Bolex

From Camera-wiki.org
Revision as of 19:47, 18 March 2008 by Rebollo fr (talk | contribs) (1940 advertisements, 01/41 price list, description details, nav template)
Jump to: navigation, search
This is a work in progress.
Japanese Bolta film cameras (edit)
Aruba 35 | Bolex | Boltax | Bolty | Dan 35 I and II | Dan 35 III | Dan 35 M | Hobix | Inoca Stereo | Maruso 35 | Maruso Patent Box | Mickey 35 | Mikker 35 | Minon 35 | Picny B | Silver | Start 35 | Sunny | Tanzer | Town | Youngflex
3×4 and 4×4, 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

This page is about the Bolex still camera, which has nothing to see with the Bolex cine camera series made by Paillard.

The Bolex (ボレックス) is a Japanese camera taking 25×25mm pictures on Bolta film.[1]

Description

The Bolex is a copy of the German Sida camera.[2] Unlike the original German camera, the Bolex takes 12 exposures on Bolta film, which was made popular in Japan by the Boltax. The body is made of bakelite; it has the shape of a brick with large cylinders protruding at both ends and containing the film spools. There is an optical finder in the middle and the advance knob is at the top left, as seen by the photographer. Numbers are engraved around the advance knob, for a manual control of the film advance. The shutter is tripped by a lever on the side of the front plate, and has Bulb and Instant (1/25) settings switched by a lever on the left.[3] The lens is fixed-focus. The back is hinged to the right and contains a single red window in the middle, to set the position of the first exposure. The camera name is molded as BOLEX in the front plate above the lens, and as Bolex at the rear above the red window. Other words are inscribed below the red window, perhaps "Reg. Trademark in Japan".

Commercial life

The Bolex was released in early 1940. The earliest reported advertisement is in the February issue of Asahi Camera.[4] It was placed by Nittō Shashin Kōgaku Kōgyōsho, mentioned as the manufacturer. The camera is said to be "newly available" (新発売). The lens is mentioned as a Nittō (ニットー) 35mm f/6.3, and the picture shows the words NITTOH OPTIC on the lens rim. The description says that there is a choice of three aperture settings, but no such control is visible in the picture. The body is made of "chocolate-coloured" bakelite, and the price is ¥9.50.

The October 1940 advertisement in Asahi Camera reportedly mentions a Nittō Helicon (ニットーヘリコン) 38mm f/6.3 lens and a choice of two colours: chocolate or black.[5]

The official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941 mentions the Bolex for ¥10, in the same price category as the New Midget I and Guzzi subminiature cameras.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ The film format is mentioned as 25×25mm in the February 1940 advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93.
  2. ↑ The French Sidax camera presented in Ōjima is a later evolution of the Sida, made in France after 1945.
  3. ↑ 1/25 speed: advertisement dated February 1940 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93.
  4. ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.93. It is the earliest reported on p.341 of the same source.
  5. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.341.
  6. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 5, section 5.

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 247. (See also the advertisement for item 217.)
  • "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9. Type 5, section 5.
  • Ōjima (大島毅). "Shidakkusu (futsu-sei) to Borekkusu (nihon-sei)" (シダックス[仏製]とボレックス[日本製], Sidax [made in France] and Bolex [made in Japan]). In Camera Collectors' News no.172 (October 1991). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha.
  • Takezaki (竹崎春智). "Sonota no boruta-han katarogu" (その他のボルタ判カタログ, Catalogue of other Bolta-size cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.51, June 1999. ISBN 4-257-13024-5. Kurashikku kamera supesharu (クラシックカメラスペシャル, issue about miscellaneous classic cameras). Pp.90–3.

The Bolex is not listed in Sugiyama.

Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Bolex&oldid=7606"