1960)
• Topcon PRII = DeJur Dekon-SR (1960)
• Topcon Wink Mirror (1960-1961)
• Topcon Wink Mirror E = Beseler Topconette (1961-1963)
• Topcon Wink Mirror S (1963-1964)

All had front element optical complements available.

Viewfinder

Minion 35 (Image rights)

• Minion 35A (24×32)
• Minion 35B (24×32)
• Minion 35C (24×36)
• Topcon 35A
• Topcon 135EE

Rangefinder

• Topcon 35B
• Topcon 35-S
• Topcon-L
• Topcon-JL

120 film

6×6 TLR

• Topcoflex
• Primoflex

4.5×6 telescopic

• Lord

127 film

4×4 TLR

• Primo Jr
• Sawyer's Mark IV

Both are the same camera with different name plates. The Primo Jr was also offered with a meter.

4×5 folding

• Minion

Lenses

Interchangeable lenses

• 39mm screw lenses
• Topcon/Exakta mount lenses
• UV mount lenses
• Topcor 8cm f/5.6 for the Topcon 35A and 35B
• Large format lenses mounted on the Horseman cameras

Fixed lenses on cameras from other makers

Not all examples of the cameras listed below have Tōkyō Kōgaku lenses. All the lenses below have three elements unless noted.

• Kraft 50/3.5 (or 60/3.5) on the Kraft by Echt (other Kraft lenses were made by Takahashi)
• Toko 50/3.5 on the Auto Keef by Kokusaku
• Toko 75/3.5 on the Semi Leotax DL and R by Shōwa Kōgaku
• Toko 75/3.5 on the Mihama Six R by Suruga
• Toko 75/3.5 on the Mizuho Six Super T by Neoca
• Toko 75mm f/3.5 on the Semi Oscon by Yamagata
• Hit 7.5cm f/3.5 (four elements) on the Auto Semi First and First Reflex II by Kuribayashi
• Toko 7.5cm f/3.5 on the Semi First and First Six by Kuribayashi
• Toko 7.5cm f/4.5 on the Semi First, First Six, Baby Semi First and Speed Pocket by Kuribayashi
• Toko 7.5cm f/6.3 on the Semi First and First Six by Kuribayashi
• Simlar 10.5cm f/4.5 (four elements) on the Luxury Pearl by Konishiroku
• State 10.5cm f/4.5 on the First, Kokka, First Etui, First Roll and First Center by Kuribayashi (also reported on the Romax plate folder)
• Toko 10.5cm f/4.5 on the First Roll and First Center by Kuribayashi
• Toko 10.5cm f/6.3 on the First Etui, First Roll and First Center by Kuribayashi

Unlike what is said by some sources, the Rotte Anastigmat lenses were not made by Tōkyō Kōgaku but by Tokiwa Kōgaku.^[6]

Miscellaneous

• Special lenses, mostly for military use:
  • Toko 50/0.7 (1943 or 1944)^[7]
  • Simlar 50/0.7 (1951)^[8]
  • Simlar 50/1.5 (1940)^[9]
  • Simlar 180/4.5^[10]
  • Simlar-F 180mm f/1.5 (1942)^[11]
  • Simlar 21cm f/4.5 (1937)^[12]
  • Simlar 300/4.5^[13]
  • Tele-Simlar 400/5^[14]
• Enlarging lenses:^[15]
  • Topcor 50/3.5 (sold ¥4,500 in 1955)
  • Toko 75/4.5
  • Toko 75/3.5 (sold ¥3,500 in 1955, at least two variations)
  • Simlar 75/3.5

Other

• Minion enlarger^[16]

Notes

1. ↑ See the FAQ of Topcon's website. The JCII exhibition catalogue Nihon no kamera o omoshiroku shita kyōshū no burando ten says the same and adds that Katsuma was a dependent company of Hattori. Lewis, p.184, says that it was a subcontractor. Baird, p.69, says that Tōkyō Kōgaku was formed by the optical section of Seikōsha and by Katsuma, a small binocular maker (perhaps by confusion with a later Katsuma company that made binoculars after the war), and that it bought the surveying instruments section of Seikōsha in 1933, but it seems that these are mistakes. Antonetto and Russo, p.21, repeats the same story as Baird.
2. ↑ Its address in 1932 was Tōkyō-shi Kyōbashi-ku Ginza 4–2 (東京市京橋区銀座4丁目2番地), with plants in Toshima-ku (豊島区) and Takinogawa-ku (滝野川区). At the beginning of 1933, the company moved to its main plant in Tōkyō-shi Itabashi-ku Shimura Motohasunuma-chō 180-banchi (東京市板橋区志村本蓮沼町180番地), where it still resides (2007). Source: chronology of the official website. This address is confirmed for the year 1943 by the "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
3. ↑ Baird, p.72.
4. ↑ Baird, p.69.
5. ↑ See this page of the Topcon Club website.
6. ↑ Mistake in Antonetto and Russo, p.25, and perhaps elsewhere as well.
7. ↑ Mentioned in this page of the Topcon Club website. Date: Antonetto and Russo, p.26, says 1943. Lewis, p.184, and Baird, p.72 of The Japanese Camera, say 1944. All three sources say that the prototype was sold to the U.S. forces.
8. ↑ See this page of the Topcon Club website. This source says 1951 but the Simlar 50/0.7 is still listed in a Tōkyō Kōgaku catalogue dating about 1956, reproduced in this page of the Topcon Club website.
9. ↑ Baird, p.72 of The Japanese Camera; Antonetto and Russo, p.26; Lewis, p.184.
10. ↑ Mentioned in this page of the Topcon Club website as pictured in Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.15.
11. ↑ See this page of Michio Akiyama's Red Book Nikkor site.
12. ↑ See this page of the Topcon Club website. Date: Baird, p.71 of The Japanese Camera; Antonetto and Russo, p.22.
13. ↑ Reported by a dealer, with serial no.2.
14. ↑ See this page of the Topcon Club website.
15. ↑ Advertisements published in Asahi Camera January and August 1955 and Shashin Salon November 1955, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.151. See also this page of the Topcon Club website.
16. ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera June 1950, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.150.

Sources / further reading

• Antonetto, M. and Russo, C. Topcon Story. Lugano: Nassa Watch Gallery, 1997. ISBN 88-87161-00-3.
• 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.
• Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6.
• "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7.
• 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).
• Nihon no kamera o omoshiroku shita kyōshū no burando ten (日本のカメラを面白くした郷愁のブランド展, Exhibition of nostalgic brands that made Japanese cameras interesting). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1997. Exhibition catalogue.

Links

General links

In English:

• The Topcon Collection website by Leon Schoenfeld
• Topcon Story website by Marco Antonetto
• Topcon page in Captain Jack's Exakta Pages
• Topcon instruction manuals at butkus.org's Orphan Cameras, many in PDF format

In Japanese:

• The Topcon Club
• Chronology and FAQ page of the Topcon official website

Miscellaneous links

In English:

• Topcon RE Super at Bill Salati's Casual Collector website
• Topcon-styled Bessaflex and Auto-Topcor 58/1.4, within a page on the Bessaflex in general at Cameraquest

In Japanese:

• Topcon Super D, Topcon Wink S Mirror and Topcon 35A at the Sky Kogaku website
• Pages of the Topcon Club website about special items:
  • Large format, enlarging and special lenses
  • Page 1 and page 2 of a Tōkyō Kōgaku catalogue dating about 1956, listing the Simlar 50/0.7, the enlarging lenses and various optical devices
• Simlar-F 180mm f/1.5 in English and in Japanese, a lens by Tokyo Kogaku dated 1942, with serial number 5, in Michio Akiyama's Red Book Nikkor site (Japanese version)
• Cosina Auto-Topcor 58/1.4, within Okie Masanori's lens collection