Taiyodo Koki & the Beauty Camera Company

The Super 35 (ビューティスーパー35) was the first camera with a coupled rangefinder produced by Taiyodo Koki. "Super" (or sometimes "S" for short) was a term commonly used by 1950s German camera manufacturers to indicate a rangefinder equipped model. It was clearly a development of the previous "35", roughly the same size and would become the parent of several future models (Figure 1).

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(See the Glossary for more information on rangefinders.)

The general features of the Super 35 were a new Canter 45mm f/2.8 lens. Because the camera body was not marked "Super 35", the model is often misidentified as a "Canter" type. The lens is often assumed to be a four-element design (probably because it was the most common variety of the time?), but is actually a five-element construction, as can be seen pictorially in this leaflet​: sadly the scan is too poor to allow character recognition and translation. ​The diaphragm comprised ten blades, and closed to f/16, but was not click-stopped. The absence of aperture click-stops would become a common Beauty feature. Unlike the "35", the frame counter reset automatically when the camera back was opened.

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Model Versions

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There were five (possibly six?) versions of this camera. The early version (Figure 2) can be seen in this manufacturer's 1956 Beauty Camera booklet($) (which was a free promotional item), a July 1956 advertisement in Asahi Camera (a Japanese monthly photographic magazine), and another from a 1956 edition of "the Illustrated Weekly of India".  It can also be found in this leaflet (written in English, but sadly not readable) depicting the range of Beauty models at the time (including the 35, Beautycord S, Beautyflex D and 28). I have personally only seen four examples of this early Super 35 "in the wild". It's unique and distinguishing feature is a fluted and shortened lens mount plate. Whilst the literature claims that the camera had a Copal MX shutter with a top speed of 1/500th, actual examples encountered have a Copal MX with a top speed of 1/300th.

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The early version was followed by two models produced concurrently; one almost identical but for a larger and square lens-mount plate (which I'm calling the MX), and another with a Synchro-MX (Figure 3) with a maximum speed of 1/500th sec. Synchro-MX production was short-lived.

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The forth (or fifth?) version was a transitional model which introduced changes that were carried forward to the final iteration, which featured a Copal-MXV shutter (Figure 6) with a maximum speed of 1/300th sec. The transitional model was produced concurrently with both its predecessor and replacement. 

The differences between the early/MX, transitional model  and Copal MXV were as follows.

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• The early and MX cameras had "M/F" annotation along with two yellow dots on the underside of the lens barrel and alongside something that resembles the self-timer setting-arm on MXV cameras. I thought that the "V" in MXV indicated a self-timer, but the early/MX also seemingly had a self-timer?

• The internal film guide rails of the early/MX (and Synchro) were redesigned for transitional models and the MXV.

• The early/MX and Synchro had a large and proud screwhead, just below the film advance wind-arm tip (on the back of the top-plate). It's tempting to imagine this was a cover for access to a rangefinder adjuster, but I can't say for sure without being hands-on with one of these models. This was absent on the transitional and MXV cameras.

• The early/MX and Synchro viewfinder objective was partly mirrored, while in transitional models and the MXV this was wholly mirrored. The MXV viewfinder eye-piece was larger.

• The MXV and transitional cameras had a shorter wind-arm (but this detail can be inconsistent). 

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Click here for a PDF showing images of these differences.

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Model Variations

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Versions and variants of models were typical in early cameras. Products tended to go to market rapidly, leading to necessary mid-production changes as and when "issues" emerged, which may have encompassed problems such as the need to re-source parts supplied by other manufacturers.

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I've noticed a few Super 35s without a film-type reminder (Figure 4), but there's no rhyme or reason to these: one was an MX-type (#33912), while the others were MXV-types (#69151 & #71544), so they are simply inexplicable anomalies. 

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The lens focus dial had a half-moon shaped handle on the majority of cameras, but some transitional and MXV models had a handle like those of a Canter (Figure 5), e.g. serial numbers 62448, 70066 & 7154. 

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There were variations in the unit of the focus scale. Of the two known early models, one has a scale in feet, and the other in meters (see Figure 2). Most of the observed Synchro models are scaled in feet, but a few are in meters (e.g. 37093). Conversely, most of the Copal models are scaled in meters, but there were exceptions (see Figure 7).

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Sales

The serial numbers I have collected suggest that somewhere slightly over 42,000 Super 35s were made, assuming that numbering started at 30,000.

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The early version is very rare, but it appears that around a  thousand were built. The Synchro-MX model is also uncommon: maybe two or three thousand were produced? Probably around 7,000 each of the transitional and Copal-MXV models were made, while the Copal-MX was the most common with approximately 23,000 units (give or take).

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I have little information on where the Super 35 was marketed outside of Japan (where it cost 14,000 Yen), and the USA. A 1957 US Department of Commerce report (extract here) shows that the Beauty Super 35 was imported to the States (although the shutter speed is documented as 1-1/200?). The f/2.8, 1-1/500, "Beauty" detailed at the bottom of the extract is probably the Canter 35, given the price quoted. The Super 35 definitely wasn't sold in the UK due to a ban on Japanese imports. My camera doesn't bare a maker's stamp: it isn't marked TKK so was not made for export (it was purchased from a seller in Japan).

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Known serial numbers

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Early version: 30014 (in advertising), 30062, 30477 & 31118 (4 examples in a range of 1,118 - assuming that numbering started at 30000).

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Synchro-MX: 32885, 34984, 35756, 37093, 38376, 40349 (6 examples in a range of 7,465)

Copal-MX: , 31411, 31743, 32115, 32278, 32299, 32793, 32933, 33024, 33060, 33604, 33731, 33912, 34187, 34197, 34317, 34700, 35601, 35926, 36678, 36896, 36946, 37156, 37402, 37487, 37553, 37643, 38014, 38206, 38374, 38441, 38734, 38759, 38927, 39353, 39840, 40062, 40307, 40439, 40488, 40945, 41761, 42252, 42803, 42943, 43365, 43387, 43809, 43838, 43959, 43977, 44062, 44496, 44527, 44642, 45027, 45272, 45399, 46142, 46514, 46552, 47145, 47252, 47262, 47445, 48065, 49773, 49962, 49984, 50342, 50700, 50747, 50784, 51505, 51586, 52288, 52415, 52546, 52579, 52729, 55149, 56316, 59568, 61498, 61978, 62951, 63252, 63648, 65756 (87 examples in a total range of 34,346)

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Transitional: 55306, 57246, 57899, 59827, 59299, 59915, 60079, 60120, 60864, 61013, 61258, 62308, 62448, 62673, 63043, 63408, 63155, 63376, 63401, 67740, 68194, 68316, 68583, 68636, 71276 (25 examples in a range of 15,971). I've had to back track here, having only recently noticed these differences, and have been unable to re-locate all of the post 57246 serial number cameras recorded in the range 59568 to 65756.

Copal-MXV: 57237, 58156, 61331, 63535, 64360, 64492, 65504, 65766, 66113, 67030, 67472, 67569, 67658, 67995, 68443, 68459, 69068, 69151, 69535, 69721, 70066, 70272, 70498, 70673, 70958, 71242, 71544, 71492, 71585 (30 examples in a range of 14,349)

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Note that:

a) the Super 35 numbers seem to be sequential across all model variations, with some considerable overlap in their production, and

b) Canter 35 numbers started at 80,000.

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I acquired my Copal-MXV model in November 2018. It was purchased from a seller in Japan for £31 - with free shipping - which meant I was taxed on the £31 rather than the cost of the goods. At the time, imports from outside the EU attracted 20% tax if they had a value exceeding £15, so the duty on this purchase was £3.10 - which is fine - but the UK Post Office charged an additional £8.00 to collect the Import Tax, taking the total price to £41.10. My Super 35 is in nice condition and FWO, with only the screw-fit shutter release finger rest missing.

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Here are some on those linked documents again.