Japanese 4.5×6 folders
Between the 1930s and the 1950s, a good number of Japanese companies, some of them very small, produced a quantity of 4.5×6 folders.
There were many models and variants, but most of them were copies of either the Baldax or of the Ikonta or Nettar. For example, the Semi Olympus (first camera to wear the Olympus name) was a copy of the Baldax and the Semi Minolta (one of the first cameras to wear the Minolta name) was a copy of the Nettar. Other German cameras were copied as well. For example the body of the Auto Semi Minolta was copied on the Weltur 4.5×6, while its exposure counter was copien on the Plaubel rollfilm backs and Roll-Op II camera. The rangefinder of the Super Semi Proud was also inspired by the Roll-Op II.
As a consequence, most models had a vertical style folding bed, while most of the Japanese 6x6 folders had an horizontal style folding bed after the Ikonta 6×6. The exceptions to this rule are generally original bodies, not copied from a Western camera, like the Semi Olympus II, the Primo or the Tsubasa Super Semi. The Apollo II has an horizontal style body too, but it is a copy of the Duo Six-20 Series II.
After the war, many models switched from a folding optical finder to a viewfinder enclosed in a top housing, giving a more modern look. The Baldax copies tended to rarify, and most models now had a body styled after the Ikonta. Some makers, like Daido or Mihama, made both 4.5×6 and 6×6 models, but the 4.5×6 folders tended to be abandoned first. They were also considered to be cheaper models, and only a few received the advanced features of the last Japanese folders, like the coupled rangefinder or automatic film advance.