The name Suzuki (鈴木) applies to one or several Japanese companies described below. It is not known if these companies were related to each other.
Lens maker in the early 1940s[]
The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production attributes various lenses to a Suzuki (鈴木) company, about which no detail is provided.
List of lenses[]
- Bonny 50/4.5 mounted on the Bonny Four[1]
- Bonny 75/4.5 mounted on the Bonny Six I and II[2]
- Tenobder 75/4.5 mounted on the New Semi Renky[3]
- Well 65/3.5 and 65/4.5 mounted on the Well Standard[4] (the attribution of the 65/4.5 to Suzuki is unconfirmed)
- Well 75/3.5 and 75/4.5 mounted on the Well Super[5] (the attribution of the 75/3.5 to Suzuki is unconfirmed)
All these lenses have three elements.
Camera maker(s) in the 1950s[]
Camera-Lite, image by Andrys Stienstra |
The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production attributes various lenses to a Suzuki (鈴木) company, about which no detail is provided.
Suzuki Optical Co., Ltd. was the English name of the company that made the Echo 8 and Camera-Lite cigarette lighter cameras from 1951.[6] It is likely that its original Japanese name was Suzuki Kōgaku (鈴木光学), which means just the same.
It is not known if that company was the same as Suzuki Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. (鈴木光学工業㈱), which manufactured the Press Van 6×6cm camera from 1953 to 1956.[7]
Other[]
A number of other companies are called Suzuki (鈴木), which is a fairly common family name in Japan. For example, there is a company called Suzuki Kōgaku (Suzuki Optical), founded in 1985 and based in Hiratsuka, that currently makes various optical products (as of 2010).[8] Records of a Suzuki Optical Co., Ltd., based in Fukui as of 2002, have been found too.[9]
Notes[]
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item Jc3.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item Lc23.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item Lc18.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item K8.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens item Lc17.
- ↑ This name appears on original boxes for the Echo 8 and Camera-Lite.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.177 and 363.
- ↑ Official website of Suzuki Kōgaku.
- ↑ Entry at Zapconnect.com Medical Device Industry Portal.
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.
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7.