Japan: KOWA: 1960-1973:

Kowa Optical was established in 1946 as a branch of a textile company founded in 1894. They produced their first camera in 1954 and their first PP SLR in 1960. That was the Kowa (Kowaflex in US.) That was a rather simple camera with fixed 50mm lens. Then came Kowa(flex) E in 1961, introducing an automatic diaphragm coupled with light metering from a selenium front panel under the prism top. Only the French camera Savoyflex Automatic had built something similar before, released in 1959. Uncommon for Japanese cameras, Kowas always came with leaf shutters, which means the shutter was built into the lens, not the camera. But the lens was still a fixed 50mm. Kowa never produced much, and the last camera was introduced in 1972, although they continued for a while with some 6x6 cameras, like the Kowa Six. The camera production ended in mid '70s. Presented here is an early Kowa H of 1963, and a late one, the SET R2 of 1970. The quality of later production may have been a problem for the reputation, as very few of the ones I have seen are still working. Kowa also made lenses for other cameras, such as the Prominar-Miranda for the Miranda B of 1959.

1963: Kowa H:

The Kowa H of 1963. A hybrid of a budget camera and building on a technological worlds second. (But first to work well!) Budget because it featured a fixed lens and shutter speeds of only 1/30 to 1/300. Building on Worlds number two automatic exposure camera, the Kowa E of 1961. Weight with lens: Size: Sn: 324625
The fixed 48/2,8 lens with built in shutter.
Fixed lens with wide angle and telephoto converters.
From left: rewinder, counter, window showing ASA value and the automatically chosen shutter speed and lastly shutter release button. But where is the winder?
Under the camera! No more successful than that of the Canonflex four years earlier.

1970: Kowa SE T R2:

One of only two leaf shutter PP SLRs from Japan, The Kowa. Here a model from 1970, the latest of the regular PP SLRs, the SE T R2. Sn. 964151.
A Kowa-R lens of leaf shutter type, 50/1,8. Sn. 3412899.
A simple layout, as shutter time setting was on the lens mount.

Bosse 26.03.2021 19:19

Hi,
Yes, their first PPSLR was introduced in 1960. I will add that that was Kowa(flex). Then the Kowa(flex) E in 1961, introducing auto metering. Thanks!

Baard-Einar 25.03.2021 22:47

Kowa made one even earlier than this Kowa H, there seems to be one from 1959 (?) called Kowaflex. There is one on ebay now.

Bosse 22.02.2021 23:06

Hi Dave, When looking back I note that I have given the title to several cameras!
The Optima was not a SLR camera and not counting here. To be continued..

Dave Doty 22.02.2021 19:24

How is the 1963 Kowa H the first Selenium Electric Eye when you consider earlier releases inclusing the 1959 Agfa Optima, and the 1959 Royer Savoyflex Automatic

Bosse 22.02.2021 23:17

The Konica Autoreflex of 1968 was the first automatic system to measure light through the lens, TTL. I will rewrite things to make this more clear. Thank you!

Bosse 22.02.2021 23:14

Savoyflex was first, but not regarded as a very useful system. Then Kowa H in 1963. Then Kiev Avtomat in '64. But Konica got all the credit from 1965.....

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Nyeste kommentarer

02.11 | 16:32

Thank you! I should have said around 500000. Also remember that sometimes a top plate was broken and had to replace it with a spare one numbered differently.

01.11 | 20:18

I think your SN indications for the S1 may be a little off. I just picked up a chrome one with SN 527384.

09.08 | 09:58

Hi,
I do not know that model code. Please check for model name.
Regards

08.08 | 20:58

Hi I have a Konica Minolta code 3739740 please advise if there are film strips available for this camera? I'd appreciate the help. Thank you