Camerapedia
Register
Advertisement
Japanese subminiature
on paper-backed roll film and round film (edit)
17.5mm film Baby Flex | Baby-Max | Barlux | Beauty 14 | Bell 14 | Blondy | Baby Colon | Comex | Corona | Croma Color 16 | Epochs | Fuji Kozet | Gamma | Gem 16 | Gemflex | Glico Lighter | Halmat | Hit | Hit-II | Hit-type | Hobby 16 | Homer No.1 | Homer 16 | Honey | Hope | Jenic | Kiku 16 | Kolt | Kute | Lovely | Mascot | Meteor | Micky | Midget | Mighty | Mini | Moment | Mycro | Myracle | Nikkobaby | Peace | Peace Baby Flex | Peace Small Lef | Pet | Petit | Petty | Prince 16-A | Prince Ruby | Robin | New Rocket | Rubina | Rubix | Saga 16 | Saica | Septon Pen | Sholy-Flex | Snappy | Spy-14 | Sun | Sun B | Sun 16 | Sweet 16 | Tacker | Takka | Tone | Top Camera | Toyoca 16 | Toyoca Ace | Tsubame | Vesta | Vista | Vestkam
20mm film Guzzi | Mycroflex | Top
round film Evarax | Petal | Sakura Petal | Star
unknown Hallow | Lyravit | Tsubasa
cine film see Japanese cine film subminiature
110 film see Japanese 110 film

The Mycroflex (マイクロフレックス) is a Japanese subminiature camera made by Akita Seisakusho and briefly advertised in 1941.

Description[]

The Mycroflex is a subminiature TLR camera, taking ten exposures on the special rollfilm made for the Guzzi. The nominal exposure size is 20×20mm, but the actual size found on the Guzzi is 18×18mm and the film is reportedly 20mm wide.[1] The camera has the shape of a regular TLR, with a viewing hood and a Mycroflex nameplate at the top. The film is advanced by a knob on the photographer's right, and a smaller cylindrical post is visible on the same side, perhaps a strap attachment. The taking lens is mounted on a focusing helical, certainly driven by a lever at the bottom.[2] It seems that the viewing lens is not coupled to the taking lens and is not used for focusing, the camera being actually a pseudo TLR. The shutter gives B, 25, 50, 100 speeds and has a so-called "security device" (安全装置), perhaps a release lock.[3] The lens is a Mycro Anastigmat f/4.5, certainly the same as on the Mycro.[4]

Documents[]

The Mycroflex first appears in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, where it is placed in the same category as the Boltax, at ¥41.[5] The only other documents known so far are an advertisement in Shashin Bunka October 1941 and a column in the December issue of the same magazine.[6] Both documents attribute the camera to Akita Seisakusho, which manufactured the Mycro before 1945, and mention three distributors: Sanwa Shōkai, Mizuno Shashinki-ten and Yamamoto Shashinki-ten. The officially set price is confirmed at ¥41, one roll of panchro film costs ¥0.35 and the Baby process tank is listed at ¥3 (see the Guzzi accessories). The advertisement and the column show the same picture, taken from the front right side.

No surviving example of the Mycroflex is known. It is unclear whether it was actually sold or not; if it was, it was certainly not produced in quantities.

Notes[]

  1. Nominal size: advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93; column reproduced in Awano, p.8 of Camera Collectors' News no.277. Actual size: Awano, p.4 of the same magazine.
  2. Focusing helical: advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93; column reproduced in Awano, p.8 of Camera Collectors' News no.277.
  3. Speed range, "security device": advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93; column reproduced in Awano, p.8 of Camera Collectors' News no.277.
  4. Lens: advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93; column reproduced in Awano, p.8 of Camera Collectors' News no.277.
  5. "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 5, section 6B.
  6. Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93; column reproduced in Awano, p.8 of Camera Collectors' News no.277. The column is not mentioned in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.341, an unusual omission in this otherwise very comprehensive source.

Bibliography[]

The camera is not listed in Sugiyama.

Links[]

In English:

Advertisement