The Photax III camera (2025)

This is an Art Deco styled bakelite medium format camera made in France. Mine is a series III model made from 1947 to around 1956. This one is the deluxe or blindé version, meaning that it has a push-on bakelite lens cap (blindé means armoured). This camera is about as simple as you can get for roll film, and bears comparison with the IlfordSporti I borrowed.

The Photax cameras were made by MIOM, probably as a sideline from their business of making electrical insulators. Their skills in moulding bakelite show in the smooth and rounded camera body.

The film plane is curved because of the simple meniscus lens. There are two apertures, helpfully labelled 1 and 2. I had a look online and found the lens is 82mm focal length, with the apertures coming in at f16 and f22, although other sites say f8 and f11.The aperture holes can stray off the centre of the lens, as the mechanism is quite loose. This will be one to check when taking pictures, as being off-centre may have the effect of a camera movement and change the direction of view of the lens. Not that this will be an exact science – it’s a simple viewfinder on a snapshot camera. If the lens really is 82mm focal length that would make it slightly wide, equivalent to around 40mm on full frame/ 35mm. The lens is supposed to be sharp from 2.75m to infinity, but I guess that depends on your definition of sharp or what size prints you intend to make. The 6×9 negatives could have been contact-printed, so sharpness would have been less of an issue. We’ll see how it turns out with film.

The shutter has speeds of 1/100, 1/25 and T. The T is not a true time setting, as the shutter release has to be held down to keep the shutter open, so it’s actually a B setting. The shutter button is threaded for a cable release though, which will help with long exposures. Incidentally, it does have a tripod socket, but it’s the larger continental type. Not a problem as a cheap adapter brings it down to the current size.

Like my Goldammer, the lens has to be extended for use. The Photax uses a spiral thread, so you twist the lens through one full turn to bring it out. Also like the Goldammer, you can leave the lens out and ready if you think you’re going to use the camera. Screwing the lens in and adding the cap makes the camera a tidy pocketable shape. The various models of Photax seem to have been very popular and sold well, probably because they were available at the right time and price just as the French began to enjoy holidays after the war.

The down side though, is that it uses 620 film. But I’ve already learned to re-spool 120. I did try a 120 spool to see if I could get away with it, but no joy.

The camera has a single strap lug, which I’m going to use as I don’t want to drop the smooth and shiny thing. Bakelite makes nice shapes but it’s fragile and not easy to repair.

The first challenge is removing the film spool from the winder. I naively thought the winding knob would lift to disengage the drive, but the camera lacks even that sophistication. Instead you pull the bottom, non-drive side, end of the spool out of the camera first. With that done I can set to re-spooling a roll of 120 film. I’d already checked that the frame numbers for the eight-on 6×9 format lined-up with the window. The online resource I’d found recommends putting some tape over the red window when it’s not in use, to reduce the chance of fogging on modern panchromatic film. So I loaded a respooled roll of Fomapan 100, lit-up a Gitane, put on a surly expression and a beret and hit the streets.

The first thing I noticed is that it squeaks. I thought the source might be the lens-extending thread or the film winder, as they both run bakelite on bakelite and the surfaces are dry. I thought to try a little spray of furniture polish, but what I found in use is that the loudest squeaks come from the disks at the ends of the film spools rubbing against their tension springs.

The shutter release is also very light. I was expecting a bit more pressure, as it has to tension the shutter spring before releasing it. This means you need to be careful when shooting. If you rest your finger on the release as you raise the camera to your eye you might accidentally press it. You don’t want to jab at it either, as you might be shooting at 1/25th. I’m glad this camera has the extra lens cover, as it protects the shutter release. Originally it may have had a protective case, which would make it easier to carry the curvy camera and protect the release from accidental pokes or presses.

The viewfinder is small, too. It needs to be right up to your eye to see the full width, so it may not be ideal if you wear specs. I thought the viewfinder on the Goldammer was small, but the Photax may be slightly smaller.

I could also compare it to the Ilford Sporti, which was also meant to fill the need for a simple snapshot camera. The Ilford has only one shutter speed but two apertures. It too has a meniscus lens and a curved film plane. The Ilford seems to have wider apertures which may explain the need for a focusing lens, as the depth of field would be shallower. I got pretty poor results from the Ilford’s lens, though.

So, those are the drawbacks of the Photax; what do you get in practice from a simple meniscus lens on a large 6×9 negative?

Well, the first good news is that there were eight recognisable exposed frames on the film. The lens looks like it really is f16 wide open, so this is a definite sunny day camera. The long sides of the negatives have a distinctive bulge, as there is a cut-away section in the film gate to provide clearance for the light-masking components on the back of the lens. The film seems to run easily across them though. The pictures themselves were … a bit soft. You wouldn’t be using this camera for detailed landscapes. For friends, family and events though it would do the job. Indeed it must have, as MIOM sold a shed-load of these as they stayed in production for 23 years, running through six different versions. The camera is marked as being in focus from 2.75m and you can see the foreground going from soft to a bit sharper. The big negative holds some detail, so while it’s not pin-sharp anywhere, it was probably good enough.

So why would you want one of these? Well, it looks great and it’s actually easy to use. It will work best in bright sunlight or with fast film. Get one with a case or the blindé lens cover to avoid double-exposures. Re-roll some 120 film, put on a beret and hit the boulevard.