Category: Shinano

Shinano Pigeon J II Three Pigeon models were the last offered by Shinano: Pigeon J II, a viewfinder, which I deal with here. Pigeon 35 IIIc, a viewfinder, mentioned in McKeown, Kadlubek and Sugiyama, shows the same image as the Pigeon III. No further information is available; I have seen none for sale for the past decade or so. A...

Shinano Pigeon 35 IIa At the heels of the first Pigeon camera, came a flight of siblings. Most followed the leader as viewfinders, with a few nonconformists, a TLR and an elusive rangefinder. Some changed their names to Lacon, but all carried the same DNA, as evidenced by their looks. Shinano made cameras for a very short time, between the...

Shinano Pigeon camera Shinano began making cameras in Japan in 1951, with the wave of camera makers coming out of nowhere to cater to the GI contingent stationed in Japan. Most camera manufacturers of that era are just a historical footnote, with only a handful of brands that have survived. A detailed history of Shinano is described on Yashica TLR...