transformation Leif Johansen DK
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"The poor man's Leica" in Japanwritten by Leif Johansen . The Japanese camera producers from the 1930ies watched carefully German camera engeneering and often made copies (technical or in design) - mostly of the Leica but also of the Contax, especially after the war. Nikon looked similar to the Contax but had a normal focal plane shutter, working horizontally. Some of the producers made also models with leafshutter on the housing and with interchangeable lenses. It could happen that a small firm made a camera but never got so far that they made other than standard lenses . Many firms existed for only a short time. The leafshutter cameras with interchangeable lenses were no success. Japanese firms prefered Leicacopies (focal shutter) and Rolleicopies (6x6 TLR). until they started the focal plane shutter SLR production by copying Exakta and Praktica. These three types were exported successfully to many countries and especially with SLR, they became technical leading and drove the German camera industry out of business. It is difficult in Europa to find Japanese cameras made before the offensive export started. The following description was collected using details and pictures from the following publications:
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