Cameras made in Japan
This is a Canonet 19, a 35mm rangefinder camera built by Canon of Japan starting in January 1961 and sold in the United States by Bell & Howell. When sold with the Bell & Howell name, it was known as the Canonet 19, but when sold by Canon, it was…
This is a Koni-Omega Rapid, a medium format rangefinder press camera that shoots 6cm x 7cm images on 120 and 220 roll film. The Koni-Omega Rapid is the successor to the original Omega 120 made by Simmon Bros Inc in 1954, which itself was based off an earlier military camera…
This is a Mamiya ZE-X, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera made by Mamiya Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan starting in 1981. The ZE-X was Mamiya’s most advanced 35mm SLR and came standard with a huge number of advanced electronic features, most notably an error-proof type of Auto Exposure which…
This is a Fujicaflex Automat, a medium format Twin Lens Reflex camera produced by Fuji Photo Industries in Japan starting in 1954. The Fujicaflex was the company’s first and only attempt at a twin lens reflex camera, shooting 6cm x 6cm images on 120 format roll film. The Fujicaflex was…
This is a Konica FS, a 35mm single lens reflex camera made by Konishiroku Photo Industries, Ltd in Tokyo, Japan between 1961 and 1964. The Konica FS was the follow-up to the poor selling, but highly innovative Konica F from 1960. It was a simpler camera without an exposure meter…
This is a GOKO Macromax FR-3500 a 35mm point and shoot camera made by Goko Camera Co., Ltd. starting in 1998. The Macromax was part of a long line of simple point and shoot cameras with an unusually close macro focus capability. The Macromax, like it’s predecessors did not support…
Screw Mount Leica II and IIIs were the most copied camera design in history, perhaps even the most copied THING in history. While counterfeit versions of Coach handbags, Rolex watches, and Nike shoes have been extremely common for decades, what makes Leica copies unique is that unlike most other luxury…
This is a Nicca III-L, a 35mm rangefinder camera originally developed in 1958 by Nicca Camera Co. Ltd. of Japan and upon it’s release, sold under Nicca’s ownership by Yashica. Although two more Nicca built cameras continued to be sold with Yashica branding, the III-L is the considered the last…
This is a Nikkormat FT3, a 35mm single lens reflex camera produced by Nippon Kogaku in Tokyo, Japan between the years 1977 and 1979. The FT3 was the last camera produced with the Nikkormat name. The Nikkormat FT3 is improved from the previous model by adding support for Nippon Kogaku’s…
This is the Canon AS-6, a 35mm water resistant point and shoot camera made by Canon starting in February 1986. The Canon AS-6 was sold in the United States as the “Aqua Snappy” but retained the AS-6 logo on the front of the camera. The AS-6 was fully automatic with…
This is a Pentax LX, a 35mm SLR produced by Asahi Optical of Japan between the years 1980 and 2001. The Pentax LX was the top of the line Pentax SLR aimed at professional photographers and competed directly with the Nikon F3. The camera had a long list of features,…
This is a Melcon II, a 35mm rangefinder camera made by Meguro Kōgaku Kōgyō in Tokyo Japan starting in 1957. The Melcon II was the follow up to the original Melcon camera, both of which were close copies of the Nikon S and S2 rangefinders. Unlike many copies of successful…
