Description: This is also a camera article I wrote twenty years ago, which was briefly posted on my own sy916 website, and then replaced the server, this article was "lost", and recently found a handwritten copy of the text (I first wrote the article by hand, looking for someone to type), rearranged and typed it out, although the article is "outdated", but there are not many such articles on the Internet, as information, and then published.
In 2002, I bought a domestic Yuejin camera at a high price, this camera actually I have seen the introduction long ago, but I have not seen the actual thing, so I dare not rush to write something, during that time I almost wrote all the domestic old cameras, but the Yuejin is "left".
Now that the things are in hand, after playing for a while, it is natural to write out the experience for the colleagues to experience and communicate.
It is very interesting that the Yuejin camera is developed by a product called "Beijing Xuanwu District Experimental Factory", from the appearance and structure of it must originate from a certain type of foreign products, in fact, it is a camera imitating Czechoslovakia.
However, a small district-run factory could also produce cameras at that time, and it can be seen that the domestic camera industry started low and was urgent.
At that time, although the camera industry in the mainland is just starting, but there are still many manufacturers eager to try, by the end of 1958, there have been more than a dozen camera manufacturers, on the one hand, under the banner of the Great Leap Forward, it does make people open their minds, dare to think and dare to do, there is a lot of courage blindness and adventurousness, but it also did give birth to some of the products of the times, as far as the camera is concerned, the mainland started late, but the steps taken are very large.
On the one hand, even a small factory in the district dares to produce cameras, on the other hand, several manufacturers with high technical content have really developed some good things, such as Beijing Dalai, Tianjin "July 1st", "Chenguang", and Shanghai 58-1, 58-2 and so on.
The camera can be trial-produced, but to become a commodity, for some manufacturers it is reluctant to do so, on the one hand, the country's planned economy, its production, supply and marketing is completely decided by the state, the research and development of the factory with a certain blindness, and on the other hand, its product quality can not pass.
Making simple cameras is also so-so, while the more complex ones are difficult to ensure their quality, such as the 58-2 camera mass-produced in Shanghai. According to the dozens of units I have seen, very few have not been repaired, and very few shutters have not been problematic.
A small factory in the district also has to produce cameras, and it can also be seen that our country was really "poor and white" at that time, and the starting point of our camera industry was very low.
When I was writing this, I flipped through popular photography in 1958, when the camera industry in the brother countries, the GDR and the Soviet Union, was already of a very high standard, and we had to do our own, even the simplest, most elementary things, which is what we often call "nationalism".
That's a long story, let's look at the Yuejin camera.
Some sources say that it was produced in 1960, but in fact, it is not allowed. The real time was officially listed in October 1958, when the retail price was 40 yuan, and from this price point, this camera was the "high pricer" among several domestic low-end cameras at that time.
This may be related to its material, because the fuselage and many parts are made of "bakelite", the cost is greatly reduced, and the planned economy at that time was "one penny for one", and the pricing of its products was not determined by the factory itself. It is determined by the state according to its production costs, plus a fixed rate of profit.
Although the quality of the material is poor, it also has an advantage over the same grade of Happiness-1, Happiness 2 and Friendship, Labor and other cameras, that is, the focal length is adjustable, although it is only a simple 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 2.5 meters and infinity four focal points, which was also a breakthrough in the 120 simple camera at that time.
This focus is adjusted by twisting the front lens out or screwing in, with four close-up shots to calibrate the four white dots on the focus.
Like those simple 120 cameras, the lens of this camera is also composed of two lenses, the shutter blade is placed in the middle, and the shutter has two gears of "T" and "M", which are the "B" gate and "1/25 second" of modern cameras. But there is no shutter cable jack, which is not as good as the happiness camera, so the use of this "B" door is greatly reduced.
The camera's aperture is also adjustable by "1" and "2", F8 and F11 respectively. The camera has a shutter lock latch on the lens to prevent accidental shooting by pressing the shutter by mistake.
In addition, the camera's viewfinder is placed on it, equipped with a head-up fixed viewfinder composed of two lenses, and the loading and unloading film adopts the rear open lid type, which is no different from the current camera, which is very convenient, and can shoot 6X6 or 4.5X6 frames of 120 film. Counting is done in the form of a red window on the back.
This camera cannot use a flash, nor does it have a flash socket, nor does it have a flash cord jack. There are tripod screw holes, but old-fashioned large screw hole tripods are required.
I don't know how many cameras were produced, and I don't know how this camera was later incorporated into the Beijing Camera Factory, and there were also blue sky cameras.
This leap forward camera can now find too little, and even fewer good colors.
The person who sold my camera repeatedly told me to "keep it carefully", saying that this bakelite material is very crispy, and it is easy to fall off and damage if it is dropped or bumped, which is a direct reason why this kind of camera is now becoming more and more rare.
Due to its rarity, this very ordinary camera is the highest collection price among several simple cameras of the same grade that year, which should be more than 3,000 yuan.
Specific technical data:
Type: 120 camera for 6X6 and 4.5X6 formats
Shutter: "T" (equivalent to bulb), "M" (equivalent to 1/25th of a second)
Focus: 1m, 1.5m, 2.5m, infinity quad
Lens: Two lenses without film
Viewfinder: Heads-up fixed
Counting: The back cover is fully open, and the back red window is counted
Regarding the focal length of the lens, the camera and the data are not stated, according to the comparison of other similar cameras, it should be about 65mm.
(Note: The text and pictures are all book shadow writing and shooting collections, non-book shadow release is plagiarism, please respect property rights, do not reprint unless allowed)