Yamato model list

I go through my camera shelves, trying to keep an order of what I pick, looking at the simple to review one-off models. I am at the post-war viewfinder/rangefinder models, so I picked up a shy camera from the corner, a Tower. But instead of finishing a page quickly and easily, I got more than I bid to.

It is a Yamato, short for Yamato Koki Kogyo, or as they called themselves in English, Yamato Camera Industry Co. LTD. An esoteric camera maker that was active from the 1930s to the mid-1960s and then vanished.

My database lists 440 post-war Japanese camera makers, and I am sure there were more. As mentioned in my other pages, the half-a-million GI contingent in Japan had deep pockets and worked hard to collect souvenirs to bring home. Cameras were an ideal match; they were small, relatively cheap, and advanced. As with many booming post-war industries, camera-making was just a glorified cottage industry.

While there is much information about the German photographic industry, tracing back Japanese camera models is challenging, if not impossible. Information is available about the majors, whether the ones that survived till the late 1990s, such as Topcon and Miranda, Ricoh and Kowa and so on, or the giants that endured into the digital era.

There are several reasons for the information drought. The Kanji names can be transliterated in several versions, all correct. Further, the Japanese industry used similar terms repeatedly, such as the Japanese term for optical, precision, or Japan, followed by a different suffix, which would confuse a foreign language speaker. Moreover, similar-sounding names, such as the Kinka models, are unclear as to whether they were made by Yamato or Yamamoto.

As it happened, I found eight Yamato cameras on my shelves. Add the Tower and perhaps some other rebrands, and there will be a minyan.

So, not to offend the Tower, I was looking at Yamato’s history. As I expected, little is found. There is Yamato galore, a manga character, a battleship, and modern security cameras, which all stem from the Yamato period. There is hardly anything about the post-war Yamato cameras; they are mentioned on the fly, and the essence appears to be copied and pasted.

From what I can see, Yamato was a prolific camera maker, offering a long list of models. However, almost all models carry multiple names, so the output should be heavily discounted. Further, some models, such as the Dan, Kinka, and Bonny, are attributed to other manufacturers. There are as many opinions as articles about it.

Like most manufacturers in Japan and Germany, Yamato rebranded their products to other distributors, mainly in the US. Trying to trace it back from the distributors is futile, as the distributors built their own brands and then reused them with products from other manufacturers. Mansfield sold a Yamato camera under Skylark, with two following Skylark models made by Royal.

Yamato’s first cameras were introduced in 1933 with the Kinka models. As stated above, it is unclear if Yamato or Yamamoto made them. A 1946 Yamato Bonny model appears to be made by Yamasaki and is listed on my database under Omiya, apparently a distributor. A series of Dan cameras came on stage in 1947, again attributed to another manufacturer named Hagi or Hagimoto. It is hinted that Hagimoto was taken over by Yamato, which seems correct as Dan models kept showing under Yamato, as well as sold under Yamato’s Minon name. The Minon models were earlier mentioned as made by Shin Nipon, another obscure manufacturer.

I think my note above about the origin of Japanese camera makers is well supported.

Yamato had introduced three Laica-inspired cameras in 1951: the Super Dan 35, The Pax Golden View and The Pax I. They looked like miniature Leica, almost toy-like. By then, Yamato’s VP of marketing called off all stops and threw a long list of cameras into the market; most were variations of the same melody under a host of random names. The naming galore could have been for different distributors, of which I have no further record. The late Yamato cameras branded under other distributors’ names are marked with a stylized “Y”.

The early Yamato models used the Bolta format, whereas later, all were 35mm. Most were compact monoblock, with a few klapp and a TLR thrown in.

The last models under Yamato’s name were three identical models, the Palmat Automatic and her siblings, and the company went silent then. Nonetheless, few post-war Japanese camera makers survived as long; most vanished earlier,  in the late 1950s.

See the table below for the names and short descriptions. The cameras were a mix of compact, relatively simple viewfinders and rangefinders, with later models featuring light meters. It seems that the Pax models were sold in North America, as most Yamato cameras offered on eBay are of this name. Further, there is no connection between Yamamoto and the Pax of Carl Braun or the Pax Jr of Metropolitan Industries.

I have gone through eight Yamato cameras. Neither in working order. All have one or more stiff dials and only a few have a working shutter. This is an embarrassment, which probably had contributed the the company’s early demise. The rate of dead cameras of that era is about a third, and most can be brought back to life in short order. It is a challenging affair, so all are set aside for a deeper look into the faults. For the collector, these are typical cameras of the era, and are cheaply available, although some models are elusive. The early models can fetch a nice penny once they are offered. If found a working unit, get it.

The Yamato-made cameras can be grouped per the following:

Yamato family models list

Image	Model	Year	Type	AKA
	Alpina M35	1958	Viewfinder	TAC, Pax M3
	Atlas 35	1959	Viewfinder	Tower 55, Emitax Emicon
	Atlas 35 II	1959	Rangefinder
	Atlas Deluxe	1959	Rangefinder
	Barclay	1960	Viewfinder	Pax Jr.
	Bonny Six	1946	Klapp
	Dan 16	1947	Miniature
	Dan 35 I	1948	Viewfinder
	Dan 35 II	1948	Viewfinder
	Dan 35 III	1949	Viewfinder
	Dan 35 IV	1949	Viewfinder
	Dan 35 M	1949	Viewfinder
	Emitax Automatic	1961	Viewfinder	Palmat Automatic
	Emitax Emicon	1960	Viewfinder	Atlas 35
	Hilka	1960	Viewfinder	Pax Jr. , Barclay, Simflex
	Kinka Hand	1933	Klapp
	Kinka Lucky	1935	Viewfinder
	Konair Ruby	1955	Rangefinder	Rippa, Sunscope; Rex; Ricsor
	Lycon M3	1957	Rangefinder	Pax M3
	Magnon M3	1957	Rangefinder	Pax M4
	Microscope	1960	Niche
	Mini Electronic 35 Automatic	1961	Viewfinder
	Minon 35	1949	Viewfinder	DAN 35
	Minon 35 C	1949	Viewfinder
	Minon Six I	1950	Klapp
	Minon Six II	1950	Klapp
	Minon Six III	1952	Klapp
	Pal	1955	Rangefinder	Pax Ruby, TAC Rubi
	Pal Automatic	1960	Viewfinder	Emitax Automatic, Palmat; Mansfield Skylark
	Pal Junior	1960	Viewfinder	Pax Junior, Hilka, Sears Tower 55B, Barclay, Hilka Simflex
	Pal M4	1957	Rangefinder	Rex M4
	Palmat Automatic	1961	Viewfinder	Emitax Automatic, Skylark, Palmat Automatic EE, Emitax Automatic, Mini Electronic 35 Automatic.
	Pax Golden View	1952	Leica type RF
	Pax I	1952	Leica type RF	Pax 35
	Pax Junior	1960	Viewfinder	Pal Junior
	Pax M2	1956	Rangefinder
	Pax M3	1957	Rangefinder	Skymaster
	Pax M4	1958	Rangefinder	Magnon 35; TAC Delux, Atlas Deluxe, Pal M4
	Pax Ruby	1955	Rangefinder	Sunscope; Rex; Ricsor, Konair Rubi, Rippa
	Pax Sunscope	1958	Rangefinder	Rex; Ricsor, Konair Rubi, Rippa, pax Rubi
	Rex	1956	Rangefinder	Sunscope; Ricsor, Konair Rubi, Rippa, Pax Rubi
	Rex 4		Rangefinder	TAC Deluxe, Atlas Delux, Pax M4, Pal
	Rippa	1960	Rangefinder	Sunscope;; Ricsor, Konair Rubi, Pax Rubi, Rex
	Rippaflex	1955	TLR
	Riscor	1958	Rangefinder	Sunscope; Rippa; Konair Rubi, Pax Rubi, Rex
	Simflex 35	1960	Viewfinder	Pal Jr., Hilka, Sears Tower 55B
	Skymaster	1957	Rangefinder	Pax M3
	Starlite	1960	Viewfinder	Mansfield; Skylark
	Super Dan 35	1951	Leica type RF	Pax I
	TAC Deluxe	1958	Rangefinder	Pax M4, Pal M4, Atlas Deluxe, Rex M4
	Wagen Six			Minon Six

More:

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