Cameras made in Japan
This is a Miranda T, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera made by the Orion Camera Company in Tokyo, Japan starting in 1955. The Orion Miranda T is a historically significant camera for a number of reasons. It was not only the first camera made by what would become the…
This is a Pentax Super A, a 35mm SLR camera made by Asahi Optical Co. Ltd in Tokyo, Japan between the years 1983 and 1987. When sold in North America, the Pentax Super A was called the Super Program. The only difference between the two is that the Super A…
Back in April 2016, I published a review for an advanced point and shoot camera called the Konica AiBORG. In that review, I was highly critical of the AiBORG, saying the ergonomics were terrible, the layout of controls was illogical, that it had a tiny and difficult to use viewfinder,…
This is a Yashica 230-AF, a 35mm SLR made by Kyocera of Japan from 1987 to 1991. The Yashica 230-AF was part of a new lineup of auto focus SLRs produced by Kyocera featuring an all new auto focus lens mount which replaced the manual focus Contax C/Y mount used…
This is a Norita 66, a medium format Single Lens Reflex camera made by Norita Kogaku K.K. starting in 1971 in Tokyo, Japan. The Norita 66 is an evolution of the Rittreck 6×6, a very similar camera which started production in 1968 by a company called Musashino Kōki who went…
This is a Canon A-1, a 35mm SLR camera made by Canon Inc. between the years of 1978 and 1985. The Canon A-1 was one of the most advanced SLRs its era with a long list of features making it an enticing alternative to the company’s pro-level Canon F-1. The…
This is a Fujica ST801, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera made by Fuji Photo in Tokyo, Japan between 1972 and 1978. The Fujica ST801 was a very popular mid range 35mm SLR during a transitional era where cameras were moving more and more towards electronic shutters and exposure automation. …
This is an Olympus Ace, a 35mm interchangeable lens rangefinder camera produced by Olympus Optical Co., Ltd starting in 1958. The Ace was the first and only rangefinder camera produced by Olympus with interchangeable lenses and had features like an automatic exposure counter, rapid wind lever, projected frame lines, and…
This is a Tomioka Lausar, an interchangeable lens roll film camera made by Tomioka Kōgaku Kenkyūjo in Tokyo, Japan in 1937. The Lausar has a focal plane shutter and a body that is modeled to look like the Leica rangefinder, except it doesn’t have a rangefinder and it shoots 3cm…
This is a Minolta V3, a 35mm rangefinder camera made by Chiyoda Kogaku Seiko K.K. starting in September 1960. The Minolta V3 was the follow up to the earlier Minolta V2 from 1958, expanding the top shutter speed to a record high 1/3000 with the clever use of its Optiper-Citizen-HS…
This is a PCA Prismat V-90, a 35mm SLR made by Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. for the Photronic Corporation of America of Takoma Park, MD starting in 1961. The PCA Prismat V-90 is a rebadge of the Mamiya Prismat PH, which itself was part of Mamiya’s robust Prismat SLR family. …
This is a Monte 35A, a 35mm scale focus camera produced by Shinsei Optical Works in Tokyo, Japan starting in 1953. The Monte 35A was a subtle update to an earlier Monte 35 in which the shutter release was relocated to the top plate, an accessory shoe was added, and…
