Walz Envoy 35
Walz Envoy 35

Walz Envoy 35

This is the Walz Envoy 35, manufactured in the late 1950s in Japan. On first glance there doesn’t appear to be anything special about it, but on closer inspection nice touches appear. The lens is a fast Kominar f1.9 which pairs nicely with the Copal shutter and its 1/500 top speed.

The Walz logo has one of my favorite lettering styles, but I question the 35 in quotes. Either it’s the Envoy 35 or it isn’t. To be fair there are a number of cameras out there that put various aspects of their name in quotes, more often than not they occupy the low to mid-range portion of the price spectrum.

The Envoy 35 is a well built camera, not too heavy and with a smooth yet firm focus ring that makes it easy to dial in focus, but can sometimes hinder the ability to focus quickly. The thumb advance lever works well, but is not nearly as smooth as other cameras from this era, like the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super.

MakeWalz
ModelEnvoy 35
Year1958-ish
Format35mm
ShutterCopal-SVL
SpeedB, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500
LensNitto Kogaku S Kominar
 f1.9 48mm
Focus2.7ft – ∞
Aperturef1.9 – 16
Light MeterNo
Focus SystemRangefinder

Sample images taken on Ultrafine Xtreme 100, stand-developed 30 minutes in Kodak HC-110.

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