Difference between revisions of "Rocky Semi"
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| − | The '''Rocky Semi''' (ロッキーセミ) is a [[Japanese 4.5×6 folders|Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera]] made by [[Umemoto]] and distributed by [[Endō]] | + | The '''Rocky Semi''' (ロッキーセミ) is a [[Japanese 4.5×6 folders|Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera]] made by [[Umemoto]] and distributed by [[Endō]] from 1953.<REF> Distributed by Endō: [http://umemoto.ecnet.jp/corp2/corp2.htm Umemoto history page]. </REF> |
== Possible wartime predecessor == | == Possible wartime predecessor == | ||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
== Lens and shutter equipment == | == Lens and shutter equipment == | ||
| − | According to {{Kokusan}}, | + | The Rocky Semi was completed and sold in 1953 for {{yen|8,300|1954}}.<REF> [http://umemoto.ecnet.jp/corp2/corp2.htm Umemoto company history], quoting the testimony of Umemoto Hideo, son of Umemoto Kinzaburō. </REF> According to {{Kokusan}}, it was featured in the May 1954 special issue of ''Photo Art'' about folders, and it had a Rocky 75/3.5 lens and an [[MSK]] shutter giving B, 1–200 speeds, synchronized and equipped with a self-timer.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p. 375. </REF> |
The two lens and shutter assemblies pictured in the [http://umemoto.ecnet.jp/corp2/corp2.htm#s29-2 Umemoto history page] were found by Umemoto Akio (grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō) and it is supposed that they were intended for the Rocky Semi. Both lenses are engraved ''NITSUKO Anastigmat 1:3.5 F=7.5cm No.xxxx'' and they have very close serial numbers (1347 and 1349). No Nitsuko lens is known on any other camera. | The two lens and shutter assemblies pictured in the [http://umemoto.ecnet.jp/corp2/corp2.htm#s29-2 Umemoto history page] were found by Umemoto Akio (grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō) and it is supposed that they were intended for the Rocky Semi. Both lenses are engraved ''NITSUKO Anastigmat 1:3.5 F=7.5cm No.xxxx'' and they have very close serial numbers (1347 and 1349). No Nitsuko lens is known on any other camera. | ||
Revision as of 13:56, 18 February 2007
The Rocky Semi (ロッキーセミ) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera made by Umemoto and distributed by Endō from 1953.[1]
Contents
Possible wartime predecessor
The "Inquiry into Japanese cameras" (国産写真機ノ現状調査) listing all the Japanese cameras as of April 1943 mentions a Semi Makinet (セミマキネット) made by Umemoto and distributed by Kikōdō.[2] The camera is registered as a 4.5×6 folder with a steel body (presumably pressed steel). The shutter is mentioned as a Northter I (ノースタⅠ) made by Nishida. A choice of two lenses is mentioned: Wester 75/4.5 and Wester 75/3.5, both made by Nishida too and both having three elements.
Absolutely no other mention of this model is known and no surviving example has ever surfaced. It is not known if the camera was effectively completed and sold. Umemoto Hideo, son of Umemoto Kinzaburō, founder of the company, testified that rather large dies salvaged from the destruction of the Kameido-machi plant during the bombing of Tokyo in 1945 were stocked and perhaps re-used for the Rocky Semi.[3] They were perhaps the press dies for the Semi Makinet body.
Description of the body
Unfortunately no complete example of the Rocky Semi is known to have survived. The only pictures observed so far are those displayed in the Umemoto history page that show an unfinished naked body and two lens and shutter assemblies. The body has a pressed steel construction and appears to be a vertical folder. The back is hinged to the left and has a single red window, protected by a horizontally sliding cover.
It seems that the pressed steel construction was adopted for cost reasons. Around 1951, Umemoto Kinzaburō visited the company Tanaka Daikasuto (田中ダイカスト, meaning Tanaka Diecast) which made the body castings of the prewar Super Makinet Six and Super Flex Baby, but the price of making a new diecast body was too elevated.[4] It is supposed that it was chosen instead to reuse the press dies dating from the Semi Makinet.
Lens and shutter equipment
The Rocky Semi was completed and sold in 1953 for ¥8,300.[5] According to Kokusan kamera no rekishi, it was featured in the May 1954 special issue of Photo Art about folders, and it had a Rocky 75/3.5 lens and an MSK shutter giving B, 1–200 speeds, synchronized and equipped with a self-timer.[6]
The two lens and shutter assemblies pictured in the Umemoto history page were found by Umemoto Akio (grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō) and it is supposed that they were intended for the Rocky Semi. Both lenses are engraved NITSUKO Anastigmat 1:3.5 F=7.5cm No.xxxx and they have very close serial numbers (1347 and 1349). No Nitsuko lens is known on any other camera.
One of the shutters in marked MSK at the bottom of the speed rim and corresponds to the description given by Kokusan kamera no rekishi, with an ASA synch post, a self-timer and B, 1–200 speeds. The MSK shutter was also mounted on some Mihama cameras and was made by a company called Shibayama.[7] The other shutter is marked TKS at the bottom of the speed rim and TOSEI at the bottom of the shutter plate. It gives B, 1–200 speeds, has a self-timer and a single synch pin. The TKS shutter was made by Tōsei Kōki and it was usually mounted on the Frank Six.
Notes
- ↑ Distributed by Endō: Umemoto history page.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa", items 75–6. The name Kikōdō (暿光堂) is given as 日暿光堂.
- ↑ Umemoto company history.
- ↑ Private communication by Umemoto Akio, son of Umemoto Hideo and grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō.
- ↑ Umemoto company history, quoting the testimony of Umemoto Hideo, son of Umemoto Kinzaburō.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 375.
- ↑ Private communication by Umemoto Akio, grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō, the founder of the Umemoto company.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7. Item 1054. (Unlike most other entries in this book, no advertisement is reproduced and no picture is given.)
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7.
Links
In Japanese:
| Umemoto cameras | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6×6 strut folders | 4×4 SLR | 4.5×6 folder |
| Super Makinet Six | Neure Six | Super Flex Baby | Semi Makinet | Rocky Semi |
