Sintax
The Sintax cameras (シンタックスカメラ) are Japanese 4.5×6 folders. There are at least two models.
The first model is a rebadged version of the Collex. It is said to have been distributed by Kotani Shōji (小谷商事) in 1940.[1] It is embossed SINTAX in the front leather and has been observed[2] with a Collie Anastigmat 75mm f:3.5 lens and a Koho shutter made by Takachiho and giving 1–200, B, T speeds. The shutter plate is marked OLYMPUS-TOKYO-N at the top and the speed rim is marked KOHO.
The second model is a copy of the Baldax, distributed by Tōkyō Shashin Shōkai. It has a folding optical finder and a body release. The front leather is embossed SINTAX and the same name appears at the bottom of the shutter plate. This model appears in advertisements by Tōkyō Shashin Shōkai dated March and April 1942[3], offering the Sintax for ¥140, together with the Ami (an Ikonta copy) as a less expensive alternative. The lens and shutter are the same as the previous model: Collie 75mm f:3.5 and Koho giving 1–200, B, T speeds. At least one example has been reported with a Tessar 75/4.5 and a Compur shutter giving T, B, 1–250 speeds.[4] The Sintax was advertised until 1943.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten, p. 19.
- ↑ Example pictured in Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten, p. 19.
- ↑ Advertisements published in Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp. 58 and 74. These advertisements also list the Ami folder and briefly mention Olympus cameras and binoculars.
- ↑ McKeown, p. 546. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 337, the Kamera Zukan book by Sugiyama and Naoi shows an example with a lens and shutter differing from the Collie / Koho combination: it is probably McKeown's source.
- ↑ The last advertisement mentioned in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 337, is dated June 1943.
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.)
- 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.)
