Welmy 44
The Welmy 44 (ウエルミー44) is a Japanese coupled-rangefinder camera taking 4×4cm exposures on 127 film. It was made by Taisei Kōki in 1959[1], during the short-lived fashion revival of 4×4cm format, also called "super slides".
Description
The Welmy 44 has a combined range- and viewfinder. The name Welmy 44 is engraved on the top plate and a square 44 nameplate is attached to the front leather. The advance knob is at the top right and it both winds the film and cocks the shutter. There is double exposure prevention and multiple exposures are possible. It is not known if there is an auto-stop device or not, and it is said that there is a red window in the back.
The Welmy Terionon 50mm f/3.5 lens is unit-focused by a large focusing ring. It is mounted in a Welmy leaf shutter said to give B, 5–300 speeds.[2]
Commercial life
The Welmy 44 was offered for ¥7,900 in an advertisement dated February 1959.[3] It seems that the company Taisei Kōki disappeared some months later and the camera was only sold for a short time.[4] Only two surviving examples have been observed, including the one pictured in Sugiyama.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Date: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 378.
- ↑ Speeds: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 378, Sugiyama item 3076.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Nihon Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 223.
- ↑ The advertisements by Taisei Kōki listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 378, abruptly stop after May 1959.
- ↑ Sugiyama item 3076, and example seen for sale at a Japanese dealer.
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 1130.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Item 3076.
