|
| Royal 35M, Tominor 45mm / f1.9 lens |
|
| Non-coupled meter |
|
| image by Rick Soloway |
The Royal 35M fixed lens rangefinder camera was made by Royal Camera of Tokyo in 1957, featuring:
- Rangefinder-coupled Tomioka Tominor 45mm / f2.8[1], or Tominor 45mm / f1.9[2] lens for the 35M 'deluxe version'[3], both to f16. Both lenses had 40.5mm filter size.
- Copal MXV shutter with M and X flash sync.
- Shutter speeds: B, 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/15, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500s.
- 10-blade aperture diaphragm giving a nearly circular pupil.
- Built-in non-coupled selenium meter read at the top of camera, indexed ASA 12-800 for high and low light levels and for readings with an accessory selenium booster cell. Both the built-in modular meter and accessory cell were made by Sekonic.
|
| Accessory booster cell |
|
| Accessory cell back |
Cosmetically, Royal cameras' chrome finish coating may be thin and susceptible to brassing or corrosion.
Variations
Royal Camera rebadged its equipment for sale by other distributors. The Royal 35M was also sold as:
- Ogikon 35E, with either 45mm / f1.9 or f2.8 lenses, by Ogino Exporting in Japan;
- Skylark E, with Tominor 45mm / f1.9 lens, by Mansfield Industries in USA;
- Wirgin 19E, with Tominon 45mm / f1.9 lens, by Wirgin in Europe.
Links
In Japanese:
In Chinese:
- Royal 35M: post with pictures in a Chinese forum
References
- ↑ Sugiyama/Naoi "The Collectors Guide to Japanese Cameras", code number 3744, p229.
- ↑ Sugiyama/Naoi "The Collectors Guide to Japanese Cameras", code number 3745, p229.
- ↑ Use of this term follows Sugiyama & Naoi practice: Royal Camera did not appear to differentiate between versions when variations of the same model were made.