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Japanese Bolta film cameras (edit)
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The Sunny (サニイ) is a Japanese camera using 35mm film distributed by Chūō Shashin-yōhin in 1951 and 1952.

Description[]

The Sunny has a bakelite main body,[1] surrounded by metal edges. It can take 50 exposures in 24×24mm format (described as 24×25mm in some advertisements)[2] on perforated 35mm film loaded in regular film cassettes.[3] The advance knob is at the top left, as seen by the photographer, and the back is hinged to the right for film loading. It seems that there is an exposure counter on the top plate, at the rear right of the viewfinder. The film is wound into another take-up cartridge, and the camera has no rewind knob. The camera can also take Bolta film rolls,[4] for 12 exposures only.

The viewfinder protrudes from the middle of the top plate. It has a semi-transparent mirror and functions both as an eye-level and waist-level finder. The shutter release is to the right of the finder. The advertisements say that the shutter has B and 1/25 settings, probably set by the button that is visible to the left of the viewfinder.

The lens is inscribed "SUNNY" at the top and OPTART 1:10 F=35mm at the bottom. The same lens would appear again on the Aruba 35.

Commercial life[]

The Sunny was advertised from September 1951 to September 1952, and was featured in Japanese magazines dated January and February 1952.[5] In advertisements dated November 1951 and September 1952,[6] the camera is offered for ¥2,500 and touted as "recommended by Professor Yoshikawa Hayao" (吉川速男先生御推奨).[7] The Sunny was succeeded by the Aruba 35, another camera distributed by Chūō Shashin-yōhin.

Notes[]

  1. McKeown, p.908.
  2. Advertisement in Ars Camera November 1951, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.150.
  3. Regular film cassettes: McKeown, p.908.
  4. Advertisement in Shashin Salon September 1952, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.138.
  5. Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.352.
  6. November 1951: advertisement in Ars Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.150. September 1952: advertisement in Shashin Salon, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.138.
  7. Yoshikawa Hayao (1890-1959) wrote books about small format cameras between the 1920s and the 1950s. See this page about a book titled First steps in small format cameras (小形カメラの第一歩) published in 1932 by Genkōsha (玄光社). See also this page for a book titled "Small format movie technique" (小形活動写真術) published in 1929.

Bibliography[]

The Sunny is not listed in Sugiyama.

Links[]

In Japanese:

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