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Changes: Halma 6×6 TLR

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The '''Halma Flex''' and '''Halma Auto''' are Japanese 6&times;6 TLR cameras, perhaps made by a company called Hara, successor of [[Lustre]].<REF> Attribution to Hara: message by Koji Namikawa in [http://www.tlr-cameras.com/Japanese/index.html this page at tlr-cameras.com], based on documents about the camera inspections for export. </REF> The '''Prinz Flex''' and '''Prinz Auto''' are name variants of the Halma Flex.
  
The '''Halma Flex''' and '''Halma Auto''' are Japanese 6&times;6 TLR cameras, perhaps made by a company called Hara, successor of [[Lustre]].<REF> Attribution to Hara: message by Koji Namikawa in [http://www.tlr-cameras.com/Japanese/index.html this page at tlr-cameras.com], based on documents about the camera inspections for export. </REF> The '''Prinz Flex''' and '''Prinz Auto''' are name variants of the Halma Flex.
   
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== The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto ==
  
== The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto ==
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|| ''Prinz Auto no.3171.''<br>''Picture courtesy of Glyn Coburn-Gee. {{with permission}}''
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The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto were distributed by the British company [[Dixons]] around 1960.<REF> Terry Scott reports in [http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00C0Mo this thread at photo.net] that he bought a Prinz Auto new in the 1960s. </REF>
  
The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto were distributed by the British company [[Dixons]] around 1960.<REF> Terry Scott reports in [http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00C0Mo this thread at photo.net] that he bought a Prinz Auto new in the 1960s. </REF>
   

Revision as of 19:59, 12 November 2007

  1. REDIRECT Template:Japanese postwar 6×6 TLR

The Halma Flex and Halma Auto are Japanese 6×6 TLR cameras, perhaps made by a company called Hara, successor of Lustre.[1] The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto are name variants of the Halma Flex.

Common features

The Halma Flex and its Prinz name variants 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. The Halma Auto has similar features with a crank advance.

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 was published in Camerart (a Japanese magazine published in English language), perhaps in 1960.[2] It 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.

Evolution of the Halma Flex

The Halma Flex is known with three types of nameplate, all of them 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.

Today, the Halma Flex is surprisingly common in South American online auctions, from Argentina or Brazil; this is perhaps an indication that the camera was exported to these two countries. (A transaction for a Halma Auto has been recorded in Argentina too.)

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.[3] The other corresponds to a Halma Flex IIB.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

Type 3 nameplate

Only one example has been observed so far with type 3 nameplate.[7] 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.

The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto

1987668611_ef21787b77_m_d.jpg
Prinz Auto no.3171.
Picture courtesy of Glyn Coburn-Gee. (Image rights)

The Prinz Flex and Prinz Auto were distributed by the British company Dixons around 1960.[8]

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.[9] 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 Tomioka. The synch post is placed at the top of the front standard, unlike the Halma Flex. The M/X selector has a yellow dot and is not the same as on the Copal-equipped Halma Flex; the aperture scale is marked in red and is reversed, with 3.5 at the bottom. 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.[10] The accessory shoe is reportedly engraved "H.S.", probably for Hara Seisakusho.[11] It is said that the Prinz Auto was also advertised with Halmar lenses.[12]

The Halma Auto

The Halma Auto is a crank advance version of the Halma Flex IIB. It was listed in the 1960 advertisement cited above,[2] where the film advance is described as "fully automatic". It is not known if this corresponds to automatic film loading as on a Rolleiflex, or simply to the faster crank advance, which cocks the shutter at the same time. The advertisement also mentions the ability to make double exposures when required.

The Halma Auto is only known with type 3 nameplate, the newer strap lugs and back latch, whether in the advertising picture or in the only other picture observed so far.[13] The position of the exposure counter window is higher than on the regular Halma Flex, this feature is perhaps shared with the other "type 3" Halma Flex.

Notes

  1. ↑ Attribution to Hara: message by Koji Namikawa in this page at tlr-cameras.com, based on documents about the camera inspections for export.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Advertisement reproduced in this page at tlr-cameras.com.
  3. ↑ Example observed in an online auction, body no.31x02.
  4. ↑ Example pictured in McKeown, p.376.
  5. ↑ Copal-MXV: example pictured in this page at tlr-cameras.com, and example observed in an online auction.
  6. ↑ Black: example pictured in McKeown, p.376. Gray: example pictured in this Lomo.us forum post, body no.44906.
  7. ↑ Example pictured in this Belgium Digital forum post. This particular example has swapped taking and viewing lenses, probably the result of an incompetent repair. The marking of the intended viewing lens begins with VIEWER, instead of the usual VIEW HALMAR.
  8. ↑ Terry Scott reports in this thread at photo.net that he bought a Prinz Auto new in the 1960s.
  9. ↑ Example pictured in this page at tlr-cameras.com, example pictured in this page at Bonhams, and examples observed for sale in online auctions and dealer websites.
  10. ↑ Example observed in an online auction.
  11. ↑ "H.S." engraving: McKeown, p.803. Hara Seisakusho: see Hara.
  12. ↑ McKeown, p.803.
  13. ↑ Example pictured in this page at tlr-cameras.com.

Bibliography

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

Links

In English:

In Dutch:

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