Hexar lenses before 1945
From Camerapedia.org
The Hexar lenses were made by Rokuoh-sha, the manufacturing branch of Konishiroku, from 1931. This page will attempt to list the pre-1945 models.
Origin and name
The first Hexar lens, released in 1931, was designed by Mōri Hirō (毛利広雄), with the help of Yamada Kōgorō (山田幸五郎).[1] All the prewar and wartime Hexar lenses have a four-element Tessar formula. The Tele-Hexar certainly has a different formula, probably inspired by the Tele-Tessar.
The name Hexar is derived from the Greek radical "hexa" meaning "six". It was adopted after the character roku (六), which means "six" and is the first character of the name of Sugiura Rokuemon VI (6代杉浦六衞門).
It is usually said that the 1931 Hexar was the first Japanese camera lens commercially available. It was actually predated by a few others, such as the Cadenza soft-focus lens distributed by Asao Tenchidō from 1924. However the Hexar was indeed the first Japanese camera lens made in some quantities.
Hexar lenses in leaf shutters, for 6.5×9cm and 8×10.5cm hand cameras
The Hexar was first made in 11.5cm and 13.5cm focal length for daimeishi (6.5×9cm) and tefuda (8×10.5cm) cameras. It seems that the 11.5cm f/4.5 was quickly replaced by the 10.5cm f/4.5, a focal length which was certainly considered more usual on 6.5×9cm cameras (see Tropical Lily).
List:
- Hexar Ser.1 10.5cm f/4.5, for 6.5×9cm size, on the Tropical Lily and New Lily
- Hexar Ser.1 11.5cm f/4.5, for 6.5×9cm size, on the Tropical Lily
- Hexar Ser.1 13.5cm f/4.5, for 8×10.5cm size, on the Tropical Lily, New Lily and Military Lily
- Hexar Ser.II f/3.8, focal length unsure, on the Interchangeable Lily
The lens numbers perhaps started at 10001: one surviving example of the Hexar Ser.1 13.5cm f/4.5 has no.10039 and is considered to be one of the first produced.[2]
Tele-Hexar lenses in leaf shutters, for hand cameras
 
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| Tele-Hexar 30cm f/6.3 no.3301 in KTI-Tiyoko shutter, with bayonet mount. Pictures courtesy of Wenbiao Liang. (Image rights) | ||
The Tele-Hexar 30cm f/6.3 is found in leaf shutters, certainly for use on hand cameras. One example is pictured in Baird together with an Interchangeable Lily, in a Compur shutter.[3] Another example is known in the same shutter.[4] A third example is known in a KTI-Tiyoko shutter made by Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō (predecessor of Minolta), the same as on the Military Lily, with a bayonet mount on the rear, perhaps for the Interchangeable Lily.[5] These lenses were perhaps made for military use only.
Hexar lenses in leaf shutters, for rollfilm cameras
The Sakura-flex TLR prototypes have Hexar Ser.II 7.5cm f/3.5 taking and viewing lenses. Hexar lenses were mounted on various other rollfilm models.
To be continued.
Hexar lenses in focusing mount, for strut-folding cameras
The Hexar was supplied on the Idea Spring strut-folder and its military version the Handheld Land Camera. These lenses are attached on a focusing mount, which also contains the diaphragm and has the focal length inscribed on the fixed and moving parts.
List:
- Hexar Ser.1 13.5cm f/4.5, on the tefuda size Idea Spring and Handheld Land Camera
- Hexar Ser.1 18cm f/4.5, on the kabine size Idea Spring and Handheld Land Camera
Hexar barrel lenses, for enlargers, view cameras or SLR cameras
The Hexar were also offered as barrel lenses. At an unknown date, an advertisement was offering the Hexar f/4.5 lenses in four focal lengths: 5cm (¥35), 7.5cm (¥40), 10.5cm (¥53) and 13.5cm (¥80).[6] The 10.5cm and 13.5cm were presented as suitable for general photography and for enlarging purpose, and the 5cm and 7.5cm were presented as enlarging lenses for smaller format negatives.
One example of the barrel Hexar Ser.1 13.5cm f/4.5 (no.12849) is known complete with its original box, inscribed Hexar 1:4.5 f=13.5cm Rokuoh-sha Tokyo MADE IN JAPAN inside the lid.[7]
Other focal lengths are reported, for use on view cameras: 15cm, 18cm, 21cm, 25cm, 30cm and 36cm.[8] An example of the Hexar Ser.1 21cm f/4.5 (no.34701) is pictured here at ksmt.com. An example of the Hexar Ser.1 25cm f/4.5 (no.5259) is pictured in Yazawa.[9]
Hexar lenses for aerial cameras
To be done.
Notes
- ↑ Yazawa, p.13 of Camera Collectors' News no.56. See also this page of the R. Konishi website.
- ↑ Example pictured in Tanaka, p.89 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Baird, p.82.
- ↑ Lens observed in an online auction.
- ↑ Lens pictured in this page.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Inoue, p.128 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14, and in an incomplete form in Tanaka, p.88 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Example pictured in this page of the R. Konishi website.
- ↑ See this page of the R. Konishi website.
- ↑ Yazawa, p.15 of Camera Collectors' News no.56.
Bibliography
- Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6. Pp.60–1 and 82.
- 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).
- Inoue, Mitsuo (井上光朗). "Shashin renzu no yoake. Renzu-ya Funsenki" (写真レンズの夜明け・レンズ屋奮戦記, Dawn of the photographic lens — Fierce war tales between lens shops). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no. 14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.128–132.
- Sakai Shūichi (酒井修一). "'Anbako' kara 'ōtofōkasu' he: kamera no hensen to tomo ni ayunda 114-nen" (「暗函」から「オートフォーカス」へ・カメラの変遷と共に歩んだ114年, From 'camera obscura' to 'autofocus': 114 years of camera evolution). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no. 10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp.8–13.
- Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen (写真とともに百年, 0ne hundred years of photography). Konishiroku Shashin Kōgyō, 1973. Pp.403–4, reproduced in this page of the R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha website].
- Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Hekisā F4.5 no tanjō" (ヘキサーF4.5の誕生, The birth of the Hexar f/4.5). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no. 10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp.88–9.
- Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Shashin renzu hattatsu-shi dai-12-kai: Kokusan renzu no rekishi (zenpen)" (写真レンズ発達史第12回・国産レンズの歴史[前編], History of the development of photographic lenses no.12: History of the Japanese lenses [first part]). In Camera Collectors' News no.56 (February 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.11–6.
Links
In Japanese:
