Semi Rody

The Semi Rody (セミ・ロディ) are Japanese 4.5×6 folders, made by Shibayama Seisakusho (柴山製作所) in 1941 and 1942 and distributed by Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten. There are two very different models, the first being a Baldax copy and the second being a horizontal folder inspired by the Duo Six-20.

The Baldax copy

Description

The original Semi Rody is a vertical folder, copy of the Baldax. There is a folding optical finder, placed to the right as seen by a photographer holding the camera vertically, the reverse of the usual configuration. If the same photographer is now holding the camera horizontally, the body release is placed to the right of the finder and is pressed by the right hand, the advance knob is on the left end of the top plate and the release of the folding bed is on the bottom plate. The back is hinged to the right and the film advance is controlled by two red windows, near the bottom, protected by vertically sliding individual covers. The name SEMI-RODY is embossed in the front leather.

Evolution

The Semi Rody was mentioned in the list of set prices compiled in October 1940. A number of versions were listed, called A (¥62), AII (¥85), I (¥62), IA (¥74), IB (¥88), II (both ¥74 and ¥121) and IIA (¥121), with no further detail. In a similar price list dated November 1941, the versions were the A, AII, IA, IB, IC, II, IIB and III, all of them attributed to Shibayama Seisakusho. Some of these versions correspond to the advertisements described below.

The camera was first advertised in the February 1941 issue of Asahi Camera as the Semi Rody I (セミ・ロディⅠ型), in three versions, all having a U.L.L. Anastigmat lens made by Miyoshi:

• Semi Rody IA (ⅠA型): f/4.5 lens, T, B, 5–200 speeds (¥74);
• Semi Rody IB (ⅠB型): f/4.5 lens, T, B, 1–300 speeds (¥88);
• Semi Rody IC (ⅠC型): f/3.5 lens, T, B, 1–300 speeds (¥98).

In an advertisement dated July 1941, the lenses were called Rody Anastigmat and the following version was added:

• Semi Rody III (Ⅲ型): f/3.5 lens, Koho shutter with self-timer (¥120).

This camera is not the same as the later horizontal Semi Rody II (see below).

In advertisements by the distributor Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten dated October 1941 and January 1942, the lens name was U.L.L. again, the shutter was called Sport, giving T, B, 1–300 speeds, and only two versions were listed:

• f/4.5 lens (¥88 in 1941, ¥102 in 1942);
• f/3.5 lens (¥98 in 1941, ¥114 in 1942).

In all the advertisements cited above, the picture is the same and the shutter plate has a marking at the bottom beginning with "R", perhaps "RODY" or "RULEX".

In another advertisement dated January 1942, directly inserted by the maker Shibayama Seisakusho (柴山製作所), the vertical model was called Semi Rody I (Ⅰ型) to distinguish it from the new Semi Rody II (see below). The lens name was Rody Anastigmat, the shutter speeds were T, B, 1–300 and the following variants were listed:

• f/4.5 lens (¥102);
• f/3.5 lens (¥114);
• f/3.5 lens, self-timer (¥141).

The advertising picture differs from the above: the shutter plate is marked SPORT at the bottom and the lens rim is engraved RODY Anastigmat. One surviving example has been observed with such markings. The Sport shutter has 1–300, B, T speed settings and a logo on the right, looking like an F inside a circle.

The Semi Rody II

Description

Horizontal Semi Rody II, Rody Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens, Pisco shutter. Pictures courtesy of eBayer shoppingcartz. (Image rights)

The Semi Rody II (セミ・ロディⅡ型) is a very different camera, made in 1941 and 1942. It is a horizontal folder, with a body somewhat inspired from the Duo Six-20 and not unlike the Semi Prux made by Proud and Miyoshi. The top housing has a peculiar shape made of multiple facets and contains the optical finder in the middle. The advance knob is on the left, and there is a body release on the right. The back is hinged to the right and contains two red windows at the bottom, protected by a single horizontally sliding cover. The name SEMI-RODY is embossed in the front leather.

Evolution

It is not known if the Semi Rody II and IIA mentioned in the official price lists cited above correspond to the horizontal model.

The Semi Rody II was offered in the advertisement by Shibayama dated January 1942 and cited above. The lens name was Rody Anastigmat and two shutter types were mentioned, giving T, B, 5–200 or T, B, 1–200 speeds. Three versions were listed:

• f/4.5 lens (¥87);
• f/3.5 lens (¥100);
• f/4.5 lens, self-timer (¥128).

The advertising picture shows an example with a 75mm f/4.5 lens engraved RODY Anastigmat, T, B, 5–200 speed settings and no self-timer. The shutter plate is marked AMI TOKYO at the top and something else at the bottom, and the aperture is set by an index above the shutter housing.

An actual example is pictured in this page with a 75mm f/3.5 lens engraved RODY Anastigmat and a Pisco shutter giving 250–1, B, T speeds. The shutter plate is marked PISCO at the bottom and the aperture is again set by an index above the shutter housing.

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 341–2. (See also the advertisement for item 220.)
• "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 3, sections 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B.
• Template:Kakaku1940 Type 3, sections 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 6B.

This camera is not listed in Sugiyama.