introduction | white/ivory | white/ivory with cord | blue with chord | grey with chord
The Binoca Camera Company of Japan introduced the Binoca Picture Binocular in about 1950, around the same time as the Cyclops/Teleca binocular camera. The plastic bodied Binoca has a better finish than the Cyclops. It is a more discrete device being hard to detect that it is more than just a pair of opera glasses.
The fixed focus f4.5 40mm Bicon lens (about 90mm on a standard 35mm camera) could stop down to f11. The image quality is of the 10x14mm image is poor. The special cassettes used 16mm perforated film. The bridge of the cassette allows it to be removed from the camera in one piece. The pressure plate has a spring clip that clicks when the perforations pass under it. The top is engraved "LISTEN FOR TWO CLICKS FOR EACH EXPOSURE" at which point the film has wound on to the next frame.
The 1/25-1/100 shutter is not fast enough to eliminate blur. The 2.5 x25 opera glasses has individually focusing oculars and are mediocre in quality.
The Binoca was made in white (now an off white, ivory colour), blue, green, grey and red. The metal parts are a rich dark gold tone. At least two variations exists - one has the fitment for a neck cord the other does not.
Last updated 9th January 2005