Photax

Classic bakelite camera design, made in France by MIOM

The Photax was a viewfinder camera made of bakelite. It took 6×9cm exposures on type 120 film rolls. The first version was introduced in 1938 by M.I.O.M., a maker of isolation material and casted plastic parts. It was the Photax blindé. Technical details were kept as simple as possible. The body contained the film spools. Outer parts were the optical viewfinder, the film advance wheel, the opening shifter, the tripod thread, and an uncloseable red exposure counting window. All other functional parts were placed in the lens barrel's front plate, except the cameras most characteristic feature: the lens barrel had to be turned 360 degrees (counter-clockwise) to be screwed out of the camera body into working position. The functional elements in the lens tube's front plate were the Boyer Serie VIII meniscus lens, the two round aperture masks, a shiftable nib to select one of the two apertures, another shiftable nib to select the shutter speed, the shutter and the tall shutter release button. The 5mm shifting travel of the shutter release button were enough to cock the shutter before exposure. Soon after the Photax blindé the Photax II was launched. It had a more modern design and a self-timer. Some of the postwar models had a flash cable connector in the lens tube front plate. Model VI finally even got a flash shoe.

This is a work in progress.

specifications

• Type: viewfinder camera
• Film: Type 120 film rolls
• Manufacturer: M.I.O.M.
• Viewfinder: Galilei type optical finder (except model VI: frame finder)
• Exposure format: 6×9, except model VI with format 6×6, and model V with both formats

Photax blindé

• Year of launch: 1938
• Lens: Boyer Serie VIII meniscus lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/100 sec, or T (meaning B)

Photax II

• Year of launch: 1938
• Lens: Boyer Serie VIII meniscus lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with two speeds

Photax III

• Year of launch: 1946
• Lens: Boyer Serie VIII meniscus lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/100 sec, or B

Photax IV

• Year of launch: 1946
• Lens: Boyer Rexar meniscus lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/100 sec, or B

Photax V

• Year of launch: 1956
• Lens: Angénieux Heanar Type 5 lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/100 sec, or B synch.

Photax VI

• Year of launch: 1960
• Lens: Angénieux Heanar Type 5 lens
• Shutter: Guillotine shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/100 sec, or B synch.