Semi Dymos

The Semi Dymos (セミダイモス) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folder, sold by Seibidō between 1935 and 1937. The Hansa Semi Rollette and the original Semi Rosen are certainly name variants of this camera (see the discussion in the corresponding pages).

General description

The Semi Dymos is an Ikonta copy, with the typical Ikonta struts. There is a folding optical finder in the middle of the top plate. Its front part folds above the back one and it is perhaps of the Newton type. The folding bed release is on the right of the viewfinder and the film advance key is at the bottom right — as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally. The back is hinged to the left and the back latch is covered by a leather handle. The brand name Dymos is embossed in the front leather in cursive style: the "D" is very large and contains the rest of the letters.

The Semi Dymos A to F

The original Semi Dymos, released in 1935, has no body release and has two red windows in the back, protected by a cover that is certainly retracted by turning a knob. Only one surviving example has been observed so far.

In an advertisement dated January 1936, the following versions were offered:

• Model A (Ａ號): Radionar f/6.3 lens, Rulex shutter (¥49);
• Model B (Ｂ號): Radionar f/4.5 lens, Light shutter (¥55);
• Model C (Ｃ號): Lausar f/4.5 lens, Light shutter (¥59).

It seems that in some advertisements the range was as follows:

• Model A: Radionar f/6.3, Rulex;
• Model B: Dymos f/4.5, Light;
• Model C: Radionar f/4.5, Light;
• Model D: Lausar f/4.5, Light.

In mid-1936, the A, B, C, D models were replaced by the models E and F. In advertisements dated May and December 1936, they are described as follows:

• Model E (Ｅ號): Radionar f/4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥60 — case ¥5 extra);
• Model F (Ｆ號): Lausar f/4.5 lens, 5–250 speeds (¥63).

The shutter name is not mentioned, but it is probably the Light B mentioned in a later document (see below).

The Semi Dymos II

The Semi Dymos II appeared at the beginning of 1937. It 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. This device is called "talkie numbers" (トーキーナンバー) in the advertisements, and it is emphasized that it is convenient to take pictures in a dark place. There is still a red window at the extreme left of the back, protected by a vertically sliding cover, probably to set the first exposure. (The same device is fitted to the original Semi Rosen, which is certainly a name variant.) No surviving example has been observed so far.

An advertisement dated May 1937 offered the camera in two versions:

• Model EII (ＥⅡ號型): 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 (¥65).

The model 1 (１號型) was mentioned as still available.

The Semi Dymos FV

Semi Dymos leaflet. Click on the image for a translation. (Image rights)

The Semi Dymos FV, released at the end of 1937, is similar to the FII with a body release, placed on the left of the viewfinder.

The camera appears in an advertisement in Asahi Camera October 1937, where it is offered for ¥70 (case ¥5 extra). The document mentions the "talkie numbers", and lists the camera with a Lausar f/4.5 lens and 5–250 speeds. The shutter is certainly the same that was used on the models E and F, and was not originally designed for a body release. In the picture, it is rotated to the left by more than 90 degrees, in order to connect the release lever with the body release linkage. As a consequence, the aperture scale and Light marking appear to the right, whereas they were at the bottom on previous models.

The Semi Dymos FV is also featured in the new products column of the November 1937 issue of Asahi Camera, and the last advertisement reported so far is dated January 1938.

The undated leaflet reproduced in this page shows a model simply called "Semi Dymos". It looks exactly like the FV but the document does not mention the talkie numbers. The lens is described as a Rosen (ローゼン) Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 and the shutter as a Light B (T, B, 5–250). The shutter looks the same as on the FV.

Bibliography

• Anonymous company. Leaflet for the Victory, Semi Dymos, Reex, Baby Ref, Union Ref and Baby Chrome. Date not indicated. Document reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.
• 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.
• Inoue, Mitsuo (井上光朗). "Shashin renzu no yoake. Renzu-ya Funsenki" (写真レンズの夜明け・レンズ屋奮戦記, Dawn of the photographic lens — Fierce war tales between lens shops). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.128–132. (The Lausar lens and Light shutter pictured on p.130 probably belong to a Semi Dymos.)

The Semi Dymos is not listed in Sugiyama.

Links

In Japanese:

• Advertisement for the Semi Dymos and Venus, published in the May 1936 issue of Camera Art, reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura.