Difference between revisions of "Komaflex-S"

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The Komaflex-S was featured in Japanese camera magazines dated January to June 1960.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.388. </REF> The camera was made for export only and no Japanese advertisement is reported. An advertisement in the September 1960 issue of ''Popular Photography'' presents the camera as "the world's first and only super-slide single-lens reflex camera".<REF> Advertisement reproduced in Hagiya, p.33. </REF> This is inaccurate, because other 4&times;4 SLRs were made before the Komaflex (e.g. the [[Super Flex Baby]] or [[Atomflex]]), but they were not exported and the notion of 4&times;4 "super-slide" was not invented at the time they were made. The price was $69.95 (case extra $10.00). Tele and wide angle conversion lenses were offered for the camera, but their specifications are unknown.
 
The Komaflex-S was featured in Japanese camera magazines dated January to June 1960.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p.388. </REF> The camera was made for export only and no Japanese advertisement is reported. An advertisement in the September 1960 issue of ''Popular Photography'' presents the camera as "the world's first and only super-slide single-lens reflex camera".<REF> Advertisement reproduced in Hagiya, p.33. </REF> This is inaccurate, because other 4&times;4 SLRs were made before the Komaflex (e.g. the [[Super Flex Baby]] or [[Atomflex]]), but they were not exported and the notion of 4&times;4 "super-slide" was not invented at the time they were made. The price was $69.95 (case extra $10.00). Tele and wide angle conversion lenses were offered for the camera, but their specifications are unknown.
  
 +
It is said that the camera was also sold under the name '''Optomax-S''' by the German distributor [[Foto-Quelle]].<REF> {{McKeown}}, p.547. </REF>
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 +
== Evolution and total production ==
 
The Komaflex-S slightly evolved during its production run. The '''type 1''' has a semi-circular shutter setting lever and a round sliding button on the side to engage the exposure counter mechanism. The '''type 2''' has a shutter setting lever shaped as a coma and a more modern-looking rectangular exposure counter button.
 
The Komaflex-S slightly evolved during its production run. The '''type 1''' has a semi-circular shutter setting lever and a round sliding button on the side to engage the exposure counter mechanism. The '''type 2''' has a shutter setting lever shaped as a coma and a more modern-looking rectangular exposure counter button.
  

Revision as of 18:37, 11 November 2007

Japanese medium-format SLR (edit)
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6×8 Fuji GX680 | Fuji GX680 II | Fujifilm GX680 III | Fujifilm GX680 III S
6×7 Bronica GS-1 | Mamiya RB67 | Mamiya RZ67 | Pentax 67
6×6 Amano 66 | Reflex Beauty | Bronica C | Bronica D | Bronica EC | Bronica S | Bronica S2 | Bronica SQ | Bronica Z | Carlflex | Escaflex | Flex Six | Fujita 66 | Graflex Norita | Hasemiflex | Kalimar Reflex | Kalimar Six Sixty | Konishiroku prototype | Kowa Six | Kowa Super 66 | Minolta SR66 | Norita 66 | Orchid | Rittreck 6×6 | Rolly Flex | Seito Ref | Shinkoflex | Soligor 66 | Tanyflex | Warner 66 | Zuman Flex
4.5×6 Bronica ETR | Contax 645 AF | Fujifilm GX645AF | Konica SF | Mamiya M645 | Mamiya M645 Super / Pro | Mamiya 645AF | Pentax 645 | Pentax 645N | Pentax 645NII
4×4 Atomflex | Komaflex-S | Super Flex Baby
Japanese TLR and pseudo TLR ->
Other Japanese 6×6, 4.5×6, 3×4 and 4×4 ->

The Komaflex-S is a Japanese 4×4 SLR made by Kowa from 1960, for export only.

Description

The Komaflex-S has a small body with a roughly cubic shape and a gray finish, covered by light gray leatherette. The film travels vertically and is advanced by a knob on the photographer's right. The advance knob contains a film reminder, and it is shaped as a hook towards the top, so that it can be pushed by the thumb. There is a round exposure counter window on the same side, near the bottom. The position of the first exposure is set via a red window placed under the camera, protected by a rotating cover controlled by a small thumb-operated button. The exposure counter is engaged by a sliding lever placed below the advance knob, towards the rear. The left side of the camera only has an accessory shoe, engraved with the serial number. The L-shaped back is hinged at the top and locked by a latch controlled by a knob surrounding the tripod thread, with O and C indications.

The viewing hood is copied on that of the Rolleiflex Baby Grey; it has a square magnifying lens hinged to the front and a flap for a sportsfinder with a red Koma logo in the middle. The viewing screen has a Fresnel lens to enhance the luminosity.[1] The nameplate is rectangular and reads Komaflex–S on a black background. There are strap lugs on both sides of the body.

The shutter release is at the bottom of the front standard, and is actuated by the photographer's right fingers. The lens is a fixed Prominar 65mm f/2.8, with four elements in three groups,[2] and the shutter is a Seikosha-SLV (B, 1–500). The lens barrel has a fixed gray ring on the rear, inscribed Made in Japan at the bottom, with cut-outs for the M/X/V selector, the PC synch socket, the shutter winding lever, and the interlock for the Light-Value system. To the front is the silver speed ring (B, 1–500) which also has a light-value scale from 3 to 18. Further to the front is the aperture scale, from 3.5 to 22 on a black backgroung. The frontmost ring is the focus ring, it is black with one row of large knurls. The distance scale is engraved both in metres (in white) and feet (in yellow), down to 1 metre or 3 feet. There are depth-of-field indications immediately to the rear, and the shutter name SEIKOSHA–SLV is engraved on the same plate at the bottom.

Commercial life

The Komaflex-S was featured in Japanese camera magazines dated January to June 1960.[3] The camera was made for export only and no Japanese advertisement is reported. An advertisement in the September 1960 issue of Popular Photography presents the camera as "the world's first and only super-slide single-lens reflex camera".[4] This is inaccurate, because other 4×4 SLRs were made before the Komaflex (e.g. the Super Flex Baby or Atomflex), but they were not exported and the notion of 4×4 "super-slide" was not invented at the time they were made. The price was $69.95 (case extra $10.00). Tele and wide angle conversion lenses were offered for the camera, but their specifications are unknown.

It is said that the camera was also sold under the name Optomax-S by the German distributor Foto-Quelle.[5]

Evolution and total production

The Komaflex-S slightly evolved during its production run. The type 1 has a semi-circular shutter setting lever and a round sliding button on the side to engage the exposure counter mechanism. The type 2 has a shutter setting lever shaped as a coma and a more modern-looking rectangular exposure counter button.

The body numbers observed are all in the 21xxxx range. The transition from type 1 to type 2 occurred between no.213388 and no.213695.[6] The known lens numbers are in the 75xxxx and 76xxxx ranges. It is not known if batch numbers were specifically affected to the lens of the Komaflex-S or if they are interspersed in a single Kowa lens number sequence. What is sure is that the lens number sequence is not coherent with the body sequence, with early lenses mounted on late bodies and the reverse.

Bibliography

Links

In English:

In French:

In Japanese:

In Chinese:

  • ↑ Fresnel lens: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.388.
  • ↑ Four elements in three groups: Hagiya, p.33, Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.388.
  • ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.388.
  • ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Hagiya, p.33.
  • ↑ McKeown, p.547.
  • ↑ No.213388 pictured in Hagiya, p.33, and in Iguchi, pp.38–40. No.213695 observed in an online auction.
    • Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Komaflex-S&oldid=32530"