Alfax
The Alfax (アルファックス) is a Japanese camera taking 4×5cm exposures on 127 film.[1] It was advertised in 1942 and it is said that it was made by Kimura Kōgaku.[2]
Contents
Description
The Alfax has a die-cast body and a metal telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There is an eye-level finder contained in a chrome finished top housing and a waist-level finder partly contained in the body. The top housing is recessed between the two finders, forming an accessory shoe. The front of the body supports a rectangular metal plate attached by four screws and the waist-level finder window.
There is a big knob on each side of the top housing, meant to look like the advance and rewind knob of 35mm cameras. The right knob is a fake and the actual advance knob is at the left end. It has an arrow engraved on the top to indicate the winding direction and numbers from 1 to 10 engraved on the base to control film advance. This pretends to be an exposure counter but there is no auto-stop feature and the advance is manually controlled: you have to stop turning when the correct number is facing the T-shaped index engraved on the top housing.
The back is hinged to the right and probably contains a single red window to set the first exposure. The front leather is embossed with a diamond-shaped logo marked Alfa. The top housing is engraved ALFAX and the model number, for example MODEL II, above the eye-level finder. The serial number is engraved at the bottom of the metal front plate.
Evolution
An Alfax Model I is mentioned in McKeown but it is perhaps a mistake.[3]
All the examples observed so far are Alfax Model II. They have a front-cell focusing Recta Anastigmat 60mm f/3.5 lens and a New Alfa shutter giving 300–1, B, T speeds. The aperture scale is above the shutter housing and the shutter plate is marked NEW ALFA at the bottom.
The Alfax was offered in an advertisement dated March 1942[4] for ¥128, with the same lens and shutter equipment and no indication of the model number.
Notes
- ↑ The exposure format is sometimes said to be 4×4.5cm, which probably better corresponds to the actual picture size, but the nominal format given in the advertisements was 4×5cm. Sugiyama, item 3001, and McKeown, p. 465, say 4×6.5cm by mistake.
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 334. Kimura: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 334, McKeown, p. 465 and Sugiyama, item 3001.
- ↑ McKeown, p. 465. The reported characteristics are identical to the example given as a "Model 2" in Sugiyama, including the mistake about 4×6.5cm format.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Gochamaze website and in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 58.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7. Item 11.
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P. 465.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 3001.
Links
In English:
- Alfax Model II at John Cooper's Ozcamera
In Japanese:
- Advertisement published in the March 1942 issue of Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Japanese camera page of the Gochamaze website
