Camex Six
The Camex Six is a rebadged Mamiya Six (it is a Six IV), imported to India by Patel India. This appears to have been the wholesale/importing company of A.J. Patel, also the proprietor of the retailer Central Camera Co. in Mumbai (which some years later advertised one, much simpler camera, the Cenette, as its manufacturer).
The Camex Six differs from any other Mamiya Six IV only by a branding in the metal of the top plate; instead of the Mamiya-6 engraving, quite a handsome 'lens-diagram' logo with CAMEX SIX and PATEL INDIA LTD around and inside it. Mamiya's own 'lens' logo is also there on the top plate, the joint of the struts and the sliding cover of the red window.
The camera has a 7.5cm f/3.5 Zuiko lens in a Seikosha-Rapid shutter with times 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B'. In two of the examples seen, the lens is engraved Takatiho (not Olympus; Takatiho was Olympus' company name until 1949, so this dates the lens).[1] The few other examples seen have an Olympus-branded Zuiko. It is curious that the older Takatiho-branded lens is on the camera with the highest body serial number: it seems very unlikely that the lens is original to that camera.
The pattern of the serial numbers of the cameras cited here is interesting in itself, though it is a small sample. It is striking that all but one of the body serials fall in a range of 178 (between 42954 and 43132), and the other one is 1434 units below that bracket. It is tempting to suggest that may be a survivor from a first, small batch of the cameras imported, and the others represent a second and larger batch.
Notes
- ↑ Camex Six serial no.43132 and two other folding cameras sold at auction by Chiswick Auctions in October 2023. The lens is a Takatiho Zuiko 7.5cm f/3.5 serial no.39820, in a Seikosha-Rapid shutter.
Links
- Examples at auction etc. All of these have a Seikosha-Rapid shutter:
- Camex Six serial no.41520: uncoated Takatiho Zuiko serial no.39769, sold by Christie's
- Camex Six serial no.42954: coated Olympus Zuiko, serial no.66056 and shutter serial no.4810358, offered for sale as Ebay item 266792964696.
- Camex Six serial no.43000: coated Olympus Zuiko ,serial no.65111 and shutter, with leather case with Camex Six logo impressed in the front, sold as Ricardo (Swiss online auctions) item 1256405174.
- Camex Six serial no.43094, with coated Olympus Zuiko serial no.65345 in Seikosha-Rapid shutter, at the Museo Nazionale della Fotografia Cinefotoclub Brescia.
- Camex Six serial no.43105 (body only; lens and shutter have been changed) at Collection Appareils.
- Camex Six serial no.43122 with coated Olympus Zuiko serial no.65250, sold by Christie's (no photo).
