Sintax

The Sintax (シンタックス) cameras are Japanese 4.5×6 folders. There are at least two models, one is a rebadged Collex and the other is a Baldax copy, perhaps a rebadged New Semi Condor.

Rebadged Collex

The first model is a rebadged version of the Collex (see the corresponding page for a full description). The only surviving example observed so far is pictured in a catalogue of the JCII museum, where it is dated 1940 and attributed to "Kotani Shōji" (小谷商事). The name SINTAX is embossed in the front leather, the lens is a Collie Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 and the shutter is a Koho made by Takachiho and giving 1–200, B, T speeds. The shutter plate is marked OLYMPUS-TOKYO-N at the top, the aperture scale is at the bottom and the speed rim is engraved KOHO.

The official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941 has a "Sintax", for ¥160, with no further detail. A similar price list dated November 1941 again has a Sintax, attributed to Kotani Shōten, which was certainly the distributor. It is not known if these documents refer to the rebadged Collex or to the Baldax copy.

Baldax copy

The second model is a copy of the Baldax. It seems identical to the New Semi Condor (see the corresponding page for a full description). The front leather is embossed SINTAX and the same name appears at the bottom of the shutter plate.

The Sintax was advertisement in Japanese magazines in 1942 and 1943. The Baldax copy is pictured in advertisements by Tōkyō Shashin Shōkai dated March and April 1942, offering the Sintax for ¥140, together with the Ami (an Ikonta copy) as a less expensive alternative. The Collie lens and Koho shutter are the same as on the previous model.

The only surviving example of the Baldax copy observed so far is pictured in Sugiyama, where it is attributed to "Kotani Trading". It has a Tessar 7.5cm f/4.5 lens and a Compur shutter giving T, B, 1–250 speeds. It seems that German lenses and shutters were no more imported in Japan in the early 1940s, and this equipment is perhaps not original.

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. Item 123. (See also the advertisement for item 9.)
• "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 3, section 7B.
• Template:Kakaku1940 Type 3, section 7B.
• 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. 546.
• Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten (思い出のスプリングカメラ展, Exhibition of beloved self-erecting cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P. 19.
• 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. Item 1247.