Talk about Photox 6789 cameras

Hello folks,

This is my first post here in the forum.
I bought a Photox 6789 in Japan yesterday and it's on its way to me. It doesn't come with a lens board, but I've read that simple pieces of sheet metal 1mm thick will work. Is that correct?

Also, is it possible to use lenses in Copal #1 shutters? I have a 105mm Nikkor that sits in a Wista-Press shutter that is size #1. Until now I only found pictures showing Photox cameras with lenses in Copal #0 shutters. I really want to use the Nikkor but don't know if it will fit.

Thanks for your help.

P.s.: There seem to be different versions, I bought the obe with front tilt/swing and rise. No more movements.

I’ve never heard of the Photox, but I suspect a Copal #1 will work, looking at pictures. You may need to orient the shutter on the lens board carefully so none of the parts of the shutter that stick out interfere camera controls. I have a Linhof baby Technika that came with a Xenotar 100mm f2.8, and it fits but barely, and it needs to be turned so the certain parts don’t interfere.

I’m surprised a Nikkor 105mm is in a #1 shutter. Which 105 is it? I have a 105mm M which is in a #0, and the 105mm W came in a #0 as well.

I'm really looking forward to getting the camera. I've read that it's supposed to be made by Nagaoka.

It's a Nikkor-Q 3.5/105mm lens with a Wista-Press shutter. I wanted a lens with a self-cocking shutter, and I really like this Nikkor. The lens elements are tiny compared to the size of the shutter.

I'm almost positive that Copal #1 shutters will fit. Does anyone know the diameter of the hole in the front standard of the Photox? That size is my main concern. I'll also use shims to increase the distance between the shutter and the lens board by about 1 mm. That should help with the Copal #1 shutters' larger size.

silbersalz said:

I'll also use shims to increase the distance between the shutter and the lens board by about 1 mm. That should help with the Copal #1 shutters' larger size.

Click to expand...

probably a good fallback plan. I think the camera you got is pretty uncommon but photrio user @B.S.Kumar has sold a number of other 6x9 Japanese wood cameras, so he may be familiar with what you have. The Nikkor-Q are older lenses, but I suspect my -M is the same optical design as your -Q. If so the rear element won't cause any issue. The big difference is the 35mm lensboard hole for #0 and the 42mm hole for #1. Looking at one on eBay ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/146267187240 ) there is clearly space on the lens board for 7 more mm, and the hole on the front standard is much larger so I doubt the 42mm hole will cause an issue.

The Photox finally arrived yesterday.

A little comparison with my Wista Field DX:

6x9 vs. 4x5 - Photox vs. Wista Fiels DX

Two Japanese wooden cameras. One for roll film cassettes (Mamiya/Horseman), the other for everything that fits under the focusing screen and is suitable for 4x5.

The Photox weighs 520 g, the Wista around 2 kg.

The Photox has 160 mm extension, the Wista 300 mm.

The Photox has rise, tilt and swing at the front standard, tilt at the rear. The Wista has rise, fall, tilt and swing at the front and swing, tilt and shift at the rear.

Cute little thing next to its big brother! I’d personally be a bit limited with 160mm max bellows, though if you need longer there are a lot of telephotos that could work, I suppose.

I wanted to get in touch again because I now have the Photox 6789 with me. Because there is not much information about the camera on the web, I would like to give the forum a short overview of the camera.




The camera is made of wood and can use roll film cassettes from Horseman, Mamiya or Singer. It has one Graflok slider for this. When folded it is just 16x12x7 cm in size. It weighs 560 g without lens board and lens. The tripod connection is in the center of the base plate.



The focusing screen has markings for the standard 6x9 and 6x7 film formats, and a grid is also etched into it.




The camera allows a few movements, albeit only to a small extent. The front standard is equipped with 1.5 cm rise and 0.5 mm fall. It also has 10° tilt in both directions and a swing of 10° is possible by screwing the front standard to the bed. The rear standard can be tilted backwards by 10°, the forward tilt is only limited by the bellows.



The camera allows lenses in shutters up to size Copal #1, but these are very large for the small front standard. It is therefore necessary to raise the lens by about 1 mm from the lens board. I have solved this with a simple sheet metal ring.



Which brings us to the lens boards. Because I couldn't get an original lens board, I commissioned my own as a 3D print. They have an outer dimension of 64x61 mm and a thickness of 2 mm. The hole in the front standard has a diameter of 51 mm. This restricts the use of many wide-angle lenses because modern designs often have rear lens elements that are too large.



And last but not least, the information on the bellows extension is still missing. The minimum flange focal distance I can set is about 50 mm, the maximum is about 155 mm. So far I have used lenses from 90 mm to 135 mm focal length. A Tele-Xenar or Tele-Arton with 180 mm is still on my wish list.

To fold the camera, the front standard is detached from the bed and pushed into the housing. The Rietzschel Linear Anastigmat (very very nice lens!) shown in the pictures fits perfectly into the camera. I also have a Trioplan 135 mm with aperture 6.3, which also fits perfectly in the camera.

Very nice. I have two Tele-Arton 180mm lenses with my baby Technika. The ƒ5.5 is nice and appropriately compact. The ƒ4 tele Arton is just way too big for these small cameras. Its kind of surprising the Nikkor is in a #1 shutter, since the Nikkor-M 105/3.5 is in a #0 and I think the Q was a predecessor. I also kind of like the hinged glass. Most of the other 6x9 view cameras I have require you to take off the glass and put it somewhere because you need both hands free to mount the roll film holder.

I've never heard of the f4 Tele-Arton before. It's an interesting lens but it's really big.

The Nikkor-Q in the press shutter is a good lens. I bought it because it was cheaper than the Nikkor-M and I wanted a lens with a self-cocking shutter. I do not expect there to be a much difference in image quality. However, the shutter is a bit oversized.


The hinged ground glass was one of the main reasons for buying the Photox. I find this feature very handy.