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Overview

In 1940, an optical workshop Kogaku Seiki was founded by technicians originally associated with Seiki Kogaku (Canon). The company was originally set up to repair and upgrade old Leica and Canon cameras, but in 1941 it received an order from the Japanese Ministry of War to produce a copy of the Leica camera. This resulted in a number of high-quality 35mm rangefinder models sold under the Nicca brand, many of which now have collector's value, though not as much as the original Leica cameras. The name Nicca most likely comes from "Nippon" and "camera", just as Leica comes from "Leitz" and "camera". As for the name of the company itself, during its relatively short existence (from 1940 to 1958) it was changed several times: in October 1947 - Nippon Camera Works, at the end of 1948 - Nicca Camera Works, and from 1951 the name was Nicca Camera Company.

THE MILITARY MODELS:

• Nippon Original (1942) - a near copy of the Leica III with its separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows, but 1x rangefinder magnification instead of 1.5x;
• Nippon Standard (1943) - viewfinder camera without slow shutter speeds;
• Nippon 3 (1946) - a post-war Nippon Original.

THE STAMPED CIVILIAN MODELS:

• Nicca Original (1948) - same camera as the Nippon 3;
• Nicca 3 (1948) - differs from the predecessors in the increased magnification of the rangefinder (1.5x), as well as addition of the dioptre adjustment and click stops to the slow shutter speed dial;
• Nicca IIIA (1951) - similar, if not identical, to the Nicca 3;
• Nicca IIIB (1951) - as the IIIA, but with double sync posts at the front, for a non-standard type of flash connection;
• Nicca IIIS (1952) - a replacement for the IIIB, has double PC sync sockets;
• Nicca 4 (1953) - as the IIIS, but with a top shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, and a film speed/type reminder at the top of the film winding knob;
• Nicca 3-S (1954) - as the Nicca 4, but with a top shutter speed of 1/500th of a second;

THE DIE-CAST CIVILIAN MODELS:

• Nicca 5 (1955) - the first die-cast model, also the first model with an opening back hinged to the right for easy film loading. Has a single PC sync socket ot the back of the top plate, with automatic switching of sync type;
• Nicca 3-F (1956) - a budget model without a hinged back, dioptre adjustment, and with a top shutter speed reduced to 1/500th of a second;
• Nicca 3-F [II] (1957) - as the predecessor, but with a lever wind instead of the knob wind, relocated shutter release button, and rewind push button;
• Nicca 3-F [III] (1957) - model with the Nicca 5's features (top shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, hinged opening back, dioptre adjustment) but in a 3-F lever wind body;
• Nicca 33 (1958) - Nicca's last budget model, which was a clone of the Leica IIIf. The X sync speed was increased from 3-F's 1/25 to 1/60th of a second, however, unlike other Nicca die-cast models, the sync type (F or X) does not switch automatically. The only Nicca camera that was supplied with a new standard lens, the Nicca 50/2.8;
• Nicca III-L (1958) - a stylish model with a completely new top plate, larger combined 1x viewfinder/rangefinder with 50mm bright-line frame and automatic parallax correction, a full range of shutter speeds from 1 to 1/1000th of a second + B, T, an opening back hinged to the top for easy film loading, automatic resetting exposure counter, and a film advance lever on the back of the top plate. The X sync speed dropped to 1/30 compared to the Nicca 33's 1/60th of a second;
• Yashica YE (1959) - basically a Nicca 33 with a modified top plate (it now extends down to the lens mount) and X synchronization at 1/30 instead of 1/60th of a second;
• Yashica YF (1959) - a further development of the Nicca III-L.

In 1951, Nicca Camera Company entered into a deal with Sears, Roebuck & Company, a major American department store retailer, and began producing cameras for Sears under the name Tower. Nicca 3 and 5 were produced under the names Peerless 3 and Snider 35, respectively, for smaller distributors. However, in the late 1950s, demand for screw mount 35mm rangefinder cameras began to decline, and even having a distribution channel in the United States could not keep the Nicca Camera Company from financial problems. In May 1958, the company was acquired by Yashima Optical Industries (Yashica Co. since September 1, 1958). In 1959, production of the Nicca 33 was continued under the name Yashica YE, while the Yashica YF was a further development of the Nicca III-L. By 1960, the cameras were already out of production, but continued to appear in company's advertising materials. Meanwhile, Yashica, recognizing the increased demand for SLR cameras, had already announced its first 35mm SLR system, the Pentamatic.

THE LENSES:

Nippon military models were equipped with the collapsible K.O.L. Xebec 50/2 standard lens, which was later renamed Sun Xebec, while civilian models were usually supplied with the rigid Nikkor-H 50/2, but the faster Nikkor-S 50/1.4 was also available. The Nicca 33 stands apart, for which the standard lens was the Nicca 50/2.8 (Type 1 or Type 2). Nippon Kogaku's screw mount lenses already had an excellent reputation back then (the company grew on pre-war military orders, and quality was always more important than cost, so the best materials and leading-edge technology were used), which is why wide-angle and telephoto Nikkor lenses were used on Nicca cameras as accessory lenses. In the Nikkor lens designations, "·C" stands for "[single] coated". Anti-reflective coating was first applied to Nikkor lenses in April 1946. As all lenses of that time received anti-reflective coating, this marking became redundant and Nippon Kogaku dropped it in 1957.

The Yashica YE was equipped with a Yashikor 50/2.8 standard lens (Type 1 or Type 2), while the Yashica YF came with a faster Yashinon 50/1.8. The Super Yashinon 100/2.8 or 135/3.5 telephoto lenses were offered as accessory lenses. No wide-angle lenses were ever released.

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