Teiho Optical Blitz 35

In the endless list of post-war Japanese camera startups, there are some names that had made a splash, and some rare as hen’s teeth. The camera on my desk today is one of the latter.

Japan did not have a substantial camera industry prior to WWII. The push that had resulted in a couple of hundred camera micro-brands came from the contingent of half a million GIs posted there after the war, all with (relative) deep pockets and looking for mementos to bring home. For most brands, the need was met by cottage industry, with moms and pops along the supply sub-production lines. Most brands did not expand over the local market; a few exported to the west, and a handful lasted for several decades.

The camera I deal with now is Blitz 35 by Teiho Optical. There is hardly any information about the brand or the model. McKeown defines it as a sister to the Swan 35, and the Blitz was branded for Shiroro in Montreal. The Blitz name hints at German heritage, meaning lightning in German. Oddly, 20 other cameras bear the Blitz name; all are German. Nothing is known about the brand. A stylized SCL within an inverted triangle is at the front. Google Lens suggests it belongs to Wirgin, but I see no supporting information.

Needless to say, as a Canadian, it piqued my curiosity. I searched high and low, and the only Shiroro I found is in an obituary. No mention of any photography connection. There are Shiroros in Australia, Korea, Japan and China; none is associated with this trade. Any information is welcome.

The camera has a split personality; the lens assembly is fine, I guess it was sourced from a specialized, reliable maker. The winder is stuck, so will need to dissect it when the time comes. It raises a question about a mystery lever; see below.

• The camera is compact, an era-typical 35mm rangefinder, styled as other Japanese compatible models. All metal, it sits nicely in the hand. The metal and skin are very clean despite its 70 years of age.
• The top has a lever winder that flicks back onto a pin that originally had a rubber bumper around it. I thought it was the rewind release, but that is at the bottom. The winder does not cock the shutter. A manually reset frame counter surrounds the winder’s base. A trigger sits next to it, a cold shoe is in the middle, and a pull-up rewind knob is on the other side. A film type memo dial is on the rewind knob.
• The hinged back opens via a sliding bolt at the side. Inside is the usual arrangement of a cartridge and a take-off spool hollows, with a machined film track and two sprockets that guide the film and activate the frame stop. A well-made pressure plate is mounted on the back door.
• At the back fascia is the viewer window, on the small size, but typical of the era cameras. By it is a round cover over the rangefinder adjustment
• The front has the two rangefinder split-level windows.
• The lens assembly is mounted on a proud, square breastplate.
  • On the top left-hand is a lever that slides left toward a ‘D’ mark. As the camera winding mechanism is dead, I do not know what this lever does. Suggestions are welcome.
  • Closest to the body is an easy-to-use focusing dial, with a good finger rest. The scales are marked in feet, obviously before Canada became metric in 1970.
  • Next is the shutter speed selector serrated ring, and under that ring, at 8 o’clock, is the aperture setting pointy lever.
  • The shutter cocking lever is under that dial as well, at 1 o’clock.
  • Still below that dial is the self-timer lever, modestly hidden at 6 o’clock.

For the collector, since this is such an elusive model, I recommend having it on the shelf. It is difficult to assess its worth; see suggested values by camdex.ca below. Suggested cost per the printed guides: McKeown US$50, Kadlubek US$40, Auer US$35. These figures are historical, all long in the tooth.