Walz (3×4)
Template:127 Japan The first camera observed with the name Walz appeared in a December 1936 issue of Asahi Camera. It was simply called Walz, and the company name given was Walz Camera Works (ワルツカメラ・ウオークス). In the 16 June 1937 issue of Asahi Graph there was another ad (visible in this page) with two company names: Walz Works and Nihon Shōkai (literally "ワルツウオークス製・日本商會", "Made by Walz Works, Nihon Shōkai"). This would indicate that Walz Works was the maker and Nihon Shōkai was the distributor. The camera pictured in the ads is a strut folder for 127 film (apparently 3×4cm format), with a small tubular optical finder on top. Walz is engraved in the front plate and embossed in the front leather. It has a 50mm f4.5 Walz lens and shutter speeds of 1/25 – 1/100 as well as T and B. Kokusan kamera no rekishi (see below) identifies Walz Camera Works as Okada Kōgaku (which it also describes as the manufacturer of the 1942 Waltax, although not of any of the various postwar Waltax models). It is certainly the same camera that is listed in McKeown as the "Walz Baby" under the Okada entry.
References / further reading
- 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.
