C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →tlr-medium-format
The Aires Reflex Z is a 6x6cm twin-lens reflex camera produced by Aires Camera Industry Co. of Tokyo, introduced in 1956. It is a variant or successor within the Aires TLR line, distinguished primarily by the substitution of a Zuiho 75mm f/3.5 taking lens in place of the H.Coral lens used in earlier Aires Reflex models. The Zuiho is a four-element Tessar-type design; the practical optical difference between it and the H.Coral is modest, and both represent the standard of Japanese budget TLR lenses of the mid-1950s.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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About this camera
A 1956 refinement of the Aires TLR line, fitted with a Zuiho 75mm f/3.5 lens on the familiar knob-wind body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120 film, 6x6cm (~12 exposures) |
| Mount | Fixed |
| Taking lens | Zuiho 75mm f/3.5 |
| Viewing lens | Zuiho 75mm f/3.5 |
| Year introduced | 1956 |
| Shutter | Leaf: ~1s - 1/300s + B |
| Flash sync | ~ |
| Meter | None |
| Film advance | Side knob, red-window frame count |
| Viewfinder | Waist-level, ground glass + sports finder |
| Battery | None required |
Aires Camera Industry produced a compact TLR range alongside its more prominent 35mm rangefinder output during the 1950s. The Reflex Z represents a mid-decade update, appearing approximately a year after the original Aires Reflex. The shift from the H.Coral to the Zuiho lens designation may reflect a supplier change or internal production reorganisation at Aires; both are Tessar-type four-element designs and the naming difference carries no reliable quality implication.
By 1956 the Japanese budget TLR market was intensely competitive. Yashica's Yashicaflex and the early Yashica-A were reaching large production volumes, and Ricoh and Mamiya were also active. Aires's TLR models appear to have occupied a secondary commercial position even within the company, which focused its marketing on the 35mm Viscount and related models. Production of the Aires TLR line wound down as the company itself exited the market in the early 1960s.
The Aires Reflex Z is primarily of interest to collectors tracking the short production history of the Aires Camera Industry medium-format line. The Zuiho lens designation is shared with a small number of other Japanese budget TLR cameras of the period, making the Reflex Z part of a loosely connected group of mid-1950s knob-wind TLRs that used interchangeable or similar optical designs.
Optically, the Zuiho 75mm f/3.5 performs in line with the class: adequate centre sharpness at f/5.6 and smaller, softer wide-open rendering, and moderate contrast. Colour rendition is satisfactory for the intended amateur use. The camera is not a standout optical platform but produces usable 6x6 negatives with a working shutter.
C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →Aires Camera Industry Co. Reflex Z
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