The Blondy is a Japanese subminiature announced in 1949 by Kashiwa Seikō.
Description[]
The Blondy takes ten 14×14mm exposures, presumably on 17.5mm paper backed rollfilm. It has higher specifications than the Midget or Mycro cameras using the same format.
The viewfinder is contained in the middle of a sleek top housing. There is a body release, a rare feature on this class of subminiature cameras, emulated by the New Midget III only two years later.[1] The release linkage is covered by a small cylindrical fairing next to the lens barrel. The film is advanced by a gear at the left, half covered by the top housing. The back is presumably hinged to the left, and there is a spring-loaded latch on the right. The film advance is certainly controlled via a red window in the back.
The shutter gives B, 25, 50, 100 speeds.[2] It has a lever on the side, certainly used for winding. The lens is a Blondy Anastigmat 20mm f/4.5 made of four elements, again a rare feature on a subminiature camera.[3]
The name BLONDY is engraved above the viewfinder, together the word PATENTS and the company name KASHIWASEIKO CO.
Commercial life[]
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| Column in Photo Art December 1949. (Image rights) |
The Blondy was briefly advertised in the July and August 1949 issues of Kohga Gekkan.[4] It is also mentioned in an article of Photo Art December 1949 on Japanese cameras, where the price is quoted as "less than ¥2,500".[5] It was certainly made in very small quantities, and no surviving example has been observed so far.
Notes[]
- ↑ The column in Photo Art December 1949, p.35, says that the Blondy is the first Japanese subminiature with a body release.
- ↑ Speed range: column in Photo Art December 1949, p.35.
- ↑ Four elements: column in Photo Art December 1949, p.35.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.363.
- ↑ Photo Art December 1949, p.35.
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. Item 799.
- 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.68 (brief mention only).
- Photo Art December 1949. "Ōru kokusan kamera" (オール国産カメラ, All of Japanese cameras). Pp.34–41.
The Blondy is not listed in Sugiyama.