Light Optical Works Light Super

On the Kowa shelf sits an overlooked camera that tries hard to look serious. My records show it has been there for a decade without mentioning the source. Marked as Light Super, made by Kowa in 1960, it was also sold under Zen 99, Super Lark Zxen 99, Kowa Kid and Kowa Harmony.

As said, it seems significant till you touch it. It is a simple #127 format camera; all the dials and windows are for looks only. As the name hints, it is a kids’ camera.

• The lightweight body is made of very thin cast metal, all black, imitating plastic, the hot material at the time.
• The back opens via an easy-to-use latch, exposing a chamber governed by two slide-in inserts that set the image from native 6x4cm to 4x4cm.
• Two covered red lenses at the back will match the selected format.
• The tiny front viewfinder window is in the middle. The mock rangefinder side window is for show only, as is the elongated window on the other side, trying hard to resemble a meter lens. In the Zen version, this window is a replica of a selenium meter.
• A cold shoe on top is a nice touch, but again, it is a mockery, as there is no synch port.
• The self-loaded trigger is on the lens barrel side, with a speed selector below it, ‘B’ and ‘S’. The ‘S’ clicks the shutter, sounds like 50.
• A finger-hostile fin on the other side selects between three options: sun, green ring and something that looks like a simulated knot. Suggestions welcomed.
• On the lens, there are simulated dials, but none are real.

I have only recorded two sales in the past decade. Some are offered for sale at varying prices, from almost nothing to over a hundred, as expected, from Japan. For the collector, if it comes by easily, it is a lovely era memento.