Elmoflex

This is a work in progress.

The Elmoflex (エルモフレックス) is a series of Japanese 6×6cm TLR cameras, made by Elmo from 1942 to 1956.

General description

All the Elmoflex have the same general configuration and body casting. The front plate is moved back and forth for focusing, and is driven by a knob on the photographer's right. The film advance automatically stops at each exposure. The advance knob is on the same side as the focus knob, and there is a round exposure counter window at the top of the side plate. The auto-stop mechanism is engaged by a sliding button between the two knobs, and is unlocked after each exposure by pressing the middle part of the advance knob.

The L-shaped back is hinged at the top, and there are two film flanges on the camera's left side. There are short black-painted strap attachments on each side, whose shape was unchanged throughout the camera's production.

Early models

Wartime introduction

The Elmo company claims that the Elmoflex was introduced in 1938. However no original document has been found to confirm this early release date. The camera is notably not mentioned in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941.

Conversely, the earliest document showing the camera is an advertisement in the Japanese magazine Shashin Bunka, dated October 1942. The motto is "Birth of an all new TLR" (二眼レフの最新鋭機誕生), and the document states that "the Elmoflex, awaited by the photographers, is coming" (写真人待望のエルモフレックス出来): these are strong indications that the camera was actually released that year. The advertisement was placed by the distributor Fukada Shōkai. It mentions an f/3.5 lens and slow speeds to 1s, and gives the price of ¥292.

The Elmoflex was intermittently advertised in the same magazine until September 1943. The February 1943 advertisement, again by Fukada, specifies that the camera has a K.O.L. Anastigmat 75/3.5 lens and an Elmo shutter (1–200, self-timer), at an unchanged price.

The government inquiry on Japanese camera production, compiled in April 1943, mentions the Elmoflex with a K.O.L. Elmo 75/3.5 three-element lens and an Orient A shutter by Tōyō Kōki Seizō (1–200, T, B, self-timer). The Elmo shutter was perhaps a rebadged version of the latter.

Immediate postwar period

The production of the Elmoflex restarted immediately after the war, in 1946. It is said that the "Elmoflex I" was priced at ¥10,710 in September 1947. At least one recent source reports various models released in the second half of the 1940s: the "Elmoflex Junior IA and IS" in 1948, and the "IA, IS, II and IIIB" in 1949. Other than the IIIB described below, details of these models are unknown. No original document has been found for the period, and the chronology is unconfirmed. It may be that these models were produced for export only, explaining why these do not appear in Japanese magazines.

Actual examples

The Elmoflex III-B and all subsequent models received the Seikosha-Rapid shutter. Conversely, the examples found with lesser shutter specifications surely correspond to earlier models.

First nameplate

The oldest cameras observed so far have the first nameplate design, inscribed ELMOFLEX in block letters and MADE IN NIPPON ELMO COMPANY underneath, with a winged ELMO logo in the middle. Two variants of this nameplate are known: one has the ELMOFLEX in heavy block letters, surrounded by the two attachment screws, the other has the same marking in thinner letters, with the two screws under "E" and "X".

These examples either have a K.O.L. Elmo Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 or a Tomioka Lausar 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens. Various sources, mostly based on Sugiyama's book, say that the "Elmoflex I", dated 1943, has K.O.L. lenses whereas the "Elmoflex Junior", dated 1947, has Lausar lenses. No original document has been found yet to confirm this. The exposure table attached to the camera's back is certainly a reliable distinguishing feature between wartime and postwar models: those examples with a table in Japanese language were certainly made during the war, and those with a table in English language were certainly assembled after 1945.

The K.O.L. taking lens is normally paired with an identical viewing lens. At least one camera, pictured in McKeown with K.O.L. lenses and heavy ELMOFLEX marking, has an unnamed shutter with 200–1, T, B speeds and a self-timer. The speed scale and aperture scale (to f/25) are directly inscribed on the black shutter plate, which has a winged ELMO marking at the bottom; the rotating rim is thin and has no name. This might correspond to the Orient A or "Elmo" shutter mentioned in the 1943 documents.

Other examples with K.O.L. lenses have an NKS shutter (B, 1–200), with no self-timer. The outer rim is engraved NKS TOKYO, and the black front plate has the same winged ELMO marking and an aperture scale to f/16 on the side. The example pictured in Neco's Collection has the heavy ELMOFLEX marking and an exposure table in Japanese language, whereas that pictured in Sugiyama as a wartime camera has the thin ELMOFLEX marking.

Examples with a Lausar taking lens have a similar NKS shutter (with NKS TOKYO), and exist with either variant of the first nameplate design. At least one has an exposure table in English language, surely indicating postwar manufacture.

Second nameplate

Early Elmoflex, second nameplate design, NKS shutter, Tomioka Lausar 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens no.2220xx, f/3 viewing lens. Pictures courtesy of eBayer 4dogsracing. (Image rights)

Early Elmoflex, second nameplate design, NKS shutter, Takatiho Zuiko 7.5cm f/3.5 lens. Picture courtesy of Pacific Rim Camera. (Image rights)

More recent cameras have the second nameplate design, inscribed ELMOFLEX in block letters, with the screws under the "E" and "X" letters, and ELMO COMPANY below, surrounded by a pattern of bars and tildes. A few have the same Lausar 7.5cm f/3.5 lens, sometimes with a similar viewing lens and sometimes with a different f/3 viewing lens, perhaps made by Tomioka too. The shutter is an NKS, sometimes marked NKS TOKYO.

Other cameras with the second nameplate have a Zuiko 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens, inscribed Takatiho Tokyo on the rim. The viewing lens is an Elmo Elzer (or Elzar) Anastigmat 7.5cm f/2.9. The shutter is an NKS (B, 1–200), normally without the TOKYO marking, sometimes equipped with a self-timer. Some cameras from that period, such as that pictured on the right, have the front standard in plain metal instead of black finish.

Elmoflex III

All the later Elmoflex models have a four-element Olympus Zuiko 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens and a Seikosha-Rapid shutter giving B, 1–500 speeds.

Elmoflex III-B

The first model of the next series is the Elmoflex III-B — there is no record of a plain "Elmoflex III". It was announced in the June 1950 issue of Ars Camera, where it was apparently mentioned as "for export only". This model is still very close to the earlier cameras. There is no release button on the front plate, and the shutter is cocked and tripped by a dual-function lever at the bottom.

The Elmoflex III-B pictured in Sugiyama has the second nameplate design. It has an Olympus Zuiko Coated 7.5cm f/3.5 taking lens, and its viewing lens is an Olympus Viewer 7.5cm f/3.5 — certainly a cheaper three-element design.

Elmoflex III-C

The Elmoflex III-C mainly differs by the addition of a body release at the bottom of the front standard, tripped by the photographer's left hand fingers. It is said that the focusing mechanism was made smoother too. The new model was announced in the November 1950 issue of Kohga Gekkan, and also appears in the January 1951 issue of Photo Art, where the price is given as ¥29,500.

The example pictured in Sugiyama has an ELMO logo on the viewing hood and has the third nameplate design: the Elmoflex name is written in fancy rounded letters, with ELMO COMPANY in thin block letters underneath, surrounded by three small stars on each side. Its taking lens is an Olympus Zuiko C. 7.5cm f/3.5, and its viewing lens is the same Olympus Viewer as on the III-B.

Elmoflex III-D

The Elmoflex III-D has an additional flash synch socket on the front standard, opposite the release button, replacing the small depression for a cable release head found on earlier cameras.

This is a work in progress.

Elmoflex III-F. Picture by Elmo Alves. (Image rights)

Elmoflex III-F

• Lenses: Zuiko 1:3,5 f=7,5cm
• Shutter: Seikosha-Rapid with speeds 1 to 1/500 sec.

Bibliography

Original documents

• "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. The Elmoflex does not appear in this document.
• Photo Art no.20, January 1951. "Kokusan kamera no kentō" (国産カメラの検討, Inquiry on Japanese cameras). Pp.36–40.
• Sakaki Yoshinobu (榊由信), of the Elmo company. "Erumofurekkusu" (エルモフレックス, Elmoflex). In Shashin Kōgyō no.12, May 1953. Pp.244–5.
• Shashin Kōgyō. Advertisements by Elmo-sha:
  • no.1, June 1952, p.4;
  • no.2, July 1952, p.8;
  • no.3, August 1952, p.5;
  • no.4, September 1952, p.49.
• Shashin Kōgyō no.28, September 1954. "Erumofurekkusu V-gata" (エルモフレックスV型, Elmoflex V). P.179.
• Shashin Kōgyō no.31, January 1955. "Kokusan kamera sōran" (日本のカメラ全貌・二眼レフカメラ・スプリングカメラ, Panorama of Japanese cameras). P.62.

Recent sources

• 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. Items 29, 411–7 and 1134. (See also the advertisement for item 156.)
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp.60, 62–3, 67, 71, 80, 82 and 87.
• 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.263.
• 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. Items 2006 and 2098–104.
• Watakushi no ni-gan-refu kamera-ten (私の二眼レフカメラ展, Exhibition of twin lens reflex cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P.27.

Links

In English:

• Elmoflex page in Barry Toogood's tlr-cameras.com
• Elmoflex in the camera page of Patty Moussali's website (some pictures of the website were taken with the Elmoflex)
• Elmo company profile (pdf format), at mrelmo.co.uk (mentioning the Elmoflex as released in 1938)

In Japanese:

• Elmoflex at Neco's camera collection:
  • Early Elmoflex with K.O.L. Elmo (referenced as an "Elmoflex I"), with other pictures here and here
  • Early Elmoflex with Lausar (referenced as an "Elmoflex Junior"), with other pictures here
  • Elmoflex III-D (referenced as a III-E)
  • Elmoflex V
  • Elmoflex cases
• Elmoflex III-D and Elmoflex V at TLR Milestone
• Elmoflex III-F at Puppy's Island
• Elmoflex repair notes at Kan's Room
• Elmoflex at Chotto Pinboke
• Elmoflex III-F at Doru's bar blog
• Elmoflex in a TLR page in Diwa's photo site
• Elmoflex III-F at Otowa no nigan-refu
• Elmoflex specifications at Japan Family Camera
• Elmoflex at Shashin wo tanoshimu
• Pictures taken with an Elmoflex at Nobuo Honda's website
• Advertisement for the Elmoflex dated 1954, reproduced in Shashin-Bako
• Chronology in the Elmo official website (mentioning the Elmoflex as released in 1938)