Hanimex 35 Auto EE / Auto EE CdS

The journey at my camera shelves has taken me to unchartered lands. I found two cameras that were not in my database, which is odd.

The cameras are sister models, the Hanimex 35 Auto EE and the Auto EE CdS. Hanimex of Australia was a distributor that rebranded cameras under their name, in most cases retaining the original name so models can be traced back to the manufacturer.

Hanimex was established in the early 1940s by Jack Hannes, MOT, who left Germany in 1933 before the gates were terminally closed, as did my grandfather, also named Jack.

The company began selling post-war Japanese-made cameras and diversified into distributing and manufacturing other photography peripherals. In later years, it added consumer electronics, all under the Hanimex name, and expanded into other countries. The first #110 format pull-out pocket camera was designed by Hanimex engineers and made by Sedic in Japan.

It seems that Hanimex sold any camera model they could get, including the Japanese-made Topcon, Taron, Sedic, Walz, and Royal; and Praktica, Dacora, Regula, Vredeborch, Finetta, and Durst from Germany, east and west. It was probably a nightmare for the service lab.

Both models, the Hanimex 35 Auto EE and the Auto EE CdS were made by Nippon Kōsokki Seisakusho, better known as Taron. This short-lived post-war Japanese manufacturer sold cameras under its name as well as made cameras for other distributors, such as Hanimex, Fodor, Sears, Brumberger, Amica, Porst, Viceroy, Boots and BA camera, known for audio equipment, and made their NKS shutters for brands such as Mamiya, Fujica, Topcon, and Tougodo.

Taron made its first camera, the Taroflex TLR, in the early 1940s and paused for a decade. Then, it mainly made compact rangefinders and rewinders until it caved out in the late 1960s. All of the Taron models I have, including these two, require CPR, and perhaps the build quality was the reason for the company’s early demise.

There seems to be some cross-pollination between Taron and Royal Camera, but it is the subject of another article.

As per above, both camera models were rebranded under other names, either under Taron or brands, some with minor cosmetic changes:

The Auto EE CdS:

• Porst EE18
• B-A Auto EE
• Taron Auto EE CdS
• Viceroy Electroniic 1000
• Cavalier EE Auto 35
• Marquis
• Eyelux
• Promaster
• Boots Amica
• Amica Eyelux

The Auto EE:

• Taron EL 28
• Taron unique

I am certain that there are a few more rebrands.

The two cameras are very close in appearance but not identical:

The Auto EE:

• Flat top, with recessed accessory shoe, surface-mounted winding lever with an embedded, manual reset frame counter.
• Large and clear viewer, clear parallax marks, but a tiny rangefinder patch, hardly visible.
• The synch port is side-mounted.
• The aperture dial is on the lens assembly, closest to the body, and has an auto position marked red.
• Next is the shutter speed dial, offering a modest selection of B to 250.
• The film speed setting is on the same dial, visible in two windows, one for DIN and the other for ASA. To select, use the fin under the lens barrel.
• At the front is the distance dial, marked in feet and meters.
• The selenium meter is set around the lens.
• To shoot, set the aperture to auto and select the desired shutter speed. The camera will choose the aperture setting and show it in a window within the viewer. Alternately, for manual shooting, set both the f value and shutter speed.

The Auto EE CdS

• Flat top with offset surface-mounted accessory shoe.
• The winder lever protrudes from the back.
• Frame counter under a lens, manual reset via a thumb grip by it.
• The front looks similar to the Auto EE, but with an added CdS meter lens, front mounted on the nameplate.
• The viewfinder is similar to the Auto EE, as bright with the same minute rangefinder patch.
• The focusing dial is on the lens assembly, closest to the body, assisted with a prominent finger rest.
• Next is the aperture dial, with an auto setting marked in red.
• On the same ring are the self-timer lever, the synch selector lever and the synch port.
• In front is the shutter speed dial, offering a better selection than the Auto EE: B, 1-500. The film speed shows through two windows, for ASA and DIN, selected via a fin at the bottom of the lens barrel.
• To shoot, set the aperture to auto and select the desired speed, and the camera will set the f value, showing at the top of the viewer. For manual, select both the shutter and aperture values.
• Unlike the Auto EE, this model takes a battery, a PX 625 or equivalent. The circuit opens once the shutter is cocked. The battery compartment is on the side.

Both have the same film chamber, roomy enough to handle the film, with an integral take-off pivot and two guide cogs, all operated by the winder.

For the collector, it doesn’t merit any effort. I got both cameras as freebies; otherwise, I would have passed.

Hanimex 35 Auto EE images

Hanimex 35 Auto EE CdS images