Asahiflex
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| Asahiflex | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | 35 mm SLR camera |
| Lens mount | Interchangeable screw mount |
| Focus | manual |
| Exposure | manual |
| Flash | hot shoe |
The Asahiflex was a 35mm single-lens reflex camera built by the Asahi Optical Corporation (later to become Pentax). It was the first SLR camera built in Japan.
Asahi Optical introduced its first 35 mm camera in 1952. Unlike the majority of Japanese camera manufacturers of the time, Asahi made a conscious decision not to produce a mere German rangefinder copy, a relatively simple task. Asahi's designers (Nobuyuki Yoshida and Ryohei Suzuki) were convinced of the inherent superiority of the SLR and so proceeded along these lines. This effort resulted in the Asahiflex I, which was also the first Japanese 35mm SLR.
The Asahiflex I had a non-interchangeable waist-level viewfinder, with a direct optical viewfinder for eye-level use. The Asahiflex I had a non-returning mirror (which, however, was directly coupled to the shutter button, so only when the shutter button was released the mirror returned to the down position) and shutter speeds from 1/25 to 1/500. The camera used the M37 screw mount. The Asahiflex went through some minor modifications for flash use, resulting in the IA. With the IIB a key advance was made - the quick-return mirror. The problem of mirror black-out was one of the main problems with prior SLR designs, greatly reducing usability and leading to the greater popularity of the rangefinder. With the IIB there emerged the first practical quick-return mirror, a vital innovation and one which was quickly adopted by other manufacturers. With the final model in the series, the IIA, the Asahiflex gained slow speeds from 1/25th of a second to 1/2 of a second.
 Top view: Asahiflex IIb Model I #72734 |
 58mm f/2.4 Asahiflex IIA |
 Top view: Asahiflex IIA #79346 |
- Asahiflex I (1952 - 1953)
- Asahiflex IA (1953 - 1954)
- Asahiflex IIB (1954 - 1956)
- Asahiflex IIA (1955 - 1957)
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[edit] See also
Correction to Asahiflex I description: Both the Asahiflex I and Ia (which was not a manufacturer's designation) had a non-returning mirror, the main differences between the two models was (for the Ia) inclusion of a second flash terminal (giving both FP and X sync) and changing the slowest speed from 1/20 to 1/25 sec. The instant return mirror came with the Asahiflex IIb (which as noted above, came before the IIa). With early IIb's the mirror did not return until the shutter button was released (as you have noted) and this was later corrected. Wikipedia is the only reference I have seen to this change but I have both models that are otherwise identical.
