Waltax

The Waltax is a series of Japanese 4.5×6 folders made from 1940 to 1952, whose body is copied from the Ikonta A. The prewar and wartime 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 it is more likely that all the models were made by Okada except perhaps the very last ones. Daiichi made the Zenobia folders, successors of the Waltax.

The original Waltax

Prewar and wartime

The original Waltax (ワルタックス) has a folding optical finder, the film is wound by a key on the bottom right and the tripod screw is on the bottom left. The name Waltax is embossed in the front leather, and an OKAKO TOKYO logo is engraved in the folding struts. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, it is featured in the new products column of the June 1940 issue of Asahi Camera.

In two pages of the AJCC website, there is a mention of a camera attributed to Okada Kōgaku, dated 1940 and confusively called both Semi 2600 and Waltax. The year 1940 is the year 2600 of the Japanese imperial calendar that was sometimes used in military ruled Japan, this might explain the name. In the picture provided, the camera is presented with original documents. The camera itself looks similar to the original Waltax. One of the documents is written Waltax and displays a picture from the back, showing two red windows at the top of the back, protected by a common sliding cover.

The original Waltax is advertised from 1940 to 1944. The price was ¥160 in 1940 and ¥185 two years later. In some advertisements, the maker is stated as Okakō (岡光, an abbreviation of Okada Kōgaku). The distributors are Nihon Shōkai and the wholesale branch of Honjō Shōkai (本庄商会卸部). When mentioned, the lens is a four element Tessar-type Kolex Anastigmat 7cm f:3.5, and the shutter is a Dabit-Super with T, B, 1–500 speeds and a body release. Kokusan kamera no rekishi says that some advertisements mention an f:2.8 lens, but does not show any. At the same time, Okada Kōgaku was also making the Semi Okaco, a very similar camera distributed by Kawara Shashinki-ten and offered with a choice of f:2.8, f:3.5 and f:4.5 lenses.

Original Waltax, Kolex 7cm f/3.5 lens n°17082, no depth-of-field scale.
Pictures courtesy of eBayer suvorov_v. (Image rights)

The three wartime advertisements observed seem to show the same picture. 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.

The examples observed are slightly different: the aperture index is on the top of the shutter housing, and the DABIT–SUPER marking is at the bottom of the shutter plate instead of the speed setting rim. The back has only one red window at the bottom, protected by a sliding cover. The body's serial number is engraved in the inner side of the back. The early examples have a rotating depth-of-field scale, first on the top left of the body then on the top right. A later example, pictured in this page, is known with no depth-of-field scale at all.

Postwar

The original Waltax is advertised again in 1947. The camera pictured is similar to the wartime model, with the depth-of-field scale on the body's 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, and there is no mention of Okada. Another example with no depth-of-field scale is reported with a Kolex 7.5cm f:3.5 (No 19006).

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, an accessory shoe and an advance knob on the top left. The red window, protected by a sliding cover, is now at the back's top because the film is running from right to left. The tripod screw is centered and there are two decorative knobs at both ends of the bottom plate.

Advertisements

The Waltax II (ワルタックスⅡ型) is advertised at least in 1947 by the distributor Tōyō Shashinki-zai. There is a rotating depth-of-field scale on the top right and a logo above the top housing in front of the accessory shoe. The advance knob looks a little smaller in the advertising picture than on the later models, and a small hole is visible besides, for the film advance indicator. There is no exposure counter. The advertisement mentions auto-stop film advance but not double exposure prevention. This is probably an omission: in the advertising picture, no lever is visible to unlock film advance, probably meaning that it is unlocked by the body release itself.

The Waltax III (ワルタックスⅢ型) is advertised at least in 1949 by the same distributor. The advertisement mentions flash synchronization and double exposure prevention. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, these two features distinguish the III from the II. However the advertisement for the Waltax III places emphasis on flash synchronization: the portion of the picture showing the flash synch connector is enlarged. Flash synch is probably the distinguishing feature between the two models. Examples of the Waltax have been observed without flash synchronization but with double exposure prevention, and they must surely be identified as Waltax II.

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.

It seems that the later Waltax Senior is simply a renaming of the Waltax III, see below.

Description of a Waltax II

The following description applies to the examples of the Waltax with top housing but no flash synch, assumed to correspond to the Waltax II.

The lens is a Bio-Kolex Anastigmat 7.5cm f:3.5. 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 rotating depth-of-field scale 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 a film advance indicator. The shutter release is also on the same side. No lever is visible to unlock film advance, it is presumably unlocked by the action of the shutter release. The back has one red window, protected by a sliding cover, certainly to set the first exposure.

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 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. According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, it appears in magazines from 1950 to 1952. 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 scale 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 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. Two versions have been observed, and a chronological classification can be attempted based on the serial numbers and other considerations.

The early version has straight body struts, different from all the other Waltax models (illustrated for example in McKeown). On the very first examples, the OKAKO marking at the bottom of the shutter plate is written in big fancy letters, the cover for the red window slides under a metal plate attached by four small screws, and the aperture scale is chrome with black numbers.

These features were soon modified: on most examples, the OKAKO marking has a classical font, the red window cover is buried in the back and the aperture scale is black with yellowish numbers.

At a later time, flash synchronization was added and the striated advance knob inherited from the Waltax II was substituted by a newer model, with a red arrow engraved inside a shallow depression on the top. It seems that these two modifications occurred at about the same time but transitional examples exist. The synch connector is usually an ASA bayonet post, but some examples have unknown type of synch post, consisting of a pin horizontally protruding from the bottom of the shutter housing.

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. A Waltax Junior has been reported by a camera dealer as having a D.O.C.-Rapid shutter, like the last Waltax Senior models (see below).

The Waltax Senior and Deluxe

Waltax Senior n°31668, Dabit-Super shutter. Pictures courtesy of eBayer rumy. (Image rights)

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 has a black shutter plate written OKAKO TOKYO at the top and DABIT–SUPER at the bottom. The late variant has a white unmarked shutter plate, with D.O.C.–RAPID engraved in the shutter rim. Some examples of both variants look like they have a modified synch post with a hole in a red circle, but it is suspected that this a regular ASA bayonet post whose tip has been unscrewed. No other difference is visible between the two variants, the shutter characteristics and all the other markings are the same. "D.O.C." is plausibly an acronym of Daiichi Optical Company, translation of Daiichi Kōgaku K.K. This late variant is certainly a transitional one, made after Okada either changed its name or was bought by Daiichi and just before the release of the Zenobia, successor of the Waltax.

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.

Serial numbers and production

The serial numbers of the body, lens and shutter are very close on all the Waltax cameras. The earliest lens number observed is 06907 and the last is 37551. The number sequence continues on the Zenobia models, of which the lowest body serial observed is 39663. If we admit that the sequence begins at 01000, this makes a total of about 37,000 or 38,000 cameras produced.

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 and 1062–8.
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp. 56, 61, 75 (brief mentions only).
• 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). Pp. 239 and 745.
• 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.)

Links

General links

In French:

• Waltax Junior (late version) at Mario Groleau's site

In Japanese:

• Waltax Senior (early variant) at Puppy's Island
• Two pages of the AJCC website: this one and this one, with a picture in the latter.

In Chinese:

• Original Waltax in a post at a Chinese forum
• Waltax Senior (early variant), one big picture

Documents

• 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

Timeline

Okada timeline ()																								Daiichi->
Type		1940s																				1950s
		0		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		0		1
4.5×6 folder	viewfinder																						Waltax Junior
		Waltax														Waltax	Waltax II		...	Waltax III		...		Waltax Senior
				Okaco				...																Waltax Deluxe
	rangefinder																							Waltax Acme
Cameras whose actual existence or dates are dubious are in a lighter shade of grey.