Toyocaflex Ib : International Camera Museum : Blue Moon Camera and Machine

Shop
Equipment

35mm Cameras

SLR Cameras

Rangefinder Cameras

Point & Shoot Cameras

Disposable Cameras

Half Frame Cameras

Panoramic Cameras

Pinhole Cameras

Student Cameras

Other 35mm Cameras

Medium Format Cameras

SLR Cameras

TLR Cameras

Rangefinder Cameras

Folding Cameras

Panoramic Cameras

Pinhole Cameras

127 Cameras

Other Medium Format Cameras

Large Format Cameras

4x5 Field Cameras

4x5 Rail Cameras

4x5 Press & Technical Cameras

5x7 Cameras

8x10 Cameras

Ultra Large Format Cameras

Pinhole Cameras

Instant Cameras

Fuji Instax

Polaroid 600

Polaroid SX-70

Subminiature Systems

Minox Cameras & Accessories

Pentax 110 Cameras & Accessories

All 110 Cameras

Other Subminiature

Motion Picture Cameras

Projectors & Viewers

Machines

Typewriters

Other Machines
Lenses

35mm SLR Lenses

Canon EF / EF-S

Canon FL / FD

Contax / Yashica

Leicaflex & Leica R

Minolta Maxxum

Minolta SR (MC & MD)

Nikon F - Manual Focus

Nikon AF

Olympus OM

Pentax K

Pentax M42

Other SLR Mounts

35mm Rangefinder Lenses

Contax RF / Nikon S

Leica M

Leica M39

Other Rangefinder Mounts

Medium Format Lenses

Bronica

Hasselblad V & H

Mamiya 645

Mamiya 6 & 7

Mamiya RB & RZ

Mamiya TLR

Pentax 645

Pentax 67

Other Medium Format Lenses

Large Format Lenses

Cine Lenses
Film and Supplies

Film

35mm Film

120 Film

Spy Film for Minox

Instant Film

Large Format Film

ULF Format Film

Motion Picture Films

Other Film Formats

Camera Batteries

Storage and Archiving

Cleaning Accessories

Darkroom Equipment and Supplies

Paper

Fiber Paper

RC Paper

Chemistry

Film Developers

Paper Developers

Stop Baths

Film and Paper Fixer

Alternative Process Chemicals

Other Chemicals

Darkroom Equipment

Darkroom Enlargers

Enlarging Lenses

Film Developing Equipment

Other Darkroom Equipment

Sundries

Apparel & Swag

Enamel Pins

T-Shirts and Apparel

Books & Magazines

Fine Art Photo Books

Zines & Periodicals

Gift Certificates
Accessories

Camera System Accessories

Canon Accessories

Bronica Accessories

Hasselblad Accessories

Large Format Accessories

Leica Accessories

Mamiya Accessories

Minolta Accessories

Nikon Accessories

Olympus Accessories

Pentax Accessories

Rollei Accessories

Camera Straps

Flash

Electronic Flash

Flash Bulbs

Lens Filters

UV Filters

Polarizing Filters

Neutral Density Filters

Color Filters for B&W

Infrared Filters

Other Filters

Light Meters

Tripods

Tripod Heads

Tripod Legs

Complete Tripod Kits

Bags & Cases

Discount Items

Sale Items

eBay Outlet
Photo Lab
Culture
Sell Your Gear

Shop

Back

Cameras

Back

35mm Cameras

Back SLR Cameras Rangefinder Cameras Point & Shoot Cameras Disposable Cameras Half Frame Cameras Panoramic Cameras Pinhole Cameras Student Cameras Other 35mm Cameras

Medium Format Cameras

Back SLR Cameras TLR Cameras Rangefinder Cameras Folding Cameras Panoramic Cameras Pinhole Cameras 127 Cameras Other Medium Format Cameras

Large Format Cameras

Back 4x5 Field Cameras 4x5 Rail Cameras 4x5 Press & Technical Cameras 5x7 Cameras 8x10 Cameras ULF Cameras Pinhole Cameras

Subminiature Camera Systems

Back Minox Cameras & Accessories Pentax 110 Cameras & Accessories All 110 Cameras Other Subminiature

Motion Picture Cameras

Lenses

Back

35mm SLR Lenses

Back Canon EF & EF-S Canon FL & FD Contax / Yashica Leicaflex & Leica R Minolta Maxxum Minolta SR (MC & MD) Nikon F - Manual Focus Nikon AF Olympus OM Pentax K Pentax M42 Other SLR Mounts

35mm Rangefinder Lenses

Back Contax RF & Nikon S Leica M Leica M39 Other 35mm Rangefinder Mounts

Medium Format Lenses

Back Bronica Hasselblad V & H Mamiya 645 Mamiya 6 & 7 Mamiya RB & RZ Mamiya TLR Pentax 645 Pentax 67 Other Medium Format Lenses

Large Format Lenses Cine Lenses

Accessories

Back

Camera System Accessories

Back Canon Accessories Hasselblad Accessories Large Format Accessories Leica Accessories Mamiya Accessories Minolta Accessories Nikon Accessories Olympus Accessories Pentax Accessories Rollei Accessories

Camera Straps

Flash

Back Electronic Flash Flash Bulbs

Lens Filters

Back UV Filters Polarizing Filters Neutral Density Filters Color Filters for B&W Infrared Filters Other Filters

Light Meters

Tripods

Back Tripod Heads Tripod Legs Complete Tripod Kits

Bags & Cases

Film & Supplies

Back

Film

Back 35mm Film 120 Film Spy Film for Minox Instant Film Large Format Film ULF Format Film Motion Picture Film Other Film Formats

Camera Batteries Storage & Archiving Cleaning Accessories

Darkroom Equipment & Supplies

Back

Chemistry

Back Film Developers Paper Developers Stop Baths Film & Paper Fixers Alternative Process Chemicals Other Chemicals

Paper

Back Fiber Paper RC Paper

Darkroom Equipment

Back Darkroom Enlargers Enlarging Lenses Film Developing Equipment Other Darkroom Equipment

Typewriters & Other Machines Projectors & Viewers

Sundries

Back

Apparel & Swag

Back Enamel Pins T-Shirts & Apparel

Books & Magazines

Back Fine Art Photo Books Zines & Periodicals

Gift Certificates

Discount Items

Back Sale Items eBay Store

Photo Lab

Back Send Us Your Film Photo Lab Services Pricing Services FAQ Mailing Your Film FAQ Printable Order Form Printable Services Pricelist Digital Printing Image Analyzer

Sell Your Gear

Back Sell Your Gear Consignments: How it Works Consignment FAQ

Culture

Back Museum Video Library Codex Meet the Staff Customer Shows Social Landing Page Press Links Manifesto E-Mail Newsletter Signup

Get Social

Back Instagram Facebook X / Twitter Discord

Info & Help Pages

Back Consignment FAQ Shipping FAQ Privacy Policy Return Policy

Return to Museum Home

Toyocaflex Ib

The Toyocaflex was one of the most popular twin lens cameras made by the Tougodo Optical Company after WWII. The camera is very similar to early Rolleicords and Yashica Mat cameras. The Toyocaflex features a standard 8cm f/3.5 lens, usually a three element Tri-Lausar, but other variants seem to exist. The camera has the expected range of shutter speeds, running from 1 second up to 1/300, a flash PC socket, and an accessory shoe (that is not hot).

Toyocaflex Ib (Late)

This is the second part of our little, mini-series on the Toyoca cameras we photographed while visiting our friend, Colton Allen. If you have not seen the first post, we recommend visiting the Toyoca 35-S exhibit and catching up there.⁠

⁠

As we said previously, we found ourselves a bit fascinated by the history of the Tougodo Company, the producers of the Toyoca cameras. The name Toyoca is likely a contraction of Toyohashi, where Tougodo was located, plus camera. At a certain point, the navy asked the company to drop the reference to Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō from their name. Understandably, the three brothers-in-law were worried about the impact that changing the name of the company would have on sales, so they traveled to the home of Admiral Tōgō to get his personal blessing to use his name. He both granted his permission and had his secretary help draft a signboard for the company.⁠

⁠

During WWII, the Tougodo Company was split up into two companies and, post-WWII, only one of those two companies continued to produce cameras.

⁠

Like their 35-S cameras, the Toyocaflex also uses a three element Tri-Lausar lens. The camera is pretty similar to early Rolleicord and Yashica TLR cameras, in terms of its functionality. Opinions on the quality of this lens vary. One site we found stated that the lens didn't have a great reputation for image quality, however Colton, who has used this camera and done quite a bit of research on the lens, says that as a triplet it is as good as any other triplet he has used and that Tougodo produced this lens for use in many other TLR cameras, including those made by Yashica.

The Toyocaflex cameras also enjoyed several aliases, you may run into them as a Crownflex, Lionflex, Mirroflex, or Proskar.

za/sd