Description
The Handheld Aerial Camera 25cm F-8 type was made for the Japanese Navy by Rokuoh-sha, later Konishiroku. The camera was essentially a copy of the American Fairchild F-8.
The F-8 type takes 13×18cm exposures. A 1945 American report says that the early examples were taking six glass plates within a magazine, but the camera was modified to use rollfilm “early in the war”. All the surviving examples known so far take 18cm wide film rolls. The rolls were normally 3.7m long, allowing for 25 frames, but double-length 7.5m rolls were manufactured in 1943 and 1944.
The camera body is made of metal and there is a folding frame finder at the top, of which variations are known. If we accept the 1924 or 1925 release date given by some Japanese sources, the early examples made until the early 1930s certainly had an imported German lens. The examples found today normally have a Hexar Ser.1 25cm f/4.5 (same as mounted on the Nedinsco type), sometimes with abbreviated markings Hexar.1 4.5 25.
Surviving examples have been observed in two main variants:
The first variant has a large black identification plate, with the camera’s official name in Japanese characters, a serial number, the year and month of manufacture, and the words Tokyo and Rokuoh-sha. There is a small housing on the left side, behind the left handle. There is no control lever above the camera, and the aperture is perhaps directly controlled by turning a ring around the lens. Finally, there are four screw threads at the front of the main body, probably provided to attach the camera to a fixed aircraft mount.
The second variant is presumably later. It has a small white plate with Rokuoh-sha or Konishiroku’s logo (the character roku inside a stylized cherry blossom) and a serial number. Two levers are visible at the top, in front of the frame finder. The front lever controls the aperture and has three positions: 4.5, 6.3 and 9. The second lever was used to compensate for proper focus with infra-red film. The small housing on the left side and the four screw threads at the front are no longer present.
Only 2300 of these were ever made.
Made of wood, aluminum, and steel, this camera is in EXCELLENT used condition. It still retains 95% of it’s original paint, and also the original data plate! The winding mechanism and all knobs/dials appear to function correctly, as does the shutter release. The aiming reticle opens and closes as it should. The lens if made by Hexar, and comes complete with the original yellow lens filter (no other filters present).
Brought back by a US Serviceman, this set also includes 30 Aerial Photographs, of which 15 were taken by this EXACT camera! All the photographs depict bombed out cities, factories, docks, and palaces in Toyko and Yokohama. All photos are dated between October 1945 and January 1946. Some have inscriptions on the reverse, including one where he notes that he took the specific photo while in an L-5 Stinson Reconnaissance aircraft. One photo also depicts the serviceman cleaning the lens of this camera during Christmas (presumable, this was a Christmas gift to him, while he was stationed in Japan).
I am not sure if it is 100% functional, so I am selling it as is. As only 2300 of these cameras were ever made, it would make a PERFECT item for any collection or display!
