Semi Dymos
The Semi Dymos (セミダイモス) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folder, sold by Seibi-Dō. It is an Ikonta copy with a folding optical finder and a key at the bottom right to advance the film. There is a Dymos logo embossed in the front leather in handwritten style, the "D" is very large and contains the rest of the letters.
The original model has no body release and has two red windows in the back, protected by a cover that is certainly retracted by turning a knob. It is advertised from 1935 to 1937.
In an advertisement dated January 1936[1] the following variants are offered:
- Model A (A型), Radionar f:6.3 lens, Rulex shutter (¥49);
- Model B (B型), Radionar f:4.5 lens, Light[2] shutter (¥55);
- Model C (C型), Lausar[3] f:4.5 lens, Light shutter (¥59).
The designation of these variants is not very coherent: Kokusan kamera no rekishi also mentions a Model D (D型), identical to the Model C cited above, and says that the Model B sometimes has a Dymos f:4.5 lens and the Model C a Radionar lens.
Later in 1936, the A, B, C, D variants were replaced by the Models E and F. In advertisements dated May[4] and December[5] 1936 the following variants are described:
- Model E (E型), Radionar f:4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥60, case ¥5 extra);
- Model F (F型), Lausar f:4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥63).
The Semi Dymos II has a curious system to control film advance by the ear: the film numbers are made audible by a device, whose details are unknown, looking like a square plate on the camera's back. There is still a red window at the extreme left of the back, probably to synchronize the first exposure. This device is called "talkie numbers" (トーキーナンバー).
It is advertised in 1937[6] in two variants:
- Model EII (EⅡ號型 in old writing), Radionar f:4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥62, case ¥4.50 extra);
- Model FII (FⅡ號型), Lausar f:4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥63).
The last variant is the Semi Dymos FV, similar to the FII with a body release. It is advertised in 1937[7] (for ¥70) and 1938[8].
Notes
- ↑ Advertisement for the Semi Dymos (A, B, C) and Venus (FF, F), published in the January 1936 issue of Ars Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 138.
- ↑ Inferred from the katakana ライト.
- ↑ Inferred from the katakana ローザー.
- ↑ Template:Inasan99
- ↑ Advertisement for the Semi Dymos (E, F), published in the December 1936 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 138.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Semi Dymos II (EII, FII), published in the May 1937 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 139.
- ↑ Advertisement for the Semi Dymos FV, published in the October 1937 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, item 139.
- ↑ Mentioned by Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
Printed 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. Items 138–9.
Links
In Japanese: