Arsen
Template:127 Japan The Arsen was a prewar Japanese camera taking 4x4cm exposures on 127 film. It looked very much like the Gelto. The lens and shutter assembly was mounted on a telescopic tube with a focusing helical. There was a tubular optical viewfinder, an accessory shoe at the left and a key on the top plate, to open the back. The Arsen had an automatic stop advance mechanism with an exposure counter, because the film paperback was not marked for the 4x4 format at the time.
The Arsen was advertised in 1944 (3/1944 issue of Shashin Kagaku 写真科学, visible on this page) with a T-B-5-10-25-50-75-100-250 shutter and a 50/4.5 lens, for 125 yen. A hood was available for 3.50 yen, a case for 7.82 yen, and an accessory rangefinder for 24.30 yen. The ad's illustration showed the camera with a lens cap engraved Arsen in handwritten style, and attached to the body by a cord or chain. In the ad, the only company name is Ars (アルス).
The Arsen has been observed with an Anastigmat Grimmel 5.0cm/4.5 lens and a T-B-5-10-25-50-75-100-250 shutter marked ARSEN. According to the Asacame website, the Arsen was made by Takahashi Optical (高橋光学), the company who made the Gelto before the war, and was sold by Ars (アルス), a magazine editor.
McKeown lists the Arsen under Takahashi Optical Works.
There is also a 1941 ad for a Gelto auxiliary rangefinder (visible on this page), sold in two versions, for Gelto and for Arsen.
