Beauty Lite III

<p><a href="http://westfordcomp.com/classics/beautylite3/lite3.html">CLICK</a></p>

<p>That Beauty is Su-weet! What great condition and so lucky the meter still works. Your fine pictures show very nice quality. Thanks for all the background info, too.</p>

<p>I bet old Yamashori had a rough time. I won't even ask how you ended up with his camera. Nice shots as usual.</p>

<p>Nice camera. And the best selfportrait I've seen for years! :)</p>

<p>Beautiful pics, Gene, and helpful information. I have the "real" Lightomatic II, pretty much the same specs as yours, but I've been unable to find out much about it. It needs a good clean-up but I put a film through it and was astonished by the quality of the images, right up there with Electro 35's and Hi-matics. Your information regarding the lens would tend to explain this quality. I attach a pic of the "full-strength" version.</p><div></div>

<p>Nice !</p>

<p>Thanks for posting Gene. This seems to be another example of one of those obscure Japanese made cameras with a name that almost nobody will recognize, yet produces excellent pictures. Kinda like the Hiyoca. I just hope than when Yamashori was discovered, the camera wasn't hidden where the sun doesn't shine.</p>

<p>The cameras <em>does</em> smell shi...uh, bad.</p>

<p>Very handsome... the camera, I mean<g>. If I'd of taken a self portrait like that, it would have been a lot goofier. The lens reminds me of an (Olympus?) Dial. Actually, I think a number of old RFs had that glass beading look.</p>

<p>Interesting camera...I liked the old truck pix.</p>

<p>~Jack</p>

<p>Gene, that camera seems to be quite similar to Petri rangefinders of that era. Can anyone shed light on the relationship, if any?</p>

<p>Swell.</p>

<p>But there seems a slightly darker side to the story than usual? Poor <big><big><small><small>Take*sh*ta. (triggers obscenity filter!)</small> </small> </big> </big></p>

<p>Biokor hmm. Any relation to the Biotar?</p>

<p>Don't you think that first picture is a little clichéd by now? I know I've taken that view many times, but without perhaps the fineness of composition of your effort. ;)</p>

<p>I tried to answer this post earlier and the obscene filter rejected my post; i did not use any profanity, although now I want to..</p>

<p>Gene - beautiful pictures and great witty humor on that "Japanese" name ;-). Glad to have you posting again.</p>

<p>Been slowly building a collection of 1955-63 Beauty RF's. Seems there were two basic lineups: the unmetered earlier Canter/Super branch and the metered Super-L/LM/Lightomatic branch (with an offshoot for the one-and-only Beaumat). Talked about the Canter/Super's here before.</p>

<p>The metered Beauty's were five variations from 1958 to '63 using the same heavy well-built chassis (I have a Super-L and a couple of in-op LM/Lightomatic 1's). The second version '59 LM/Lightomatic 1 did a cosmetic change and metering simplification from the original '58 Super-L (which has a neat-o bayonet-on booster cell as well as its flip-up covered primary cell). Taiyo-do basically just changed the top cover for the third version '60 Lightomatic II. Then the metering went to the lens nose for the '61 Lightomatic III (with another top cover change). The last '63 Lightomatic SP had yet another top cover and lens barrel change. Talk about getting mileage out of a chassis.</p>

<p>Been using the Super-L and agree about the shutter and whole quality of the build (still have film in it and the Canter and Super that haven't finished to process and scan). The non-working LM's have been frustrating to try to fix: seems Taiyo-do tried some pioneering metering-input designs and for the LM's the setup seems overly-complicated and delicate. Your III has its inputs all centralized in the lens.</p>

<p>Taiyo-do/Beauty was not associated with Kuribayashi/Petri, just two separate companies that followed similar paths.</p>

<p>Gene> Nice trip around the town there ,Thanks :</p>

<p>Cool camera and very nice shots! I've got an old Canonet (cir. 1961), and its "ring around the lens" selenium cell meter still seems to work, as well. Strange . . .</p>

<p>Hey guys!</p>

<p>I just bought this little beauty Lightomatic II in top condition. <br>

<img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/knomadix/beauty1.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /><br>

<img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/knomadix/beauty2.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Everything functioning. Just wondering if anyone had tracked a camera manual down for these?</p>