Difference between revisions of "Semi Kulax and Kiko Semi"
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Revision as of 16:06, 3 March 2008
The Semi Kulax is a Japanese 4.5×6 folder made by Kigawa Seimitsu in 1941 and 1942.[1] It was succeeded by the similar Kiko Semi.
Description
The Semi Kulax is a copy of the 4.5×6 Nettar with a short top housing containing both an eye level finder and a brilliant finder. The shutter release and folding bed release are symmetrically placed at both ends of this top housing. There is a key at the bottom right to wind the film. The lens is front-cell focusing, surrounded by a depth-of-field scale. The name KULAX is embossed in the front leather.
Versions
The Semi Kulax was released in 1941. An advertisement dated January 1942[2] lists two versions, both with an Erinar Anastigmat 75/3.5 lens and a shutter called Kikō (キコー):
It is unknown if there was a model II. The camera is advertised together with the Gotex, and the distributor is Nichiei Shōkai (successor of Optochrom-sha and predecessor of Kikō Shōji). In the advertising picture, the shutter housing is black, the aperture scale is a separate part and the speed settings are only engraved in the shutter rim. In the example pictured in this page, the shutter housing is all chrome and has the speed and aperture settings engraved.
Actual example
The example pictured in this page has a different shutter housing, all chrome with the speed and aperture settings engraved. The lens is engraved KIKO Anastigmat Erinar 1:3.5 f=75mm N°74629. The shutter is reported to be a Rapid-Kiko, apparently giving T, B, 1–500 speeds (the top speed is unsure).
Above the eye level finder, the top housing is engraved KSK in big letters and TOKYO JAPAN KIGAWA KōGAKU 2601. The year 2601 corresponds to 1941 in the Japanese mythological calendar that was sometimes used in military ruled Japan. (A similar engraving is faintly visible in the advertising picture, and it has also been observed on some examples of the Gotex, Kiko Semi and Tsubasa Kiko III.)
  
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| Pictures courtesy of eBayer Duffherm. (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.336. This camera is mistakenly called "Kulex" and dated 1948 by McKeown, p.464.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.68.
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 75.
- McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P.464.
