Taron Chic

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Anyway, back to the camera at hand:

Happy Halloween, and what a better way to celebrate the occasion then with a camera that is appropriate for the occasion. The reason for the camera to be this year’s Halloween quest, is because of the name, Chic, which is defined as something stylish or fashionable for a certain time or occasion (Cambridge Dictionary 2026).

And what is more chic then dressing up for Halloween? Nothing, as “…Halloween takes over fashion because it creates an annual moment of cultural permission to experiment with darkness, theatricality, horror and aesthetics that often remain at the edges of the mainstream during the rest of the year…” (Alter Out 2026). And what better way to accompany the theme of chic and fashionable Halloween theme than The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a Halloween cult classic film (MacPherson-Amador 2025) and a film that “…originated in the world of fashion…” (Iannacci 2025).

This post will be looking at the very stylish Taron Chic.

As with all new brands that appear on this blog we will be going over the company’s history.

Taron first started out as Nippon Kōsokki Seisakusho, in Japan in the late 1930s. It was founded by Yanagihara Tasaburo and at first only made shutters for other Japanese camera companies. It wasn’t until 1943 that the company made their first camera, the Taroflex, a copycat of the Rolleiflex (Eckman 2019).

Taroflex. Image Source:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRyi9WDbzMm1zcmqeZIF8iefJM8HFiPd2wP0Ymc66k_kw&s=10

Rolleiflex. Images Source:
https://assets.bluemooncamera.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,quality=90,width=1024,fit=scale-down/products/production/1200/12.07.32-651a079b9e20ea7be4efceb732a7215d.jpg

But unfortunately, although the Taroflex was considered one of the better copies of the Rolleiflex (as many companies made their own versions), the camera didn’t make much of an impact on the market (Eckman 2019). This could have led them back to only supplying shutters (NKS shutters) for other camera companies during WWII, as they didn’t release the camera after WWII (Eckman 2019).

Yanagihara Tasaburo’s company survived WWII (Eckman 2019), but was renamed or rebranded to Yanagihara Seisakusyo company in 1949 (Camera-wiki 2025), then renamed to Nippon Kōsokki Kōgyō K.K. in 1953 (Film Photography.eu 2026).

During this time the company got a new president, Yanagihara Toshi and kept its head above water by supplying NKS shutters (Film Photography.eu 2026), up until 1955 when they brought out their own line of 35mm range finder cameras (Camera-wiki 2025), such as the Taron 35.

Taron 35. Image Source:
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3452878420_fbf16424f1_n.jpg

This seemed to be a big hit as the company renamed itself to “…K.K. Taron in 1959 after its own products…” (Film Photography.eu 2026), then in 1960 became Taron Co., Ltd. (Vintage Camera Lab).

But then a few years later the company just vanished (Film Photography.eu 2026), and the reason is unknown (Vintage Camera Lab). The only theory I can find on why it shut down comes from Eckman (2019), who wrote that “…There is very little information out there about the history of the company and what they did at this time, but it would appear that Taron had little interest in being a market leader as none of its cameras were revolutionary, and often shared feature sets with that of many other Japanese companies…” meaning that it didn’t stand out and fell behind as other companies innovated and changed the camera market and what photographers wanted, eventually losing the interests of new buyers.

The last news heard about Taron is that its stocks was sold to Sony in 1972 and Yanagihara Toshi went into the printing and real estate with his new company Yanagihara Shoji, which then became Yanagigara kōporeishon in 2017 (Camera-wiki 2025).

Now with that let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the camera at hand, the Taron Chic. Released in 1961 and is a “…vertically oriented 35mm half-frame camera…” (Vintage Camera Lab), which means “…that the format appears in usual landscape mode whereas most half formats use portrait mode…” (135compact.com).

At a time when all cameras looked and functioned the same, it was quite a breath of fresh air when the Chic was released, moving away from “…the traditional klapp camera style made way to TLR style, beginning with German-made knock-offs, and then to compact viewfinders and rangefinders…” which made them “…hardly distinguishable from each other, perhaps as all designs stemmed from the same forefathers…” (cameracollector.net 2020).

There isn’t much on the camera’s history, except that it isn’t the only one of its kind, as another company, Yashica, released a similar camera, the Yashica Rapide.

Yashica Rapide. Image Source:
https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/YashicaRapide-512x512.jpg

It is unclear if the one company copied the other, as both came out in the same year. Meaning that either Yashica copied Taron or (more likely) Taron copied Yashica, or the two companies had “…some kind of arrangement where one company produced the main guts of the camera and the other marketed their own version for some kind of behind the scenes swap of technology…” (Eckman 2019).

There are differences between the two cameras of course, such as the shutter speeds, lenses, light metering systems and shutters. But between the two the Chic was the cheapest (Eckman 2019).

And despite what cameracollector.net (2020) wrote, this camera is very chic. Its elongated rectangular design, gold, silver and dark grey colours and its small size really catches the eye and makes a great accessory to go with any elegant outfit and is fit for any formal (or Halloween) occasion. The camera definitely has a bewitching charm to it, making it even more fit for this Halloween post.

The body is mostly metal, and the corners have been rounded out “…for ease of getting in and out of your pocket or a small purse…” (Eckman 2019). With a pretty hefty weight of 377kg (135compact.com), this camera is well made. But its size makes up for its weight, by being approximately 4.6 x 1.9 x 1.8 inches. But one drawback of this camera’s size and elongated build, is that it does take some time getting used to.

Anyway, let’s have a closer look at the camera. Starting with the front.

The lens-

This camera lens is a Taronar F.C. 30mm, with a max f/stop of 2.8.

The name Taronar, just refers to the fact that the lens is made in house and not outsourced. The F.C. probably stands for Fully Coated, meaning it has been coated with a colour corrected/anti-reflective coating to reduce flare.

According to cameracollector.net (2020), it is a lens glass, and Eckman (2019) writes that it probably has four pieces of glass, making it a 4-element lens.

The lens can also take adapters; such as lens filters.

Lens filters. Screenshot from the manual.

Then we have the settings around the lens. First is the ring directly around the lens.

This is the focus setting, which goes from 2-30 feet and infinity.

There are also a green S, orange G and yellow P markings. These markings, according to the manual, is to make focusing easier for the user, as it allows the user to quickly set the focus to the framing of the subject.

It works similar to the Agfa Optima, which only has three settings, these markings on the Chic work the same, as all three correspond to a generic (or optimal) setting for: long (S, which could stand for Scene), medium (G, which could stand for group) and short (P, which could stand for person) range shots, according to Camera-wiki (2026) and the Manual.

Then there is another ring behind the lens. This is the shutter speed and the f/stop setting.

First is the shutter speed settings, as this ring is directly connected to it.

This camera works off of a colour coding system, and sets the speed anywhere between 1/30 to 1/250 second. There is also a flash setting (most likely sets it to 1/30 second) and a B setting, this keeps the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed down.

This colour coding system works in tandem with the light meter/ASA setting on top of the camera. The system will be explained when I get to that part of the camera.

Now for the f/stop.

This can be set to an f/stop of 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 and 22.

The aperture setting is coupled or connected to the shutter speed ring. This is to help the photographer automatically set the f/stop to the best value for the film’s ASA when setting the speed.

But if you are using a flash or in the case of Eckman (2019), you “…have a dead meter…” the aperture setting can be overridden. 

All you do is pull out the pointer/lever from the gap in the speed ring. This detaches the lever from the shutter speed and can now be set on its own. To couple it back with the shutter speed, just turn the gap in the ring towards the pointer/lever until it hooks into the gap and moves with the ring again.

The aperture petals are behind the shutter.

Under the lens-

Left-

Here is the PC flash connector.

Taron Chic with flashgun. Image Source:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRA04iV5SysdjMkC0ABCm7cttmaXadSw5kLn1bIxRFuX-RquFEi5KhYmlg&s=10

Right-

Here is the shutter button, which has a remote cable release socket thread.

The position of the release button can be a bit challenging and awkward to use, but once you master this learning curve it is actually very comfortable. And as a bonus, because it at the bottom, it means that your fingers won’t be in the way of the lens or viewfinder.

This camera uses a Taron-LX shutter, which is a simple leaf shutter made in house by Taron.

Speaking of the viewfinder, above the lens-

Here is the viewfinder.

Under that is the selenium cell, that powers the meter on the top and guides the user to set the correct speed and f/stop. To learn about selenium cells, please see my Rondo Colormatic post.

On top-

Here is the light meter.

This works with the shutter speed. How to use this:

First rotate the silver ring to set the correct ASA/ISO/film speed. Then you point the camera to the subject. The selenium cell with then determine the light quality. On the meter, a red needle will appear. The red needle will then be in line with a colour. The user then moves the shutter speed ring to the colour that the needle is pointing to, setting the correct speed and f/stop according to the light and the film’s ASA.

Screenshot from the manual.

Screenshots from the manual.

Bottom-

Here is the tripod socket.

But this could also be used for the handgrip/wrist strap accessory.

Screenshot from the manual.

The right side-

Here is the cold shoe/accessory clip.

Under that is the film rewind release.

This has to be pressed down to release the film advance sprocket, so that it can be rotated in the opposite direction.

Left side, top to bottom-

First is the film cover release.

To use this one must slide the button from L to O, and hold it there.

Then the user presses the button next to it.

To close the cover, you must just slide the button to O and push the cover in.

Under that is the film rewind knob.

 This can also pop out to reload the film and keep it in place.

Then there is the film counter window and film window rewind.

The rewind button is used to turn the counter number to zero.

Then there is the film counter.

One will notice that there are two rows of numbers, one going from 1-35 and then 38-72. The reason for this is that this camera is a half-frame camera, this means that it takes 35mm, but it only uses half of the frame for each shot, this means that the camera can take double the amount of pictures than a regular full-frame camera. This means it stretches from 36 frames to 72 frames (cameracollector.net 2020), hence the second row of numbers on the counter.

Now for the back-

Here is the film compartment cover.

Next to the cover on the lower right is the film advance wheel.

This is connected to the film advance sprocket and the film counter, as well as the camera’s cocking mechanism.

This film advance method is my second favourite, my first being the Fujifilm 35-ML.

The reason is that you don’t have to move your face away from the viewfinder. It can be a bit tricky to get a good grip sometimes, but with enough practice it can be very fun, especially when taking many pictures in one go.

At the top is the viewfinder.

This is not aligned with the lens, but this could be because the film advance wheel is on the opposite end and would force the user to move their eye away from the viewfinder when advancing the film.

But the viewfinder makes up for the misalignment by being quite big, even big enough to be used by “…people with prescription glasses and in its horizontal orientation feels very familiar compared to other 35mm cameras…” (Eckman 2019).

Lastly is the film compartment.

The cover has a pressure plate.

The compartment itself is very simple, and is loaded like most 35mm cameras. But as mentioned this camera is a half-frame, meaning that is doesn’t use the full frame of the film, but half of it, doubling the amount of exposures and pictures you can take. This also means the negative size reduces to 18 x 24 mm, instead of the usual 36 x 24mm (Camera-wiki 2025).

And that seems to be it. This camera is absolutely beautiful and stylish. I’d say it even rivals the SX-70 Polaroid, but I’d say the Polaroid wins as it has instant film.

According to Vintage Camera Lab, the Yashica Rapide is the more elegant and refined of the two, but I disagree and say that the Taron Chic, is well… Chic. It is a fantastic little camera, that has a unique design.

Eckman (2019) points out that if not for the unusual shape and small size, this camera could have been a full-frame. Which isn’t an issue in theory, as half-frame sounds amazing. You get a small pocket size camera and for the same price as a 35mm film cartridge you get double the exposure! But this seemed to be the reason for this camera’s fall. Eckman (2019) writes further: “…very few Taron Chics show up in the used market today…” meaning that “…that very few were ever made.  My best guess is that these cameras were produced probably for no longer than a year or two.  Yashica didn’t produce the Rapide very long either, despite continuing to be a successful company through the 1970s, so it’s likely that the vertical half frame format just wasn’t very popular.”

This camera is quite rare as mentioned above. One seller putting it in a “museum-level rarity” (Ein Camera 2026) and even Eckman (2019) who writes that he “…would be willing to bet that a large number of collectors aren’t aware that the Taron Chic ever existed.”

What do you think? Is it a rare find for you? Who do you think wore it better, Taron Chic or Yashica Rapide? Do you think half-frame is a good idea or are you full-frame all the way? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for making it to the end and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching it.

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List of sources:

135compact.com. Taron Chic. https://www.135compact.com/135_half_taron_chic.htm

Alter Out. 2026. Why Does Halloween Take Over Fashion Every Year? From Goth and Horror to Witchy, Darkwear and Dark Streetwear. https://alterout.com/blogs/news/why-does-halloween-take-over-fashion-every-year-goth-witchy-darkwear

Cambridge Dictionary. 2026. Chic. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/chic

Cameracollector.net. 2020. Taron Chic. https://cameracollector.net/taron-chic/

Camera-wiki. 2025. Half-frame. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Half-frame

Camera-wiki 2025. Taron. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Taron

Camera-wiki. 2026. Taron Chic. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Taron_Chic

Eckman, M. 2019. Taron Chic (1961). https://mikeeckman.com/2019/09/taron-chic-1961/

Ein Camera. 2026. Taron Chic Half Camera: The legendary half camera A rare and hard-to-find item! [Fully functional]. https://eincamera.com/en/products/taronchic11

Film Photography.eu. 2026. Taron. https://filmphotography.eu/en/cameras/taron/

Iannacci, E. 2025. The Rocky Horror Picture Show debuted 50 years ago today, and remains a source of fashion inspiration. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/article-rocky-horror-picture-show-fashion-style/

MacPherson-Amador, F. 2025. The Rocky Horror Picture Show' Still Reigns as the Greatest Halloween Cult Classic of All Time. https://collider.com/rocky-horror-picture-show-greatest-halloween-cult-classic/

Mike. Taron Chic manual. https://cameramanuals.org/pdf_files/taron_chic.pdf

Vintage Camera Lab. Taron. https://vintagecameralab.com/brand/taron/

Vintage Camera Lab. Taron Chic. https://vintagecameralab.com/taron-chic/