Gotex and Poppy Six
The Gotex[1] (ゴーテックス) is a Japanese 6×6 folder made by the company Kigawa Seimitsu from 1941 to 1944 and distributed by Kikō Shōji. It has a horizontal folding body, with struts similar to the Ikonta B. There is a top housing containing both an eye level finder in the center and a brilliant finder offset to the right. There is a body release on the right of the viewfinders and an accessory shoe on the left. There are strap lugs at both extremities of the top plate, and an advance key at the left end. Film advance is controlled via a red window in the center of the back, protected by a horizontally sliding cover.
The Gotex is advertised in 1942[2] for ¥187, with the lens and shutter assembly mounted on an helical to have unit focusing. The lens is an Erinar Anastigmat 75/3.5 and the shutter is a Kiko Compur[3] with T, B, 1–300 speeds. At some point during the year, a square plate was mounted behind the shutter housing, that is not present on the early advertisement.
An example of the Gotex has been observed in an eBay auction, corresponding to the variant described with a square plate behind the shutter. The full lens marking was Kikō Anastigmat Erinar 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No62XXX. The top housing had a big NSK marking and other illegible markings in smaller letters. The signification is unknown but a similar marking has been observed on an example of the Tsubasa Kiko III.
Another Gotex has been observed in an eBay auction, this time in a variant with front-cell focusing. The lens marking was now Erinar Anastigmat 1:3.5 f=75mm N°101XXX. The shutter speeds were not fully legible but the range was probably T, B, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 or 300. The top housing had a big SNK marking (looking very similar to the previous NSK marking), with TOKYO JAPAN and SHIN NIPPON written underneath.
Notes
- ↑ It is certainly the camera called "Tsubasa 6×6" by McKeown, probably erroneously.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Gotex and Semi Kulax, published in the January 1942 issue of Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 75. — Advertisement for the Gotex and Kiko Semi, published in the October 1942 issue of Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 101.
- ↑ Inferred from the katakana キコー・コンパー.
Printed 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. Items 75 and 101.
- 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). Page 464.