Motorsports and camera makers!
column
other
camera
at first
I’m sorry
Because we can’t speak english
I am using DeepL translate, so it may be a strange sentence,
but I would like you to understand
Thank you
There was a time when Japanese camera manufacturers were involved in motorsports during the heyday of film cameras.
These are so-called sponsor logos.
In this article, I would like to write about the relationship between racing cars and camera manufacturers that remain in my memory.
In the Formula 1 Championship (commonly known as F1), the pinnacle of world motorsports, the body colors of the racing cars were previously only the image colors of the country where the team was located or the manufacturer, but in the late 1960s, the colors were changed to those of corporate sponsors, which were meant to be advertising media. Sponsor logos began to appear on the cars. Tobacco and car oil manufacturers became the main sponsors.
In the 1970s, it was commonplace to see the logos of various corporate sponsors on racing machines in addition to the main sponsor, a trend that has continued to the present day.
It is said that the British Team Lotus was the first team in the racing world to bring in sponsor-colored racing machines.
This is a miniature of the Lotus 79 that competed in the 1979 F1 World Championship. (For reference only)
The main color of this machine is the color of John Player Special, a tobacco manufacturer.
*Please note that the tobacco manufacturer’s logo is Team Lotus Special because this F1 car is a toy. Car number 5 is originally Mario Andretti’s car, but if you look at the roll bar, it is Ronnie Peterson’s car. This one is just a courtesy.
The OLYMPUS logo can be seen in large letters on the side pontoons.
The OLYMPUS logo also lines the front cowl just below the main sponsor logo.
The OLYMPUS logo stands out from all angles.
The gold lines and gold logo on the black color base really stand out in this coordination.
This color coordination reminded me of this camera.
It is the OLYMPUS OZ 80 ZOOM, which has appeared many times in past columns.
Click here for product introduction URL
Click here for the column of cleaning work
If you look closely, you can see the black color with the manufacturer’s logo and the gold line around the lens are exactly the same color coordination as the Lotus 79!
This OLYMPUS OZ80 ZOOM was released in 1997, perhaps in honor of the colors of the 1978 Lotus 79!
In this issue, we have sent you a report on the relationship between motorsports and camera manufacturers.
We hope to write more on this topic in the future, so stay tuned!
In addition to the film compact cameras introduced this time, we also sell vintage cameras and lenses, anime goods, and radio cassette players, so please see the URL below.
Cameras & Lenses
Animation Goods
Acoustics and others
Vintage Shop Japan Inc. Official Website
Official website (English) URL
Official website (Japanese) URL
facebook URL
Instagram URL
Pinterest URL
Writer Takashi Okumura
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#olympus
#vintageshopjapan