The Kaitenkei (回転計, meaning "revolution counter") is a Japanese spy camera made by Tōkyō Kōgaku in the late 1930s.
The camera was reportedly developed in 1937, on request from the Army Science Institute.[1] It is said that it was inspired by a contemporary German spy camera,[2] but the Kaitenkei resulted more expensive,[3] and only a few were made for that reason.[4]
The Kaitenkei is shaped as a matchbox, 32.5×24×15mm in size.[5] It reportedly takes ten exposures on 8mm cine film, has a 13.9mm f/2.8 lens and a guillotine shutter with a single speed setting (1/50).[6]
At least one Japanese matchbox camera is known to exist today; it is not known if it was related to the Kaitenkei.
Notes[]
Bibliography[]
- Antonetto, M. and Russo, C. Topcon Story. Lugano: Nassa Watch Gallery, 1997. ISBN 88-87161-00-3. Pp.23 and 195.
- Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6. P.71.