Topcon 35-S, L and JL

Topcon 35-L with square hood and

carry case. Picture courtesy of Helios 1984. (Image rights)

The Topcon 35-S, Topcon 35-L and Topcon 35-JL are 35mm rangefinder cameras with a fixed lens, manufactured between 1956 and late 1959 by Tōkyō Kōgaku and successors of the Topcon 35 series. They were the last the rangefinder cameras baring the name "Topcon" before the company shifted its attention toward the newly emergent SLR market.

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The Topcon 35-S was released in 1956 and manufactured for about a year. It features a specifically designed Topcor 44mm f/2 semi-wide angle and is equipped with a Seikosha-MX leaf shutter giving B, 1sec to 1/500 speeds. The lens is a Double-Gauss type with 6 elements in 4 groups (1-2-2-1) which is of the same design as the Topcor-S 50mm f/2. It has an accessory shoe on the top cover and a flash pc terminal situated on the side of the lens housing. The viewfinder is an Albada-frameline type with automatic parallax correction and has 1:1 aspect ratio. Lastly, the film advance mechanism is double-stroke which was claimed to prevent the tearing of sprocket holes in films. At the time its release, it was priced at ¥33,200 ($109 in the U.S.A^[1].).

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The Topcon 35-JL (Beseler Topcon-L in North America) replaced its predecessor in 1957. The specifications are the same, however, it was upgraded with a Seikosha-MXL leaf shutter which features the "new" Light-value system. It was priced at ¥35,000 which included a selenium light meter attachment giving a reading in Light-Value (LV).

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The Topcon 35-JL was released almost simultaneously with the 35-L. It is identical to its sister camera but equipped with a Topcor 44mm f/2.8 and was slightly less expensive. The lens is a Heliar type with 5 elements in 3 groups (2-1-2), same design as the Topcor 50mm f/2.8. The camera was phased out in late 1959, together with the 35-L.

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Size 132 x 79 x 64mm

Weight 720g

Filter size 40.5mm

Push-On lens cap size 42mm

Notes & References

On the 35-L and 35-JL, the aperture ring click stops on full numbers when the shutter is set at B, 1sec, 1/2, 1/250 & 1/500 and click stops at half points between numbers when the shutter is set at 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50 & 1/100 for a better exposure. However, it is possible to set the aperture ring between click stops if needed. For more information concerning the light value scale and speed/aperture combination, read pages 22 to 25 of the manual.
List of available accessories: Square hood, a leather case, a lens cap, shutter release button, a selection of filters (Y1, Y2, O2 & UV), reloadable cassettes for bulk film loading and an amplifier for the Topcon-Meter.

The Topcon-Meter was made by Sekonic.
Some Topcon 35-L and Topcon 35-JL have a modified Albada viewfinder with the edges of the window 100% silvered and a clear centre.

The Topcon 35-S has 10 aperture blades.

Both Topcon 35-L & Topcon 35-JL have 5 aperture blades.

↑ Popular Photography - April 1957 - Vol. 40, No. 4 - Page 164

Bibliography

Antonetto, M. and Russo, C. Topcon Story. Lugano: Nassa Watch Gallery, 1997. ISBN 88-87161-00-3. P. 33.
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. Items 1368–70. (See also the picture on p. 485.)
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. 94.
McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P. 925.
Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Items 3797–9.