The Uncommon RF Camera: Taron 35

[raid]

I have finally completed one roll of film with my Taron 35 rangefinder camera. It is not a commonly found camera.

It is made by Nihon Kosokki Co.Ltd (Japan), and it sports a 45mm/2.8 Lausar, made by the Tamioka Optical Co.

When I first saw the name Taron, I thought of Tamron. Then I saw Nihon, and of course, I thought of Nikon.

The shutter speeds go from B to 300, and the aperture settings go from 2.8 to 16.

The shape of the camera is classical, and its built quality is not bad at all. The rangefinder is dim, but maybe it can be cleaned up.








Here are more photos:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=745541


Raid

[raid]

Here is a photo of the camera:



http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4904587

[amateriat]

Wonderful photos, Raid (and, again, such cute kids).

That camera's "form factor" has me thinking of several cameras at once, mostly Nikon, of course, which makes matters here all the more mysterious. Might need to call up the Bartender for some info (as well as order another round...been a hot day around here).


- Barrett

[raid]

Originally Posted by amateriat

Wonderful photos, Raid (and, again, such cute kids).

That camera's "form factor" has me thinking of several cameras at once, mostly Nikon, of course, which makes matters here all the more mysterious. Might need to call up the Bartender for some info (as well as order another round...been a hot day around here).


- Barrett

Thank you Barrett.

Someone suspects a similarity in shape to a Nikon S. I don't know, but maybe if we go back to the origins of the Nihon company we may find some clues.


Raid

[raid]

By the way, I used ASA 400 Walgreens film that was advertised for 99 cents a roll.

Raid

[spystyle]

Nice

I like the photos

[raid]

Originally Posted by spystyle

Nice

I like the photos

Thanks.

I had forgotten about this short lived thread!

[Pompiere]

From what I have found searching the internet, if all the owners of Taron and their house branded cameras posted here, there still would only be a page or two. I have a Burstein-Applebee "AUTO" EE-1 that was made by Taron. I'm still working on the first roll, but I like the way it handles.

[btgc]

I've seen picture of 70ies era Taron RF with 2.8/45mm-something lens. Interesting to see that Taron has deeper roots.

[sevo]

They can't have been that scarce - I own a Taron 35 as well. While Taron labelled ones are a bit of a curiosity, they seem to have been not altogether small as a OEM, I've run across quite a few that were Fodor or Porst labelled.

[raid]

Googling Taron 35 will not give you many active hits.
It is a basic camera that has an OK lens.

[Ming The Merciless]

It is Norat spelled backwards.

[raid]

Originally Posted by Ming The Merciless

It is Norat spelled backwards.

.. and what does Norat mean other than being TARON spelled backwards?

[raid]

If anyone wants a broken taron 35 fos $61.95 shipped, here is a current auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TARON-35-RANGERF...21153004r11699

[spystyle]

Why buy a broken one for 50 when you can buy a good one for 10?

Here

[Kin Lau]

I've got one as well, with the faster lens too.

The problem with a lens called "Lausar", is that it sounds too much like "lousy" or "loser".

[raid]

Originally Posted by spystyle

Why buy a broken one for 50 when you can buy a good one for 10?

Here

I was not serious about my "tip".

[raid]

Originally Posted by nikonhswebmaster

Raid your kids are so great, they always look like they are going on 40 years old.

Do they run the house?

Thanks!

Well, they are quite vocal about what they want!
I like them to have self confidence and to be full of life and energy.

[spystyle]

Originally Posted by raid

I was not serious about my "tip".

Oops, my "sarcasm detector" was turned off

I agree, $60 for a broken one - some eBay sellers are so ridiculous.

Have fun!
Craig

[Brian Legge]

I stumbled across a Taron Robin 19 (export version of the Taron 35 III aka Taron MX from what I can tell). There doesn't seem to be much info around on this camera at all.

It feels like a nicely built camera, f1.9 lens (8 blade aperture version), 1-1/500. It also has a rather contrasty patch for a fixed lens rangefinder. It looks like it uses a prism instead of a mirror for the rangefinder. I'm not terribly familiar with rangefinder construction but I haven't seen that in other fixed lens rangefinders. I'm guessing the prism is part of the reason why it is so bright?

I'm working on loosening the prism assembly right now as the prism isn't rotating. After starting out in rangefinders with compact ones, these larger cameras aren't as appealing but this one definitely has a certain charm.

Anyone familiar with the model?

[JasonH]

Tarons are orphaned obscure '50's Japanese rangefinders that are, among others like Aires/Beauty's/Royal, kind of interesting. I have a Taron III, a Robin 1.9 (III clone) and Robin Super LM (Taron VL clone). I kept the III because of its neato rewind lever. And the Robin 1.9 does has a very nice aperture iris.

And yeah, under the top cover of these is interesting too: robustly built with a mix of qualities with that prism and then the craft paper light block. Brian, a very small drop of oil under the circular holder for the prism (needled right at the body casting) and a little working the holder back and forth should free up the rangefinder.

I added to the Camerapedia entries for Taron, the III and VL; you can try there for some info. Unfortunately there is little information available on most of these orphaned obscure '50's rangefinders (which gives an excuse to buy 'em, try 'em and post info/photos on 'em on that site).

[xwhatsit]

I have a Taron VL, the rangefinder is stuck too. I freed it up just with some naphtha, but then it gummed up again after a couple of days. When I've finished rebuilding my Minister D, I'll get onto the Taron.

Feels like a solid enough camera, fairly nasty and ratchety advance lever though. Quiet shutter and feather-light shutter release. The light meter is an interesting affair. I didn't look too closely but the lens looks like a coated Tessar type, so given the max aperture of f2.8 you'd expect the results to be pretty good. Weird mix of speeds though, 1 second through 1/300, but there's 1/50 in there. The aperture spacing is not linear either, large gaps between different stops.

From Camerapedia:

[raid]

I don't have any idea on fixing cameras. Good luck with your VL.

[everythingy]

I have two Taron Eyemax and they work like a charm. Just picked up a Taron Jr and can't wait to put it to use.

[raid]

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6181541

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6181522

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6181525

These photos were taken with a Taron 35 (shown next).
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4904587
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4904584
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4904571