Halma 6×6 TLR

1. REDIRECT Template:Japanese postwar 6×6 TLR

This is a work in progress.

The Halma Flex and Halma Auto are Japanese 6×6 TLR cameras, perhaps made by a company called Hara, successor of Lustre.

The Halma Flex

Common features

The Halma Flex are regular copies of the Rolleicord. The front plate moves back and forth for focusing. The film advance knob is on the photographer's right and the focus knob is on the left. The release button is placed at the bottom of the front standard, on the photographer's right, and the synch post is buried in the front plate on the opposite side. It seems that all the models have a sportsfinder in the viewing hood and an accessory shoe.

All the examples of the Halma Flex observed so far have a Halmar Anastigmat 8cm f/3.5 taking lens and most have a View Halmar 8cm f/3.5 viewing lens.

Advertised versions

The only advertisement for the Halma 6×6 TLR observed so far is reproduced in this page at tlr-cameras.com. It was published in Camerart (a Japanese magazine published in English language), perhaps in 1960. The advertisement was inserted by Tohko Co., Ltd., certainly the distributor of the camera, and also presents the Halma 44 and the Owla Stereo. Four versions of the Halma Flex are listed, all of them having a synchronized shutter of the "Prontor type" (B, 1–300, self-timer):

• Halma Flex I: red window film advance, push-on filters;
• Halma Flex IB: red window film advance, bayonet filters;
• Halma Flex II: semi-automatic film advance, push-on filters;
• Halma Flex IIB: semi-automatic film advance, bayonet filters.

The description says that the exposure counter of the semi-automatic models is automatically reset to "S" when the back is opened.

Actual examples

The Halma Flex is known with three types of nameplate; all of them are inscribed HalmaFlex. Type 1 is oval and has a small serial number, type 2 is almost rectangular and has a serial number too, type 3 is almost oval and has no serial number.

Type 1 nameplate

Two examples are known so far with type 1 nameplate. One corresponds to the Halma Flex IB specifications and has a serial number in the 31xxx range. The other corresponds to a Halma Flex IIB. The accessory shoe is on the photographer's right and the strap lugs are identical to those of the last Lustreflex models. The two cameras have a simple shutter casing with a silver shutter plate.

Type 2 nameplate

Most examples observed have type 2 nameplate and a serial number in the 4xxxx range. They have the same strap lugs as the previous camera, and the accessory shoe is on the right too. The focus knob has a silver depth-of-field scale, probably also present on the earlier example.

The semi-automatic examples have a round exposure counter window above the accessory shoe, and no red window in the back. The position of the first exposure is certainly set by aligning the start mark of the leader paper with a mark inside the body. Some examples have the same simple shutter casing as on the type 1 camera described above, others have a Copal-MXV shutter under a more elaborate black casing.

The manual examples have a round red window in the back, protected by a vertically sliding cover. The model I has a black shutter plate and a slightly different shutter release; one of them is known with gray leatherette covering.

Type 3 nameplate

Only one example has been observed so far with type 3 nameplate. It is similar to the camera pictured in the 1960 advertisement, and many minor features differ from the previous examples. There are new shorter strap lugs, a different back latch engraved JAPAN, and a different focus knob with a film reminder and a black depth-of-field scale. The accessory shoe has moved to a new location above the focus knob. The shutter release is bigger and contains a cable release thread.

Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto

The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto were distributed by the British company Dixons around 1960.

The Prinz Flex is a name variant of the Halma Flex I (type 2). The nameplate reads PRINZ FLEX and has a four-digit serial number inscribed above in small characters. All the examples observed so far have gray leatherette covering; except for the nameplate, they are similar to the gray Halma Flex I described above. They have the same Halmar Anastigmat and View Halmar lenses. The main body casting, back and nameplate are grayish too, but the border of the front standard and viewing hood are black. The focus knob is engraved in metres (in red) and feet (in black).

The Prinz Auto is a name variant of the Halma Flex IIB (type 2) with Copal-MXV shutter. It has a Tri-Lausar Anastigmat taking lens and a Tri-Lausar Viewer viewing lens, supplied by Tougodo. The synch post is placed at the top of the front standard, unlike the Halma Flex. The release button is the same as on the Prinz Flex, slightly different from that of the Halma Flex. The nameplate reads PRINZ AUTO and has a four-digit serial number engraved above in small characters. The highest number observed so far is 3171. The accessory shoe is reportedly engraved "H.S.", probably for Hara Seisakusho. It is said that the Prinz Auto was also advertised with Halmar lenses.

Bibliography

• 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.376 and 803.

The Halma Flex, Halma Auto, Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto are not listed in Sugiyama or in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.

Links

In English:

• Pages at tlr-cameras.com:
  • Other Japanese 120 (6×6) TLRs, with a Halma Flex, a Prinz Flex and a Prinz Auto
  • Halma advertisement
• Halma Flex in a thread of the Lomo.us forums
• Prinz Flex, lot no.377 of Bonhams auction no.6610 (3 July 1997)
• TLR album among Alvaro's Pics at Flickr, with pictures of a Prinz Auto: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
• Prinz Auto pictures: [6] and [7] in Chrismehigan's gallery at Flickr:

In Dutch:

• Halma Flex in a post at the Belgium Digital forum