The name certainly won’t attract any attention but the Cosmoflex is definitely a hidden gem among the Rolleicord look-alike TLR market.
The best camera is the one that you use the most. For most photographers there’s an eternal question of whether or not to bring their camera with them before they walk out the door. There are many factors that stop us from doing so. I’m often stopped by size, weight and cost. If a camera is too big, heavy and expensive for the occasion, it often stays on my shelf (I’m looking at you Pentax 6×7 MLU). More often than not, I often regret not bringing a camera along with me. Lately, I’ve been reaching for my Cosmoflex TLR before I leave. It is light, small (for a TLR) and most importantly, cheap! I’m not worried about throwing it into my backpack or roughing it up. Because it’s with me, I find myself taking more pictures with it.
It was hard to find information on the Cosmoflex, it joins a veritable army of obscure Japanese cameras and camera companies that rose and fell between 1940 and 1990. The Cosmoflex was produced by the Alfa Camera Seisakusho (アルファカメラ製作所 or Arufa Kamera Seisakusho) which made the Alfaflex and Cosmoflex TLR’s from 1952 to 1954. Despite this narrow window of production, it managed to produce some fairly decent cameras during this time.
I like to test cameras by shooting them wide open to see how it renders bokeh The transition is somewhat abrupt but the area is crisp and sharp.
Fujifilm Neopan Across 100
The Cosmoflex appears to be influenced after contemporary Rolleicord designs. It’s overall design is rather spartan, there is no film counter (a red window to read the paper backing instead), and the winder operates independently from the shutter winder mechanism. It is important to note that the maximum shutter speed is 1/200th of a second which will impact the film the Cosmoflex and comfortable take pictures with (I will get into that in a moment) It focuses by moving the entire lens assembly backwards and forwards.
My copy in particular features a bright screen, and buttery smooth focus. The glass is surprisingly sharp given the relative obscurity of camera and the shutter was in perfect shape. The taking lens renders out of focus areas relatively beautifully. I haven’t shot color film on it yet so I can’t comment on how the lens renders color.
I like the graininess of faster film stocks which requires me to close down the lens, the Cosmoflex handles the details beautifully.
Kodak T-Max 400
I’m always surprised at how sharp the Cosmoflex can be. The viewfinder is a bit dim, but, with some patience you can really nail the focus.
Ilford Delta 100 Professional
It’s never a bad idea to keep a camera in your backpack. I find myself stopping to appreciate the little moments during my COVID walkabouts.
Kodak T-Max 400
Lets talk film. Choosing slower film stocks would be more comfortable with slower cameras like the Cosmoflex. This would limit your choices to finer grain film stocks (Ilford FP4, Delta 100, Portra 160 etc). Despite this, I’ve shoot much faster films (Kodak Tri-X, Tmax, Ilford HP5+) with great levels of success. People often forget that film has a high degree of latitude, don’t shy away from using the faster film stocks!
Because of its relatively limited production run, I can’t openly recommend purchasing a Cosmoflex for yourself. But, I would recommend looking past the name with any camera and taking a chance when the price is right. You’ll never know when you’ll uncover a hidden treasure.