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Japanese plate cameras, folding bed (edit)
No.0 (4×5cm) Alpha | Sweet | Pony Sweet | Taishō-shiki
atom (4.5×6cm) Monarch | Need | Palma
meishi (5.5×8cm) Eagle | Idea A | Idea B | Idea Snap | Idea No.1 | Iris | Lily (horizontal) | Pearl No.3 | Special Camera | Venis | X
daimeishi (6.5×9cm) Apollo | Arcadia | Crite | Special East | Eaton | Elliotte | First | First Etui | Gold | Happy | Hope | Idea No.1 | Idea (metal) | Kinka | Kokka | Lily (horizontal) | Lily (metal) | Tropical Lily | Lloyd | Lomax | Masnette | Mikuni | Need | Nifca Klapp | Nifca Sport | Ohca | Palma | Peter | Prince | Prince Peerless | Proud | Romax | Rosen | Rubies | Sirius | Sun | Super | Tokiwa | Venus | Weha Idea | Weha Light
tefuda (8×10.5cm) Eagle | Idea A | Idea B | Idea No.1 | Idea (metal) | Iris | Lily (original) | Lily (horizontal) | Lily (metal) | Palma | Pearl No.3, No.4 | Minimum Pearl | Special Pearl | Sakura Palace | Sakura Pocket Prano | Star | Tokiwa | Weha
nimaigake (8×12cm) Eagle | Idea | Idea Binocular | Sakura Prano | Sakura Binocular Prano | Star Premo
hagaki (8×14cm) Eagle | Noble | Pearl No.3, No.4 | Star
kabine (12×16.5cm) Idea | Noble | Sakura Prano | Star Premo
Japanese plate film: monocular, box, strut-folding and SLR ->
3×4 and 4×4, 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

The Eagle are Japanese folding bed cameras taking film plates, distributed by Asanuma Shōkai around 1915.[1] They were available in various formats, including meishi (5.5×8cm), tefuda (8×10.5cm), hagaki (8×14cm) and probably nimaigake (8×12cm).[2] In 1915, the tefuda model existed in three versions, called A (¥9.50), B (¥12) and C (¥18).[3]

The Eagle has a wooden body, with an oval nameplate on one side. It is focused by a small wheel on the right-hand side of the folding bed. There is a brilliant finder offset to the left and a handle at the top of the body.

The example pictured in Sugiyama and in Baird is said to take 8×10.5cm plates (tefuda format).[4] It reportedly has an Ilex Anastigmat 5¼in f/7.5 lens in a Universal shutter giving T, B, 1–150 speeds.[5] Its front standard is made of two pylons and seems to allow both vertical and horizontal movements (rise and shift).

The example pictured in this page at Asacame has a more modern front standard, again with rise and shift ability, and a bubble lever next to the brilliant finder. Its shutter is a Singlo by Gauthier, only giving I, B, T settings. Its aperture scale has 0, 8, 16, 32, 64 settings, perhaps in the older Uniform Scale.

An Eagle plate folder taking daylight loading 4×6cm sensitized material is also pictured in Sugiyama, but it is not known if it is related to the models sold by Asanuma Shōkai.[6] The shutter reportedly has O, B, I settings, and the name EAGLE is inscribed on the setting wheel. The shutter plate reads SPECIAL SHUTTER at the top and MADE IN JAPAN at the bottom. The lens is a simple meniscus and the aperture scale goes from 8 to 32.

References[]

  1. Attribution to Asanuma: Lewis, p.24, Sugiyama, item 1040. Date: Lewis, p.24, says 1915, and Sugiyama, item 1040, says 1917.
  2. Lewis, p.24. This source mentions 4×5in but this most certainly corresponds to nimaigake-size (8×12cm).
  3. Lewis, p.24.
  4. Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1040, and in Baird, p.30.
  5. Lens and shutter: Sugiyama, item 1040.
  6. Sugiyama, item 4034.

Bibliography[]

Links[]

In Japanese:

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