Semi Olympus

The Semi Olympus (セミ・オリンパス) is a 4.5×6cm folder. It was the first camera made by Takachiho (predecessor of Olympus), released in 1936 or 1937 and succeeded by the Semi Olympus II. Today, the camera is often called "Semi Olympus I", but it seems that this designation was not used at the time it was sold.

Description

Semi Olympus, Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1098. Picture courtesy of eBayer knight-camera. (Image rights)

The Semi Olympus is a 4.5×6cm folding camera for 16 exposures on 120 film, with a vertical folding bed and a folding optical finder. The body is a copy of the German Baldax (the large model for #0 shutter size). It was made by the Japanese company Proud, and it is the same as the body of the prewar Semi Proud.

The advance knob is at the bottom right, as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally. The film advance is controlled by red windows. The back is hinged to the left and the back latch is covered by a leather handle. The release for the folding bed is to the right of the viewfinder and there is no body release. The name OLYMPUS is embossed in the front leather.

The lens is a four-element Zuiko 75mm f/4.5, focused by turning the front element. It was the first serial produced camera lens from the future Olympus company. The lens rim is engraved Takatiho Tôkyô Zuikô 1:4.5 f=75mm. No.1xxx, except on one example with non original lens, described below.

Early development

Takachiho started to develop camera lenses in 1934. The design team was led by Dr. Miyata (宮田尚一) and comprised Ing. Yanagawa (future chief researcher for lens design in the 1950s); it was placed under the supervision of Mr Suzuki, chief of the optical department. The first results, tried in mid 1936, included a 105/4.5 and a 75/4.5, both with four elements in three groups. Two lens elements out of four were made of Japanese lens glass, supplied by the Osaka Industrial Research Institute (大阪工業試験所, Ōsaka Kōgyō Shikensho).

The company tried to sell the lenses alone, but did not succeed. Miyazaki Shizuma (宮崎静馬), founder of Proud-sha, talked to Mr Kura (内蔵), in charge of commercial planning at Takachiho, and suggested making a camera around the Zuiko lens and selling it under the "Olympus" brand, already registered by Takachiho for microscopes. He offered to supply the camera bodies, the same as those of the Semi Proud, and insisted on adopting the prestigious Compur shutter, to make the camera easier to sell. According to Sakurai Eiichi, only one lot was made before imported shutters became unavailable; he does not state the reason for this, although it might have been a consequence of the outbreak of war with China in Summer 1937.

Original documents

Announce of the Semi Olympus in Camera Club March 1937. (Image rights)

The Semi Olympus was featured in the news column of the March 1937 issue of Camera Club, reproduced above. This is the oldest mention of the model reported in Japanese photographic magazines. (See however the discussion below for another document dated January 1937, mentioning Takachiho entering camera production.) The column is titled "Release of the Semi Olympus camera", and says that the camera was distributed by Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten. It mentions the Zuiko f/4.5 lens and a choice of two shutters: the Auto Compur, at ¥98, and the Rulex A, at ¥78. (Some sources say that the camera was priced at ¥105, but no original document has yet been found to confirm this.)

The camera was advertised in the June 1937 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced below, and perhaps in the July 1937 issue of Ars Camera. The advertisement in Asahi Camera was placed by the distributor Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten — in the same issue of the magazine, the manufacturer Takachiho placed a full-page advertisement for the Olympus Standard. The document mentions the same two versions, with the Rulex A (1–200, T, B) or Auto-Compur, and says that "there is a choice of shutters, between the highest-grade products of imported and domestic production". The prices are unchanged, and the case is listed for extra ¥5. The camera's dimensions are given as 13×7.5×4cm, and the weight as 540g.

Advertisement for the Semi Olympus in Asahi Camera June 1937. (Image rights)

A brochure was also printed for the Semi Olympus. One of the pictures reportedly shows the serial number 1028 on the Zuiko lens. It is very likely that the serial number sequence began at 1001, a common practice among Japanese manufacturers of the time.

Surviving examples

With Compur shutter

The version with Compur shutter is normally recognized as the earliest, and corresponds to the model originally suggested by Miyazaki Shizuma. At least two surviving examples are known, with lens no.1048 and 1142.

The Compur shutter gives T, B, 1–250 speeds, and has a self-timer and a thread to attach a cable release. Its front plate has the FD logo on the right (for Friedrich Deckel), the usual COMPUR marking directly engraved at the bottom and a small plate marked OLYMPUS attached at the top. The OLYMPUS nameplate is screwed above the F.Deckel–München name directly engraved on the front plate, a practice which was adopted by other camera makers at the time.

The aperture scale is screwed to the bottom. It goes from 4.5 to 22 in the current progression (4.5, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22), at least on the camera with lens no.1142.

There is a release arm in front of the shutter plate, linked to the Compur's own release lever, and tripped by the photographer's right hand. The Compur was designed for a body release, and without this linkage the position of the release lever would have been impractical because of the folding struts. The exact same linkage is found on some examples of the Semi Proud with Compur shutter, and no other camera is currently known with this configuration. This suggests that the Compur shutters were supplied by Proud-sha, which fitted the release arm in its own factory.

With Rulex shutter

Semi Olympus, Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1098. Pictures courtesy of eBayer knight-camera. (Image rights)

Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1098. The white filling is missing from the first digit of the lens number. Picture courtesy of eBayer knight-camera. (Image rights)

The version with Rulex shutter, documented by the period advertisement, does not appear in the Western reference books or in the company's historical accounts. Two surviving examples have recently surfaced (both pictured in this page), with lens no.1098 and 1137.

The Rulex gives 1–200, B, T speeds, and has a thread for a cable release but no self-timer. The release lever is quite long and comes in front of the speed setting ring. The shutter plate is of the early type (see the Rulex page). The Rulex name is directly engraved at the bottom, and there is an OLYMPUS nameplate screwed to the top of the shutter plate, the same as on the version with Compur. On the camera with lens no.1098, the nameplate appears to cover the Neumann & Heilemann name directly engraved on the shutter face, whose first letter appears on the side. This is probably the case with the other camera too, but the pictures are less explicit.

The screws attaching the nameplate on both cameras are probably not original: those on the earliest camera (lens no.1098) are cruciform and cannot date from the period, and those on the other example (lens no.1137) look too thick. On either camera, the possibility that the shutter was replaced at some time cannot be completely discarded. Given the amount of converging evidence found so far, it seems difficult to deny the existence of an official version with Rulex shutter, but no complete consensus has been reached yet.

The aperture scale, screwed to the bottom of the Rulex shutter, differs from that of the camera with Compur shutter and lens no.1142. On the camera with lens no.1098, the scale goes from 4.5 to 18, in the older progression (4.5, 6.3, 9, 12, 18). The shape and position of the numerals looks the same as on some examples of the Semi Proud, and this might hint that the Rulex shutters were supplied by Proud too. On the camera with lens no.1137, the scale has an intermediate design: the progression is the newer one from 4.5 to 22 but the design of the numerals is closer to the previous camera than to the camera with Compur. These variations on minor parts are extremely common on Japanese cameras of the period, which did not have the degree of standardization attained at a later period.

Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1137. Picture courtesy of Henk. (Image rights)

Semi Olympus, Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1137. Picture courtesy of Henk. (Image rights)

With non original Koho shutter

It is usually said that there is a later version with Koho shutter. It does not appear in any of the original documents known so far, but many sources, based on historical accounts by the Olympus company, say that it was released in 1937.

The Koho shutter, made by Takachiho itself, was first announced for the Semi Olympus II under the name "Laurel" in October 1937, and the name Koho did not appear until June 1938 (see the discussion in Semi Olympus II). The existence of a Semi Olympus with Koho shutter would imply a long sales overlap with the Semi Olympus II, something which is highly unlikely given that none of the advertisements for the Semi Olympus II mentions the original model. In any case, this version could not have been released in 1937.

However, a murky picture reproduced in a book by Sakurai shows a Semi Olympus with Koho shutter. Unlike the sharp pictures taken of surviving examples from the 1960s onwards, this document looks the same as the retouched pictures usually found in 1930s advertising material. Nothing is known of the provenance of this picture; if proven original, it might confirm that some Semi Olympus were originally fitted with a Koho.

Two surviving examples of the Semi Olympus actually exist with a Koho shutter, but none is original. One has lens no.1078 and a shutter giving 1–200, B, T speeds. The lens number is close to the other numbers mentioned above. However the shutter version is strange: the Koho was first produced for the Semi Olympus II with 1/150 top speed, and the switch to 1/200 top speed did not occur before late 1939 at the earliest. Moreover, the aperture scale goes from 3.5 to 22. It seems extremely likely that the shutter of that particular example was exchanged for that of an Olympus Six II (with f/3.5 lens), perhaps as a repair.

The other example has lens no.6358 and is held by the Olympus company. It has a Koho shutter giving 1–150, B, T speeds. This time the lens number is problematic: the other five cameras are in the 10xx and 11xx range, and the lowest lens number observed so far on a Semi Olympus II is no.1221 on a surviving example with Laurel shutter, and no.1446 or 1448 in an advertisement dated May 1938 (see below), and lens no.7157 has been observed on an Olympus Six, dated c.1940. The lens no.6358 would not have been produced before c.1939.

It is thus likely that the two surviving cameras with Koho shutter are not original. They might be the result of a repair, or might have been created by the company itself, outside the regular production. One prominent author has suggested that the camera with lens no.6358 was created by the company for exhibition purpose, then used as a document rather unscrupulously.

The Olympus company used a picture of an example with Koho shutter, reportedly to 1/200, in a historical article dated August 1960; it is extremely likely that this corresponds to the camera with lens no.6358 held by the company. A previous historical article dated October 1958 shows pictures of various Olympus cameras, but not of the Semi Olympus; this might mean that the camera was reconstructed in the 1958 to 1960 period, but this is obviously no definitive proof.

Release date and total production

Postwar reconstruction

Many sources, including the company's own historical accounts, say that the camera was first sold in 1936; some specify September. This date has not yet been confirmed by any original document, and its actual significance is unknown. It might correspond to the completion of the first camera rather than the actual release to the public.

The earliest mention found of the 1936 release year is an article dated 1958 by Sakurai Eiichi, who entered the company in 1935 and later became its chief camera designer. This document also states that the Semi Olympus I was equipped with the Koho shutter in 1937, a data which is certainly wrong, as seen above. It seems that all the following mentions of the Semi Olympus being released in 1936 essentially rely on this testimony. Blind confidence in this and in the later records published by the Olympus company is ill-advised: the archives of the company were destroyed in the 1945 air raids over Tokyo, and examples abound of mistakes made by major Japanese companies when they tried in the 1950s to reconstruct a record of their own past.

In an interview dated 1992, Sakurai describes a sequence of events which took place between the final lens tests in June or July 1936 and the release of the camera — attempts to sell the Zuiko lenses alone, contacts with Proud, procurement of shutters and contacts with a distributor — but he does not state if these took a matter of days or months, and he does not specifically mention a release month. In an article dated 2005, Matsuzaki Sōichirō (松崎惣一郎), Sakurai's brother-in-law, remembers that he was shown an example of the Semi Olympus around 1936, but he is not very specific on the date either.

Production figures

In any case, the first sales of the Semi Olympus were on a very small scale. The existence of a Semi Olympus II with body no.1063 and lens no.1221 might hint that about 150 or 160 examples of the Semi Olympus I were made only. (This subtraction should be taken with care, because the lenses were not fit to the camera bodies in strictly ascending order.) Finally, the picture in Asahi Camera May 1938 showing lens no.1446 or 1448 on a Semi Olympus II indicates that a grand total of less than 500 Olympus cameras were completed at the time (see Semi Olympus II for a more detailed discussion).

Inconclusive original evidence

Because of the very low production figures, the Semi Olympus I may have remained unmentioned by photographic magazines for a few months. The first mention of the camera, in the March 1937 issue of Camera Club, occurred in a relatively minor magazine; it was never featured in the new products columns of mainstream magazines such as Asahi Camera or Ars Camera, and its appearance in advertisements was very brief.

The chronology published in the July 20, 1967 issue of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin casts more light on the matter. (This document is a compilation of the headlines published in Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin from 1934 to 1967, arranged on a monthly basis.) It mentions Takachiho's entry in the camera business on two occasions. The earliest is dated January 1937: "The company Takachiho Seisakusho (today Olympus) that sold lenses under the Zuikō name in the previous autumn increased its equity by 1 million yen and undertook proper camera production." It is not known if this "proper camera production" corresponds to the first attempts at making camera bodies with the Olympus Standard and Semi Olympus II, or to the release of cameras under the Olympus brand. Moreover, it is unclear if the mention of the Zuiko lenses released in autumn 1936 refers to the first attempt at selling the lenses alone or to their fitting on the Semi Olympus I. In any case, this document is the oldest found so far to mention Takachiho's cameras.

The second mention is dated June 1937: "The successful entry of the company Fuji Kōgaku into the camera business has stimulated other lens makers, and Takachiho Seisakusho, Tōkyō Denki (Oriental), Tōkyō Kōgaku, Nippon Kōgaku, Miyoshi Kōgaku and others have all started camera production." This second extract is not particularly conclusive, and might contain mistakes. However it happens to coincide with the first advertisements for the Olympus Standard, indicating that the company's attempts at camera production became largely known at the time.

More pictures

Semi Olympus, Rulex shutter, Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 lens no.1098. Pictures courtesy of eBayer knight-camera. (Image rights)

Bibliography

Original documents

• Asahi Camera June 1937. Advertisement by Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten for the Semi Olympus (I), p.A65.
• Camera Club March 1937. "Sokuhōtō" (速報塔, News column). P.58.

Older historical accounts

• Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin July 20, 1967. "Gyōkai san-jū-nen no ashiato" (業界三十年の足跡, Records of thirty years in the business). Pp.12–33. Reproduced in Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin (日本写真興業通信). Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku (百号ごと十回の記録, Ten records, every hundred issues). Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin Sha (日本写真興業通信社), 1967. No ISBN number. Pp.230–51.
• Olympus Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. sales department (オリンパス光学工業㈱営業部). "Semi Orinpasu kara Orinpasu Ōto Ai" (セミオリンパスからオリンパスオートアイ, From the Semi Olympus to the Olympus Auto Eye). In Shashin Kōgyō no.100, August 1960. P.24. (Contains major inaccuracies.)
• Sakurai Eiichi (桜井栄一). "Orinpasu kamera no rekishi" (オリンパスカメラの歴史, "Brief History of Olympus cameras"). In Shashin Kōgyō no.78, October 1958. Pp.371–5.

Recent sources

• 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 37.
• Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Semi Orinpasu II" (セミオリンパスⅡ, Semi Olympus II). In Camera Collectors' News no.209 (November 1994). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha.
• Eimukku 316, Manyuaru Kamera Shirīzu 7 (エイムック316・マニュアルカメラシリーズ7). Orinpasu no subete: Olympus (オリンパスのすべて・Olympus, All of Olympus). Tokyo: Ei Shuppansha, 2001. ISBN 4-87099-428-3. P.8. (Contains a picture of the Semi Olympus with lens no.6358 with a brief caption, and almost nothing else on Olympus cameras prior to the Pen.)
• Francesch, Dominique and Jean-Paul. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27679-X. Pp.20–4 and 55–7.
• Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Kōkoku kara miru Orinpasu kamera no nagare" (広告から見るオリンパスカメラの流れ, "Olympus camera history seen through the advertisements"). 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. 20, 25 March 1992. No ISBN number. Orinpasu no subete (オリンパスのすべて, special issue on Olympus). Pp.10–1.
• Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Orinpasu kamera no subete 1: supuringu kamera <senzen-hen>" (オリンパスカメラのすべて1・スプリングカメラ戦前編, "All of Olympus cameras 1: folding cameras [prewar]"). 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. 20, 25 March 1992. No ISBN number. Orinpasu no subete (オリンパスのすべて, special issue on Olympus). Pp.13–5.
• Hibi Takashi (日比孝). "Nihon no supuringu kamera: Orinpasu" (日本のスプリングカメラ・オリンパス, "Japanese folding cameras: Olympus"). 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.8, September 1986. No ISBN number. Supuringu kamera (スプリングカメラ, special issue on spring cameras). Pp.62–5.
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). P.53 (brief mention only).
• Maitani Yoshihisa (米谷美久). "Kamera-zukuri he no bōken" (カメラ創りへの冒険, "Venturing into camera production"). Volume 1 of Haikei — Sekkeisha yori (拝啓・設計者より, "Dear Sir, from the designer"). Published in the Zuiko Club website, belonging to the Olympus Imaging Corp.
• Matsuzaki Sōichirō (松崎惣一郎). "'Orinpasu kurōmu shikkusu' to sono koto domo" (「オリンパスクロームシックス」とその周辺のことども, "About the 'Olympus Chrome Six'"). 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.76, June 2005. ISBN 4-257-13078-4. Kurashikku kamera katachi to kinō 'supuringu kamera hen' (クラシックカメラ形と機能「スプリングカメラ編」, special issue on spring cameras). Pp.28–31. (The author is Sakurai Eiichi's brother-in-law.)
• 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.747.
• Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten (思い出のスプリングカメラ展, Exhibition of beloved self-erecting cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P.23.
• Orinpasu-ten — oputo-dejitaru-tekunolojī no kiseki (オリンパス展・オプトデジタルテクノロジーの軌跡, Olympus exhibition, the tracks of opto-digital technology). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.)
• Sakai Shūichi (酒井修一). "Orinpasu no rekishi" (オリンパスの歴史, "History of Olympus"). 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. 20, 25 March 1992. No ISBN number. Orinpasu no subete (オリンパスのすべて, special issue on Olympus). Pp.6–9.
• Sakurai Eiichi (桜井栄一). Zuikō yawa (ズイコー夜話, Zuiko stories). Gendai Kamera Shinsho (現代カメラ新書) no.86. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1983. ISBN 4-257-08086-8.
• 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 1213–4.
• "Zadankai: Orinpasu no michi" (座談会・オリンパスの道, "Conversation: the way of Olympus"). Interview of Sakurai Eiichi (桜井栄一), Maitani Yoshihisa (米谷美久) and Kawazoe Mitsuo (河添光男), by Saeki Kakugorō (佐伯恪五郎). 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. 20, 25 March 1992. No ISBN number. Orinpasu no subete (オリンパスのすべて, special issue on Olympus). Pp.64–71.

Links

In English:

• Medium-format cameras, chronology and wallpapers in the Olympus official website
• Olympus folders' page at John Foster's site
• Chrome Six Website by François Rossi
• Olympus camera history at the Unofficial Olympus OM Sales Information File

In German:

• Semi Olympus at Olypedia

In Japanese:

• Semi Olympus and Semi Olympus II in the history pages of the Olympus Photo Club website. (The information there seems to be based on the article by Hibi in Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.8.)
• Semi Olympus (Compur) and Semi Olympus (Koho) in the Map Camera Museum (both are illustrated by a picture of the same camera with lens no.6358, taken from the Olympus website)