Welmy 44
From Camerapedia.org
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, during the short-lived fashion revival of 4×4cm format, also called "superslides".
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Description
The Welmy 44 has a diecast body, said to be the same as on the Welmy Wide.[1] There is a coupled rangefinder, combined with the viewfinder. The advance knob is at the right end of the top plate; it is inscribed TAISEI KOKI CO., LTD. and has an arrow to indicate the turning direction. The film is wound and the shutter is cocked in the same movement, a feature called "self-cocking shutter" at the time. However there is no auto-stop device,[2] and the film advance is controlled via a red window at the top of the back. Double exposure prevention is implied by the self-cocking shutter, and voluntary multiple exposures are possible by actuating the external cocking linkage visible on the shutter casing. The release button is at the usual place next to the advance knob, and there is an accessory shoe on the left, above the viewfinder. The back is hinged to the right. The name Welmy 44 is engraved on the top plate and a square 44 nameplate is attached to the front leather.
The Welmy Terionon 50mm f/3.5 lens is unit-focused by a large focusing ring. It is mounted in a Welmy leaf shutter (B, 5–300). The 50mm focal length gives a wider angle than the 60mm lenses mounted on most other 4×4cm "superslide" cameras.
Commercial life
The Welmy 44 was announced in Japanese camera magazines dated February and March 1959, and was advertised from February to May of the same year. It seems that the company Taisei Kōki disappeared shortly after that date.[3] The price of the Welmy 44 was ¥7,900, and the case cost extra ¥700.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Sugawara, p.2.
- ↑ Sugawara, p.2.
- ↑ The advertisements by Taisei Kōki listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.378, abruptly stop after May 1959. Sugawara, p.3, says that Taisei Kōki became dependent of Konica in August 1960.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Nihon Camera February 1959, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.223; advertisement published in the 1959 camera annual by Nihon Camera, reproduced in Sugawara, p.9.
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.
- Sugawara Hiroshi (菅原博). "Uerumī kamera tenmatsuki [ge]" (ウエルミーカメラ顛末記[下], Details of the Welmy cameras [3/3]). In Camera Collectors' News no.266 (August 1999). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha.
- 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.
