Royal Camera Royal 35

Here is another camera maker that was established in Japan in the post-war years, mainly to cater to the spending habits of the 450,000 GI posted there. There is little information about it, just enough to see its name as a supplier to numerous camera distributors with a precious few models sold under its own name. The official company name was Daiou Shashin Kogaku, or short as DSK, which was marked on some rebranded models.

In the printed guides, DSK or Royal camera is hardly mentioned, and online, it is impossible to dig for any meaningful information as there are too many entries containing Royal, Camera or both, not the least of which are Robot Royal. It reminds me of when I was looking for online information about the Taron camera and was flooded with information about one Taron Egerton. There are two articles worth reading about the Royal Camera company, by Mike Eckman and Colin Clark, and both proclaim no information.

Known models appeared between 1950 and 1957, but there is no clear information regarding the company closure date. The model list below is peppered with data from different sources, I can only hope that there are no overlapping models. Other than the first model that looks like the early Altix, all models are similar and strongly resemble the Contax or Nikon S cameras. Two models seem to share a platform with other makers: the Royal 35 I with the Picny B, and the Luxall / Torca with the Neoca 35 models.

Royal Camera made rangefinders only, with several degrees of sophistication. Some models are known to exist by name only, where no supporting information or images are available. The Torca / Luxall model is revierwed under Brumberger 1651.

For the collector, these models are worth looking into. They are well-made cameras, although functionality is a toss of the dice. Not many are offered for sale, most at ridiculous asking prices. When you find one at a reasonable price, I suggest to get it.

Royal 35

Marked only Royal in cursive, I see no difference between it and the Royal 35S, so I assume that the names were meant for different markets. It is a well-built camera, modestly specced with 2.8/50 lens and unnamed Shutter, B, 1-300. Oddly, the speed selector is a small dial at the front, where you would expect the slow-speed dial. A nice touch, which seems common to all Royal models, is two cogs that drive the film rather than pull by the take-off spool. A threaded ring around the trigger comes off and could be mistaken for a trigger lock. Straight forward to operate, no manual needed.

Royal 35-M / Wirgin 19E

Introduced in 1957, two years after the Royal 35, it was also sold as the Wirgin 19E as a part of the Wirgin post-war reconstruction. Here is a camera that aims higher. It has a faster lens, a 1.9/45, and a Copal MXV shutter that goes up to 500. A Selenium meter with a German-style flap is easy to read and use. It has a simple cue system:

For a bright scene, close the flap, and the red dot on it will be up, so use the red chevron on the light meter dial.
With a dim scene, open the flap, the green line on it is visible, so use the green chevron on the meter dial.

Pecuialrities

A pin by the shoe is marked in the manual as an “Exclusive meter amplifier joint”. I don’t know what it means; I would guess it is a stop for a shoe-mounted external light meter. Corrections are welcomed.
A tiny screw head, marked ‘0’ surrounded with two arrows, is said to be “Zero adjustment screw”. It moves the meter needle, but the adjustment should be against something, which explanation is missing.

All controls are positioned on the lens barrel. Closest to the body is the focusing dial, followed by the aperture dial, a synch selector on the side, and the speed selector dial at the front end.

The Wirgin 19E shows its heritage with the Royal Camera logo modestly embossed on the front skin and boldly on the lens cover.

When I looked at the Brumberger 1651, I was impressed by its cosmetic and mechanical condition. It seems it had a loving owner, as the 35-M here is in poor condition, the Shutter is dead, and the glass is a fungi farm. However, I later realized I also have a lovely Wirgin 19E, which is almost the same camera, so my faith in the Royal Camera brand has been revived.


	Same camera			See Brumberger
List number	32059	18499	18497	36694
Brand	Wirgin	Royal Camera	Royal Camera	Brumberger
Model	Wirgin 19 E	Royal 35M	Royal 35	Brumberger 1651
Manual	Butkus
Value	Wirgin 19 E	Royal 35M	Royal 35	Brumberger 1651
Format	35mm		35mm	35mm
Introduced	1957		1955	1951
AKA	Skylark E, Ogicon 35E,		Ogicon 35E	Torca Luxall Holiday II
Country	Germany	Japan	Japan	Japan
Qty made
Initial price
Currency
Type	Rangefinder		Rangefinder	Rangefinder
Body material	Metal		Metal	Metal
Mode	Manual		Manual	Manual
Weight	680 gr, Body with lens	660 gr, Body with lens	670 gr, Body with lens	640 gr, Body with lens
Class average weight	660 gr, Body with lens		660 gr, Body with lens	660 gr, Body with lens
ASA range	12-800		50-400 memo only	25-400, memo only
Kit lens	1.9/45		2.8/50	3.5/45
Lens make	Tominor	Tominon	Tominor	Brumberger
Filter size	40.5mm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lens mount	Fixed lens		Fixed lens	Fixed lens
Mount size			N/A
Aperture
Shutter	Leaf		Leaf	Leaf
Shutter make	Copal MXV
Light meter	Selenium, uncoupled		None	None
Winder	Lever	Lever	Lever	Lever
Lock	No	No	No	No
Speeds	B, 1-500		B, 1-300	B, 1-300
Mirror	N/A		N/A	N/A
Viewer	Rangefinder		Rangefinder	Rangefinder
DOF preview	No		No	No
Exposure lock	No		No	No
Exposure compensation	No		No	No
Shoe	Cold		Cold	Cold
External sync	X/M		X	X
Sync speed
Timer	Yes, mechanical		No	Yes, mechanical
Battery, original	N/A		N/A	N/A
Battery, replacement	N/A		N/A	N/A
Battery voltage	N/A		N/A	N/A
Integral flash	None		None	None
Other
Service / repair links	See camerlog.com
More	Mike Eckman Colin Clark Cyberphoto Flickr Reddit Yashica sailor boy

Ryal Camera model list

Model	Year	AKA
Royal 35 I	1950	Picny B
Royal 35M DeLux	1957	Skylark E, Ogicon 35E, Wirgin 19E
Hiyoca	1957	Royal 35P
Luxall	1957	Torca, Royal 35P
Mark S2	1957
Ogikon 35 E	1957	Ogino Royal 35LE
Ogikon 35 E Deluxe	1957
Royal 35	1955	Ogicon 35E
Royal 35 LE	1957
Royal 35M	1957	Wirgin 19 E
Royal 35F
Royal 35P	1957	Unicorn 35
Royal 35S	1955
Torca	1957	Luxall, Royal 35P, Brumberger 1651, Hanimex Holiday II
Unicorn 35