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 Kōgaku, 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 advertisements, 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, and there is a logo engraved in the struts. 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.
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 is marked Waltax and shows a picture from the back, indicating that the camera's back has two red windows protected by a common sliding cover, unlike the later models. The picture is not very clear, but the camera itself looks indistinguishable from the model presented in the advertisements.
McKeown pictures an original Waltax (lens No 1402x) under the Okada entry. There are some small differences with the camera pictured in the advertisements. The aperture index has moved to the top of the shutter housing, and the DABIT–SUPER marking is now at the bottom of the shutter plate instead of the speed setting rim. There is a depth of field knob on the top right of the body. A similar camera is pictured in this post at a Chinese forum (lens No 13895).
Another example has been observed at an eBay auction with no depth of field knob (lens No 17082). On this example the logos engraved in the struts clearly read OKAKO TOKYO, and the back has only one red window at the bottom, protected by a sliding cover.
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. An example 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 Okako logos: see the descriptions below.
The Waltax II and III
From now on, all the Waltax models 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 above the top housing, 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 considering the 1947 picture mentioned 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 (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 nearside. The advance knob is on the left, it has a striated top and a red arrow engraved in 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 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 above the top housing in front of the accessory shoe. There is an OKAKO TOKYO logo engraved in the body struts. The back leather is missing, but on later models it is embossed with the same logo.
The viewfinder front trim is very thin, separate from the top housing. The standing leg has a squarish shape. These two characteristics are shared by the cameras pictured in the 1947 and 1949 advertisements mentioned above. All the later examples observed have a thicker finder trim, part of the top housing, and a standing leg with a more pointed shape.
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, and there is no film advance indicator. The lens is a Bio-Kolex Anastigmat 7.5cm f:4.5 and the shutter is an Okako with B, 25–150 speeds. The depth of field knob is replaced by a Waltax Junior engraving on the right of the top housing.
The serial number is engraved above the top housing in front of the accessory shoe. The Waltax OKAKO logo has disappeared from the top housing, but there is an OKAKO TOKYO logo 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 Kōgaku is dubious.
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.
Two versions have been observed, and a chronological classification can be attempted based on the serial numbers and other logical considerations.
The early version has straight body struts, different from all the other Waltax models (illustrated for example in McKeown). The earliest ones have an unsynched shutter and the striated advance knob described on the Waltax II. On later ones, the advance knob is substituted by a newer model, with a red arrow engraved inside a shallow depression on the top, and the shutter is synchronized with an ASA bayonet connector on the top right.
The late version returns to the same body struts as the other Waltax models, engraved with an OKAKO TOKYO logo. It was probably better for the company to have the same standard body for the whole range than to have a special cheaper body for the Junior model.
The Waltax Senior and Deluxe
The Waltax Senior (ワルタックスシニア) is probably the new name of the Waltax III, and all the features are similar. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, the Waltax Deluxe (ワルタックスデラックス) is the same camera with an added selftimer, and both appear in 1951 and 1952 magazines, together with the Waltax Acme (see below).
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. No example of the Waltax Deluxe has been observed yet.
They have a thick viewfinder trim, part of the top housing. The advance knob is of the newer type, with a shallow depression, and the hole for the film advance indicator is more distant from the knob than on the Waltax II. The standing leg is also different from the one on the Waltax II, with a more pointed shape. The lens marking has a red C. between Bio-Kolex and Anastigmat, probably indicating a coated lens. The shutter is synchronized, with an ASA bayonet connector on the top left.
The Waltax name is absent from the front leather, but all the other logos are present: Waltax OKAKO in front of the top housing, OKAKO TOKYO in the struts and in the back leather. Some examples have a MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN marking embossed in a small piece of leather on the back opening.
The early variant[8] has a black shutter plate written OKAKO TOKYO at the top and DABIT–SUPER at the bottom. The late variant[9] has a white unmarked shutter plate, with D.O.C.–RAPID engraved in the shutter rim. No other difference is visible, the shutter characteristics and the other markings are the same. A Waltax Junior has also been reported by a dealer as having a DOC-Rapid shutter. "D.O.C." is plausibly an acronym of Daiichi Optical Company, a translation of Daiichi Kōgaku K.K. The Zenobia folders are maybe the follow-ups of the Waltax model, after Okada either changed its name or was bought by Daiichi.
The Waltax Acme
The Waltax Acme (ワルタックスアクメ) is a rangefinder version of the Waltax Senior. 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 or Senior, 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.
- ↑ Body and lens numbers observed between about 29000 and about 34100.
- ↑ For example the body No 34774 with lens No 34885 and shutter No 34852, observed at a Yahoo Japan auction. The body and lens numbers are very close on all the Waltax cameras, and this is apparently also the case for the shutter number. It is also the Waltax Senior pictured in McKeown.
Printed 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 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 bibliography
- 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.
Other links
In French:
In Japanese:
In Chinese:
- Original Waltax in a post at a Chinese forum
- Waltax Senior (early variant), one big picture
