Semi Rotte
The Semi Rotte (セミロット) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folder made by Kuribayashi at the beginning of the 1940s, and about which few is known.
Documents
The Template:Kakaku1940 short, compiled on October 25, 1940 and published in January 1941, listed a Semi Rotte (セミロット) in three versions: "Semi Rotte I" (¥62), "Semi Rotte II" (¥121), "Semi Rotte III" (¥160).[1]
The "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943, also mentioned three versions:[2]
- "Semi Rotte I", First f/4.5 lens, Vic I shutter (25–150, T, B);
- "Semi Rotte III" (certainly a typo for "Semi Rotte II"), First f/4.5 lens, Rotte shutter (1–200, T, B);
- "Semi Rotte III", First f/3.5 lens, Hit-Rapid shutter (1–500, T, B).
All three shutters are in #00 size. The Vic I was made by Miyoshi, the Rotte by Kuribayashi itself and the Hit-Rapid by Tokiwa Kōgaku (it was also mounted on the First Reflex).[3] The First lenses have three elements and were made by Tokiwa Kōgaku.[4]
Description and actual examples
The Semi Rotte is a vertical folder, copied from the Nettar with straight diagonal struts. The body release is to the left of the viewfinder and the folding bed release is on the right (as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally). There is a key at the bottom right to advance the film. The back is hinged to the left and the back latch consists of a long sliding bar. The name SEMI ROTTE is embossed in the front leather.
One actual example has been observed with a Rotte Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5 lens and a Rotte Model-1 shutter giving 200–1, B, T speeds. The speed settings are inscribed on the shutter plate in that order. The shutter plate also has ROTTE MODEL–1 at the top and ROTTE at the bottom, with waveline drawings on both sides.[5]
The BB Semi Rotte is mentioned by no known source. It has the same dual finders as the late BB Semi First and the BB Baby Semi First, with an eye-level finder on the left and a brilliant finder on the right, grouped in an L-shaped housing. The name B.B. SEMI ROTTE is inscribed above the eye-level finder, and SEMI ROTTE is embossed in the front leather.
One actual example has been observed with a First f/4.5 lens and a Rotte shutter, similar to the one described above.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 3, sections 3A, 6B, 7B.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), items 13–5.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), shutter items 18-U-13, 18-P-5 and 18-R-1.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), lens items Lb18 and Lc2.
- ↑ A similar shutter is pictured in Baird, pp. 86 and 88 and in McKeown, p. 577, on a BB Baby Semi First.
- ↑ Example observed in an online auction. The description of a similar example has been found in another online auction, with no pictures.
Bibliography
- Baird, John R. Collectors guide to Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras. Grantsburg, WI (USA): Centennial Photo Service, 1991. ISBN 0-931838-16-9. P. 81.
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7. Items 13–5.
- Template:Kakaku1940
This camera is not listed in Sugiyama nor in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
