Semi Lyra (postwar)
The Semi Lyra are Japanese 4.5×6 folders. There are two distinct generations: this page describes the models made in 1955 and 1956 by Katsuma Kōgaku.[1]
The models made before and during the war by Fuji Kōgaku are described in the page Semi Lyra (prewar).
General description
The postwar Semi Lyra is a vertical folder with straight folding struts. The back is hinged to the left and film advance is controlled by red window. All the models have a top housing. The Pioneer folder was made by a related company and seems to share the same body casting.
No surviving example of the Semi Lyra has yet been observed, and the descriptions given are based on the advertising pictures.
The Semi Lyra A
The Semi Lyra A (セミライラーＡ型) is the viewfinder version. The viewfinder is enclosed in a top housing, with an accessory shoe on the left. The advance knob is on the left end, together with the shutter release, while the folding bed release is on the right, together with a decorative knob. There is a frame surrounding the viewfinder window, attached to the top housing by two screws.
There is a Semi Lyra engraving above the viewfinder, probably together with the serial number. It seems that there is also a LYRA KATUMA logo engraved in front of the accessory shoe. The front leather is embossed LYRA in capital letters.
The camera is equipped with a Terionar 75/3.5 lens and a Lyra U shutter (B, 1–200, self-timer), synchronized via a PC post. It seems that the lens is engraved KATUMA OPT. CO., "Katuma" being an alternative writing of Katsuma.
Advertisements dated June and December 1955[2] offer this model for ¥6,800. In June, the viewfinder model was simply called "Semi Lira" (with a typo), while it was called Semi Lyra A in December.
The Semi Lyra SR
The Semi Lyra SR (セミライラーＳＲ型) is the uncoupled rangefinder version. It has a different top housing with a squarer shape. The viewfinder window is rectangular and has no surrounding frame, while the rangefinder window is round. The advance knob has moved to the right end of the top plate, and it seems that the folding bed release is under the body. The shutter release is still at the left of the top plate and next to it is a large flat decorative knob.
The top housing is simply engraved Lyra in handwritten style and the front leather is embossed the same.
The camera was announced in the advertisement dated June 1955 mentioned above (mistyped "Semi Lira SR"). In the advertisement dated December 1955, it was offered with a Terionar 75/3.2 lens and a Lyra SU shutter. The price was ¥9,500. The Lyra SU is described with the same features as the Lyra U and the advertising picture shows a LYRA-U engraving on the shutter rim. It is thus possibe that the "SU" name was a mistake.
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 371.
- ↑ Both published in Sankei Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 204.
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 980–1.
- 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. 456.
