Beauty camera family list
Beauty camera family list
Preamble
Researching camera information can be tedious. Where information is available in print, it takes a long time to retrieve. Online research is much faster when the search subject is unique, such as ‘Konica Autoreflex’. I mentioned this in the past while searching for Taron and had a massive yield of results about actor Taron Egerton, coinciding with the Kingsman debut. Looking for a Galaxy camera was even worse because of Samsung’s popularity.
After going through much of the minor Japanese camera makers off my shelves, I have tackled Beauty, hoping for a safe sailing. In print, there is only a mention on the fly. Online, it seems that every camera maker or seller flaunts the beauty of their product, so searching on eBay alone returns ‘more than 1,000 results’. An app under the Beauty name also threw its hat into the ring. Go figure.
So, I turned to the maker’s name, which came in several versions: Taiyodo Koki or Taiyodo kouki kabu, and for Japanese- spelled keywords. This had yielded meaningful results. I do not read Japanese, so the simplest approach is to use Buyee, which is bilingual, search for an English term, and then use Google Translate to identify the Japanese-spelled keywords.
Then I came across a Beauty camera dedicated website, where I hit the mother lode. But, I promptly found that here I am in the eye of the storm, or rather in a tempest in a teacup. I am not sure what is hurting that site publisher, and if he/she reads this, I again suggest he/she contact me through this site. Otherwise, he/she is welcome to send in a squire and challenge me to an honourable duel.
The Beauty camera company
The company was established in 1920 as a photography store, selling whatever supplies were available at the time, likely for professionals only. Post-war, the market had changed in two ways. The local economy was in tatters, so the Hit-style models and derivatives emerged, cheap to make and use. On the other hand, the half-million GI contingent was there, with relatively deep pockets and looking for anything to buy. The latter was the base of the then-up-and-coming Japanese photography industry, with dozens of camera makers and some mom-and-pop shops stepping in to satisfy demand.
The company’s trading side, the store and its satellites, had existed until 2013. Manufacturing or selling of own-brand products began in 1940, with the last such model issued in 1963. Yet this is longer than most post-war minor camera makers in Japan.
Which brings me to an old argument, one school of thought assumes the Beauty was a mere distributor of rebranded models, while the other assumes they were manufacturers. I modestly believe that they were distributors, at least in the early days. There is a gap between the manufacturing and commerce state of mind, where doing both is not a synergy, but an antagonism, where each side bites into the other’s territory. I do not wish to begin a fresh spat, but I do base it upon my own experience of just under 50 years’ career, on both sides and in between. Hence, I suspect that a camera shop would not / could not venture into manufacturing on a meaningful scale. They may have set the standard and the specifics for third-party manufacturers, but they stay on the commerce side.
On top of the home market and the local population and the GI present there, Beauty sold through overseas distributors:
- Ward – Wardflex, United States Camera – USC 50, and Miller-Outcalt – Mil-O 35, in the US.
- GEN and SCL Photoflex in Canada, under the now-defunct Simpsons.
- Dixons in the UK.
- Fodor – Fodorflex in The Netherlands.
The cameras sold under the above brands were not identical but varied in lens and shutter offerings and minor cosmetic finishes, yet in essence were very similar to their Beauty siblings.
The cameras offered under the Beauty brand can be grouped into the following:
- The early models, 1940 onwards, were sub-miniature cameras, using 14 and 16 mm film. A simple body hosting basic glass and mechanics.
- Next came a long list of Rolleiflex and Rolleicord inspired (read copied) TLR models, that had lasted from 1950 till about 1955. There are about 20 models listed, with little information available on the exact specifications. Variants of these models were sold by other distributors. The cameras bore different logos, in cursive and caps, and in Beautyflex and Beauty Flex styles, which could be a key to defining which is which. There are scattered snippets about the various models, which I will address when I get to the Beauty TLRs waiting on my shelf.
- 1953 saw one Klapp model, the elusive Beauty Six, also here.
- A copy of Kochmann / B&J Reflex Korell came in 1956 as the Reflex Beauty that came in two models, AKA Reflex 66, early with a cursive logo, and the second with caps.
- One viewfinder in 1955, the Beauty 35, variants sold under Milo 35, Gen 35 and Ward 35.
- A slew of rangefinder models, sold between 1957 and 1963:
- 35 Super, 1956.
- Canter, 1957.
- 35 Super L / Varicon SL, 1958, added meter.
- Super II / Varicon S II, 1958
- Light-O-Matic / LM, 1959, added meter.
- Beaumat, 1960, added meter.
- Light-O-Matic II / Lightomatic II, 1960, added meter.
- Light-O-Matic III / Lite III / Lightomatic III, 1961, added meter.
- Lightomatic SP / Lightomatic and Ward, 1963, added meter.
More:
Westford
John’s Cameras
Cameracollector board
Familiamuda
chachanocha – Beauty Six
Muuseo
Vw1303s
Mediajoy
Camera Kaukau
Hank Kelner
kamerasamling
Beauty cameras list
| Model | Year | Type | Format | AKA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 35 Super | 1956 | Rangefinder | 35mm | |
 | 35 Super L | 1958 | Rangefinder | 35mm | |
 | 35 | 1955 | Viewfinder | 35mm | Beauty 35 I, MIL-O, Ward 35, Gen 35 |
 | 35 Super II | 1960 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Super II, marked Beauty only. |
 | Auto Fifty | 1955 | TLR | 120 | USC Auto Fifty |
 | Beaumat | 1960 | Rangefinder | 35mm | |
 | Beautycord | 1955 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Beautycord S | 1955 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Beautycord T.K.K. | 1955 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Beauty Flex | 1950 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Beautyflex D | 1955 | TLR | 120 | Fodorflex, Photoflex |
 | Beautyflex III | 1950 | TLR | 120 | |
| Beauty Flex IIIS | 1955 | TLR | 120 | ||
 | Beauty Flex IV | 1952 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Beautyflex K | 1955 | TLR | 120 | |
| Beautyflex S | 1955 | TLR | 120 | S | |
 | Beautyflex T | 1954 | TLR | 120 | Wardflex 120, Gen-Flex |
 | Beauty Flex V | 1955 | TLR | 120 | SCL Photoflex |
 | Beauty 14 | 1940 | Submini | 17.5 mm | Vestkkam |
 | Beauty 16 | 1940 | Submini | 16 mm | Spy 16 |
| Beautyflex U | 1952 | TLR | 120 | ||
| Beauty Flex II | 1955 | TLR | 120 | ||
| Beauty Flex IIA | 1955 | TLR | 120 | ||
| Beauty | 1949 | Submini | 17.5mm | ||
 | Canter | 1957 | Rangefinder | 35mm | 1.9, 2.8 |
 | Epochs | 1948 | Submini | 17.5mm | Vestkam |
 | Gen-Flex | 1955 | TLR | 120 | Wardflex |
 | Light O matic | 1959 | Rangefinder | 35mm | |
 | Light O matic II | 1960 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Lightomatic II |
 | Light O matic III | 1963 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Lightomatic III, Beauty Lite III |
 | Lightmatic SP | 1963 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Lightomatic |
 | LM | 1959 | Rangefinder | 35mm | |
 | Lite III | 1961 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Light O matic III |
 | Meteor | 1948 | Submini | 17.5mm | Vestcam |
| Milo 35 | 1955 | Viewfinder | 35mm | ||
 | Photoflex | 1955 | TLR | 120 | Beautyflex D? |
 | Reflex Beauty II | 1956 | Medium SLR | 120 | |
 | Reflex 66 | 1955 | Medium SLR | 120 | Reflex Beauty I |
 | Super II | 1958 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Varicon S II |
| Six | 1953 | Klapp | 120 | Model 1 | |
 | Spy 16 | 1940 | Submini | 16 mm | Beauty 16 |
 | Super L | 1959 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Varicon SL, Super L |
 | S | 1954 | TLR | 120 | |
 | Vestkam | 1949 | Miniature | 17.5mm | Epochs, Meteor |
| Varicon SL | 1958 | Rangefinder | 35mm | Super L |
