Norita

Norita was a Japanese optical manufacturer founded in 1951 by Toshio Norita. The company began by producing lenses for binoculars and subsequently expanded into precision optical components, including prisms and pentaprisms for single-lens reflex cameras. Its early business was primarily as an optical designer and component supplier rather than as a camera brand. Norita became more closely associated with cameras through its work for Musashino Kōki, the maker of the Rittreck 6×6 medium-format SLR. Norita produced the Rittreck's pentaprism finder and its principal lens set, comprising wide-angle, standard, and telephoto options. When Musashino decided to end production of the Rittreck 6×6, Norita acquired relevant machine tools, assembly capabilities, and some personnel. This enabled the company to move downstream from component manufacturing into complete camera production. The resulting Norita 66 system expanded on the Rittreck lens range. Available focal lengths included 40mm, 55mm, 80mm, 160mm, 240mm, and 400mm, while a 75mm f/3.5 lens with a built-in shutter offered a way to synchronize flash at higher speeds than a conventional focal-plane shutter. The best-known lens in the system was the 80mm f/2 standard lens, unusually fast for a medium-format optic. It had originally been marketed as the Rittron and was later renamed Noritar after Norita assumed production of the Rittreck system; the optical design remained substantially the same. Norita entered an export arrangement with Singer, the owner of Graflex, and cameras sold in the United States were marketed and marked as Graflex Norita. The company also exported equipment to several European markets, including France, West Germany, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia. Despite the technical interest of its medium-format products, Norita's camera business was short-lived. It stopped producing cameras and camera-related products in 1976. After leaving the camera market, Norita remained active in optical manufacturing. Its later work included projection lenses and other optical products. By the 1990s, the products most likely to be encountered by users and collectors were reported to be three red, green, and blue lenses made for large television projectors. In 2000 Norita Optical Co., Ltd. became a dependent company of Enplas, and in 2001 it was renamed Enplas Optics Corporation. The operation ultimately closed in 2005. Norita's historical importance rests on its transition from specialist optical supplier to camera maker, its distinctive medium-format SLR system, and the continuing reputation of its fast 80mm lens among collectors.

Norita, also identified in Japanese as Norita Kōgaku, was established in Japan in 1951 by Toshio Norita. Its original activities were centered on optical manufacturing, particularly lenses for binoculars. The company then broadened its technical range to include prisms and pentaprisms, gaining experience in the optical assemblies used by SLR cameras. A major stage in Norita's development came through its relationship with Musashino Kōki. Musashino had produced the Rittreck 6×6, a 6×6 medium-format SLR introduced in the late 1960s. Norita supplied the camera's pentaprism finder and a three-lens set consisting of wide-angle, standard, and telephoto lenses. This relationship gave Norita experience with both the optical design and the manufacturing requirements of a complete medium-format camera system. When Musashino chose to terminate Rittreck 6×6 production, Norita acquired machine tools, assembly resources, and some members of the existing workforce. Rather than remaining only a component supplier, it used those assets to manufacture cameras itself. The company introduced the Norita 66 and expanded the associated lens family beyond the earlier 55mm, 80mm, and 160mm selection. The Norita range included 40mm, 55mm, 80mm, 160mm, 240mm, and 400mm lenses, along with a 75mm f/3.5 lens incorporating its own shutter. The built-in shutter on the 75mm lens was technically significant because it allowed high-speed synchronization with electronic flash without relying exclusively on the camera's focal-plane shutter. The system's most notable optic was the 80mm f/2 standard lens, an exceptionally fast specification for a medium-format lens. The design had initially been called Rittron. After Norita took over production associated with the Rittreck system, the lens was marketed as the Noritar 80mm while retaining the same basic optical character. Norita sought overseas distribution through an arrangement with Singer, the company associated with the Graflex brand. In the United States, Norita cameras were sold and engraved as Graflex Norita products. The company also exported to France, West Germany, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia. These exports gave Norita a presence beyond Japan, although the brand remained relatively specialized compared with larger Japanese camera manufacturers. The camera phase ended in 1976, when Norita stopped producing cameras and camera-related products. The company did not immediately disappear; instead, it continued in optical manufacturing, including projection lenses and other products. A later account from 1994 identified Norita's RGB lenses for large television projectors as among the products users were most likely to encounter. This indicates that the company had shifted from a consumer-facing camera identity toward industrial and display-related optics. In 2000 Norita Optical Co., Ltd. became an Enplas dependent company. The following year it was renamed Enplas Optics Corporation. The successor company eventually closed in 2005. Norita is therefore best understood as a defunct Japanese optical manufacturer whose most visible historical products were the Norita 66 medium-format SLR and its associated Noritar lenses, while its later business was focused on specialized optical components.

• 2005

  The successor company closes

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Enplas Optics Corporation shuts down, ending the company's operating history.

• 2001

  The company is renamed Enplas Optics Corporation

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Norita Optical adopts the Enplas Optics Corporation name after its integration with Enplas.

• 2000

  Norita becomes an Enplas dependent company

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Norita Optical Co., Ltd. enters the Enplas corporate structure.

• 1994

  Projection optics become a notable remaining product

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  A contemporary account identifies Norita's red, green, and blue lenses for large television projectors as products users were most likely to encounter.

• 1976

  Camera production ends

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Norita stops producing cameras and camera-related products and continues with other optical manufacturing.

• 1968

  Norita supplies optics for the Rittreck 6×6

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Musashino Kōki's Rittreck 6×6 enters production with a Norita-made pentaprism finder and Norita-produced wide-angle, standard, and telephoto lenses.

• 1951

  Norita is founded

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  Toshio Norita establishes the Japanese optical manufacturer that would become known as Norita.

• Norita assumes production of the Rittreck-related system

  [1]Noritaen.wikipedia.org

  After Musashino ends the Rittreck 6×6, Norita takes over machinery, assembly work, and some staff and begins developing the Norita 66.

A specialist Japanese precision-optics manufacturer that briefly operated as a medium-format camera maker before concentrating on projection and other optical components.

• Medium-format SLR camera

  Norita 66

  Norita's principal camera product was a 6×6 medium-format SLR developed after the company took over equipment and production resources associated with Musashino Kōki's Rittreck 6×6. The system extended the earlier lens selection with 40mm, 55mm, 80mm, 160mm, 240mm, and 400mm options. It represented Norita's move from specialist optical-component supplier to complete camera manufacturer.

• Medium-format camera lens

  Noritar 80mm f/2

  The 80mm f/2 was Norita's best-known standard lens and was unusually fast for a medium-format optic. It was originally designed and manufactured under the Rittron name for the Rittreck system. After Norita assumed production, it was rebranded Noritar while retaining the same basic optical design.

• Leaf-shutter medium-format lens

  Noritar 75mm f/3.5

  This 75mm f/3.5 lens incorporated a built-in shutter. Its design allowed the camera system to bypass the focal-plane shutter for faster synchronization with electronic flash, making it a distinctive specialist offering within the Norita 66 lens range.

• Medium-format camera lenses

  Norita 66 lens system

  The Norita 66 system comprised a broad selection of focal lengths, including 40mm, 55mm, 80mm, 160mm, 240mm, and 400mm. It built on the three-lens Rittreck selection and gave Norita's camera platform a more complete range for wide-angle, standard, portrait, telephoto, and specialized applications.

• Projection optics

  RGB television-projector lenses

  After leaving the camera business, Norita continued producing specialized projection optics. By the 1990s, its most recognizable remaining products included separate red, green, and blue lenses used in large television projectors, reflecting the company's shift toward industrial and display-related optical components.

• 2000

  Norita joins the Enplas groupM&A

  Background

  Norita Optical Co., Ltd. remained an optical business after its camera withdrawal but later entered a new corporate structure.

  Action taken

  Norita became a dependent company of Enplas.

  Aftermath

  The company was renamed Enplas Optics Corporation in 2001 and ultimately closed in 2005.

  Source

• 1976

  Norita exits the camera marketStrategy

  Background

  After a limited period producing the Norita 66 and related camera products, Norita reassessed its product focus.

  Action taken

  The company stopped manufacturing cameras and camera-related products and continued with projection lenses and other optical goods.

  Aftermath

  Norita's later identity became associated more with industrial and projection optics than with cameras.

  Source

• Norita moves from component production into camera manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  Norita had supplied the pentaprism finder and lenses for Musashino Kōki's Rittreck 6×6. When Musashino decided to stop making that camera, Norita obtained production equipment, assembly capabilities, and some personnel.

  Action taken

  Norita used the acquired resources to develop and manufacture the Norita 66 and to broaden the associated lens range.

  Aftermath

  The decision created Norita's most visible consumer products but led to only a short camera-making period before the company exited the category in 1976.

  Source

1. 1Noritaen.wikipedia.org