The Baby Sport (ベビースポーツ) is a Japanese camera taking 3×4cm pictures on 127 film. It is mainly known from an advertisement in the June 1932 issue of Asahi Camera, placed by the distributor Ōhashi Shashinki-ten. In this document, the name is written in katakana script only, and the Roman name "Baby Sport" is hypothetical.[1]
Context[]
The Baby Sport seems crudely made and was very inexpensive: the price is given as ¥3 in the June 1932 advertisement, and the camera is described as "for young boys, young girls and beginners".[2] It is however notable for being the second known Japanese camera specifically made for 3×4cm exposures, predating the Baby Pearl by at least two years, and only preceded by the Light sold in 1929 by the same company.
Description[]
The Baby Sport has a brick-shaped body and a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. The viewfinder is a simple wireframe hinged at the front, with a retracting eyepiece on the rear. The film is advanced by a knob at the top left, as seen by the photographer. It is not clear if the back is removable or if it has a hinge on the right.
The lens is a meniscus; the shutter has Time[3] and Instant settings and the release lever is on the shutter casing itself. Markings are visible on the shutter plate, but they are illegible in the only available picture.
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| Advertisement published in the June 1932 issue of Asahi Camera. (Image rights) |
Notes[]
- ↑ The camera is called "Baby Sports" in Lewis, p.43, but the Japanese word supōtsu (スポーツ) may as well correspond to "Sport" in the singular.
- ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera June 1932, p.A15.
- ↑ The advertisement has teiji 定時, probably meaning "Time", but it can conceivably mean "Bulb" exposures.
Bibliography[]
- Asahi Camera. Advertisement by Ōhashi Shashinki-ten in June 1932 (p.A15).
- 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.43 (brief mention only).
The camera is not mentioned in Sugiyama.