Semi Mihama
The Semi Mihama (セミ・ミハマ)[1] is a Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera, produced by Mihama (or Suruga) between about 1952 and 1954.[2] There are at least two versions, differing by the shape of the top, of which one has shutter variants. The Korin, Semi Crystar U and Union Model U are extremely similar to the first version, of which they are probably name variants.
General description
The Semi Mihama are vertical folders, with no rangefinder and controlling film advance via a red window on the back. The folding struts are copied on the Ikonta. The viewfinder and controls are to the right (as seen by a photographer holding the camera vertically), the reverse of the majority of the 4.5×6 folders. The body release is tripped by the right hand; the folding bed release, accessory shoe and advance knob are to the left of the viewfinder. The back is hinged to the right.
All the models have a C. Mihama Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 coated lens. (Mihama does not seem to have been a lens maker, and "Mihama" lenses can be presumed to have been a mere matter of branding.)
First version
The first version has no top housing, only a top plate which supports the tubular finder and the other controls. The advance knob is engraved with a red arrow to indicate the winding direction. The name Mihama is embossed in the front leather, inside an oval.
An advertisement in the May 1952 issue of the Japanese magazine Camera Fan[3] by Mihama Seikō shows the Semi Mihama as a cheaper alternative to the Mihama Six. Three versions are advertised, differing by the shutter:
- Model I, MHS shutter (B, 25–150);
- Model II, MHS shutter (B, 10–200);
- Model III, NKS shutter (B, 1–200, with self timer).
The distributor name is King Shōkai (キング商会) and no price is indicated.
Other shutter variants are known::
Second version
The second versions has top housing containing the finder and supporting the accessory shoe and shutter release. This top housing stops just at the right of the advance knob.
This model is known from an advertisement in the January 1954 issue of the Japanese magazine Shashin Salon[6] by Mihama's successor Suruga Seiki. The shutter is an NKS (B, 1–200, with self timer); the camera is not referred to as "III" or anything else beyond simply "Semi Mihama". No price is indicated No surviving example has been observed so far.
Notes
- ↑ It is called "Mihama Semi" in Sugiyama, items 1343–4, and in McKeown, p. 908, but not in the advertisements observed.
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 370, mentions advertisements dated 1952 and 1954.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 199.
- ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1343, and example observed in an online auction.
- ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1344.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 199.
Sources / further reading
- 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. Pp. 198–9, 370.
- 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). Page 908.
- Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Items 1343–4.
