Olympus Six1939

History

Takachiho Optical Industries introduced the Olympus Six in 1939 as a step up from their earlier Olympus Standard (1936-1938), moving from the smaller 4.5x6 format to a full 6x6 square format on 120 film. The Six followed the dominant design language of the late 1930s Japanese medium-format market: self-erecting bellows, a fixed Zuiko lens, and a viewfinder separate from any focus aid. Japanese domestic production was sharply curtailed after 1941 as wartime material controls tightened, and the model did not survive in meaningful quantity beyond ~1944. The Six represents a transitional phase for Takachiho — between the Standard and the postwar Olympus 35mm and medium-format lines that emerged in the late 1940s.

Variants are documented but poorly distinguished in surviving literature. Lens and shutter combinations varied across production batches; the Koho shutter is found on early units, with Seikosha appearing on later examples.

Why It Matters

The Olympus Six is significant primarily as an early artifact of the Olympus/Takachiho lineage. It demonstrates the Japanese optical industry's rapid assimilation of European folding-camera design conventions in the late 1930s, combined with domestically produced optics from Takachiho's Zuiko lens line. For collectors of Japanese prewar cameras, it sits alongside the Minolta Automat, Mamiya Six, and Konica Pearl as key data points in understanding how the industry developed before and during World War II.

The Zuiko lenses on these cameras are capable performers by the standards of the era — rendering with adequate resolution for 6x6 contact prints and moderate enlargements. Collectors prize the Olympus Six less for optical performance than for historical provenance.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Primarily Japanese domestic market use — professional and advanced amateur photographers working in medium format in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
• Collector and historical-research interest today; rarely used as a shooting camera.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Olympus Six
• Wikipedia: Olympus Corporation