Sawyer's Apparently brought out their Model IV, a well made Baby Rollei copy featuring a unique 2.8 taking lens, too late to be a significant success. As a camera it was, but both the Super Slide market and their own distribution methods were not at theri best for such cameras.
Both Kodak and the camera manufacturers beat the drum of the Super Slide to drive the market for TLR 127 cameras. Hind-sidghr is always clearer, but I wonder if they had billed the cameras as a Medium Format Alternative to 35mm with all the advantages thereof, if the 127 TLR wave might have been ridden a bit longer.
Made by Topcon and Marketed under both Topcon an Sawyer's Label, my Model iV is the best camera of the Japanese copies. Still, it doesn't offer the construction nor frills and packaging offered by the fine Baby Rollei's of the same vintage. Except for normal body wear (and a sharp dent pictured below), my Sayer's IV works as new. Notice the 3.8 taking and viewing lenses. These were made by Topcon, a prominet player in the camera market of the time.
It provides a rapid-wind crank, and an lense adjustment scheme similar to a Yashica 44 LM, with easily accessed thumbwheels and small windows viewable from above.
My last remaining Baby Rollei RLR is a nice speciment. It shows very little wear. Notice on the front bottom, near the the PC Sync attacment socket it is lacking the small piece of gray leather. It came with the black leather case, which I believe was how these were marketed in Japan in the sixties. It also comes with a book as pictured.
Below are pictued my two working Kamoflex S SLR 127 4x4 Cameras, If they look susspiciously like a later vintage Kawa 6--the were effectively Kawas first foray into the medium format SLR market. The Kawa Six owes its design largely to the efforts made designing this Kowaflex S. I don't know what other models may have been produced for this one to have to be distiguished by addin gan S. I have been told that the S means SLR, but this doesn't wash completely with me.
These are quite rare and even more so when they are working (both of these are). There was a design flaw found in some of these cameras, which predesposed them to the shutter linkage breaking if the specific seqence was not followed. I have a book that tells the proper sequence. I am guessing that maybe this flaw was fixed and perhaps this is why the S was added. But this is reaching. I have had no problem with these little jewels--but most Kamoflexes I have encountered, do not work, adding credence to the above-posed theory. These are said to have come in black too although I have never seen one.
There are two cameras pictured below. One with a yellow filter, one with half a black leather cse. They both work well. The dark stain on one is merely cosmetic and will clean up. Such stains come from the glue that holds the leatherette on not being completely dry when issued. Often Japanese manufacturers used the protective varnish that was used to coat the bare metal with before covering with leatherette to play a dual role and act as the glue too. It worked just fine--except for these stains.
