Waltax
The Waltax is a series of Japanese 4.5×6 folders, whose body is copied from the Ikonta A. The prewar and wartime original Waltax was made by Okada Kōgaku and distributed by Nihon Shōkai. Both Kokusan kamera no rekishi and McKeown attribute the postwar Waltax cameras to Daiichi, but this is unlikely, as we will see. The Zenobia series of folders by Daiichi is indeed very similar to the late Waltax models.
Contents
The original Waltax
Prewar and wartime
The original Waltax (ワルタックス) has a folding optical finder and a key to wind the film. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, it is featured in the new products column of the June 1940 issue of Asahi Camera. It is offered for ¥185 in wartime advertisements[1] (a case is sometimes offered for an extra ¥7.70). The two distributors are Nihon Shōkai and the wholesale branch of Honjō Shōkai (本庄商会卸部). In one of the ads, the maker is stated as Okakō (岡光, an abbreviation of Okada Kōgaku). When mentioned, the lens is a Kolex Anastigmat 7cm f:3.5, said to be of Tessar type, and the shutter is a Dabit Super with T, B, 1–500 speeds and a body release.
The three wartime advertisements observed seem to show the same picture. The name Waltax is embossed in the front leather. The shutter plate is written OKAKO TOKYO at the top, the shutter rim is written DABIT SUPER at the bottom and the aperture is set by an index at the bottom of the shutter housing. McKeown pictures a similar camera (lens No 1402x) under the Okada entry, but the aperture is now set by an index on top of the shutter housing, and there is what looks like a depth of field knob on the top right of the body. The DABIT SUPER marking is now at the bottom of the shutter plate instead of the shutter rim.
A camera attributed to Okada, dated 1940 and confusively called Semi 2600 or Waltax is presented in two pages of the AJCC[2]. In the picture provided, the camera is presented with original documents, one of them seems to indicate that the camera's back has two red windows protected by a common sliding cover, unlike the later models, from the Waltax II included. The camera itself looks indistinguishable from the models presented in the advertisements.
Postwar
The Waltax is still advertised in 1947[3]. In the picture, the camera looks similar to the example pictured in McKeown, except that the depth of field knob is now on the top left. The lens is still a Kolex (No 180xx). The focal length is barely legible on the lens bezel, but it could be 7.5cm. The camera is distributed by Tōyō Shashinki-zai K.K.[4] (東洋寫眞機材株式會社, in old writing), and there is no mention of Okada.
A similar camera, with no depth of field knob, is reported with a Kolex 7.5cm f:3.5 (No 19006)[5].
Kokusan kamera no rekishi and McKeown both attribute the postwar Waltax, as well as all the following models, to Daiichi Kōgaku, but no original document has been observed yet to sustain this. On the contrary, all the models observed have Okada logos, see the descriptions below.
The Waltax II and III
All the later models of the Waltax have a finder enclosed in a top housing.
Advertisements
The Waltax II (ワルタックスⅡ型) has auto-stop film advance, an accessory shoe and a depth of field knob on the right of the top housing. It is advertised at least in 1947[6], still distributed by Tōyō Shashinki-zai. There is a logo in front of the accessory shoe. The advance knob looks a little smaller than on the later models, and a small hole is visible besides, probably a double exposure prevention indicator.
The Waltax III (ワルタックスⅢ型) is advertised at least in 1949[7]. The advertisement mentions flash synchronization and double exposure prevention. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, these two features distinguish the III from the II, but it is highly unlikely that the II has auto-stop advance without double exposure prevention, especially in view of the ad's picture described above. The advertisement for the Waltax III seems to emphasize the flash synchronization: there is a flash synch connector added to the shutter and this portion of the picture is enlarged. This is probably the distinguishing feature between the two models. It seems that the later Waltax Senior is simply a renaming of the Waltax III, see below.
The advertisement for the Waltax III also says that it takes 620 film, the lens is mentioned as a Bio-Kolex f:3.5 and the shutter is called "Dabit Compur" (ダビツトコンパー), surely by mistake. In the camera pictured, the logo has moved to the front of the top housing.
Description of a Waltax II
An example of the Waltax with top housing but no flash synch, probably corresponding to a Waltax II, has been observed at a Yahoo Japan auction.
The lens is a Bio-Kolex Anastigmat 7.5cm f:3.5 (No 22697). The shutter has B, 1–500 speeds and is not synchronized. The shutter plate is black, written OKAKO TOKYO at the top and likely DABIT SUPER at the bottom (this was only partly visible).
The top housing has a depth of field knob on the right (engraved in feet in this example), with the folding bed opening button at the side. The advance knob is on the left, it has a striated top and a red arrow engraved on the rim. Very close to it, there is a small hole, certainly for double exposure prevention. The shutter release is also on the same side. The back has one red window, protected by a sliding cover. No exposure counter is visible, and it is unclear if this camera really has auto-stop advance or simply double exposure prevention. The viewfinder front trim is very thin and is a part separate from the top housing, unlike the later models observed.
The name Waltax is embossed in the front leather. Unlike the Waltax II pictured in the ad, there is a Waltax OKAKO logo engraved in front of the top housing, and the serial number (No 21277) is engraved on the top housing in front of the accessory shoe. There is an OKAKO TOKYO logo engraved on the body struts. The back leather is missing, but in later models it is embossed with the same logo.
From the Junior to the Acme
The Waltax Junior
The Waltax Junior (ワルタックスジュニア) is a cheaper model. The film advance is controlled by a red window in the back, protected by a sliding cover. The lens is a Bio-Kolex Anastigmat 7.5cm f:4.5 and an Okako shutter with B, 25–150 speeds. and the depth of field knob is replaced by a Waltax Junior engraving on the right of the top housing. The Waltax OKAKO logo has disappeared from the top housing, but there is an OKAKO TOKYO logo still embossed in the back leather and the shutter plate is marked OKAKO in big letters at the bottom. In view of all these Okako markings, the attribution to Daiichi is somewhat dubious. The serial number is engraved in the top housing in front of the accessory shoe.
Two variants of the Waltax Junior have been observed. One of them has the same body struts as the other Waltax models, engraved with the OKAKO TOKYO logo. The other variant has simpler straight body struts (illustrated for example in McKeown).
Other variations have been observed in the shape of the advance knob. Some advance knobs have a somewhat hollow top with a red arrow engraved inside, while others have a striated top with a red arrow engraved on the rim.
The shutter is sometimes synchronized with an ASA bayonet connector, sometimes not.
The Waltax Junior seems to be the most common version of the Waltax. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, it appears in magazines from 1950 to 1952.
The Waltax Senior and Deluxe
The Waltax Senior (ワルタックスシニア) is probably a new name for the Waltax III, and the features are similar. The Waltax Deluxe (ワルタックスデラックス) is the same camera with a selftimer added, according to Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
A number of Waltax cameras have been observed with flash synchronization and a top housing slightly different from the Waltax II described above. They are assumed to be examples of the Waltax Senior or late Waltax III. They have an ASA bayonet connector on the top left of the Dabit Super shutter. The viewfinder trim is now thicker and is part of the top housing. The angles of the top housing are somewhat smoother, at least on the right of the accessory shoe and on the left of the viewfinder. The lens marking has a red C. between Bio-Kolex and Anastigmat, probably indicating a coated lens. The standing leg is different from the one mounted on the Waltax II described above.
The Waltax name has disappeared from the front leather. The Waltax OKAKO logo is still engraved in front of the top housing, as well as the OKAKO TOKYO logos in the struts. There is a similar OKAKO TOKYO logo embossed in the back. Some examples have a MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN marking embossed in a small piece of leather on the back opening.
On some other examples, the shutter plate is white instead of black and has no marking. The shutter rim is engraved D.O.C.-RAPID, but the aspect and features of the shutter are otherwise the same. The rest of the camera is similar. They seem to have later serial numbers (for example body No 34774 with lens No 34885 and shutter No 34852, observed at a Yahoo Japan auction).
The Waltax Acme
The Waltax Acme (ワルタックスアクメ) is a rangefinder version, based on the Waltax III or Senior model. The coupled rangefinder, separate from the viewfinder and enclosed in the top housing, is inspired by the Super Ikonta: a pivoting arm mounted on the shutter housing supports a rotating lens in front of one of the two round rangefinder windows. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, the other characteristics are the same as the Waltax III and it appears in 1951 and 1952 magazines.
Notes
- ↑ Advertisement for the Waltax, published in the Apr 1942 issue of Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 345. — Advertisement for the Waltax, visible in Nostalgic Camera, a page of old Japanese ads by Toshio Inamura, originally published between 1942 and 1945. — Template:Gochamaze The background of this advertisement is a map of Southeast Asia, it is written that the Waltax is rapidly expanding in the Southern Coprosperity Sphere (a Japanese expression designating the Asian territories that they were occupying): "南方共榮圏ニ躍進スルワルタックス".
- ↑ This page and this page, with a picture in the latter, at the AJCC website.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Waltax, published in the Nov 1947 issue of Kōka Gekkan, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 1062.
- ↑ Its address was Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Kanda-Awaji-chō 2, 4 (東京都千代田區神田淡路町２の４).
- ↑ Sold in the Apr 23, 2002 Photographic Sale by Bearne's, lot No 91.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Waltax II, published in the Dec 1947 issue of Kōka Gekkan, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 1063.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Waltax III, published in the Aug 1949 issue of Kōka Gekkan, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 1064.
Printed sources
- 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 345.
- 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). Pages 239 and 745.
Web sources
- Advertisement for the Waltax, visible in Nostalgic Camera, a page of old Japanese ads by Toshio Inamura, originally published between 1942 and 1945.
- Template:Gochamaze
- Catalogue of the Apr 23, 2002 Photographic Sale by Bearne's.
- Two pages of the AJCC website: this one and this one, with a picture in the latter.
Links
In French:
In Japanese:
In Chinese:
- Okako Waltax, one big picture
