Semi Sport
The Semi Sport (セミスポーツ)[1] is a Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera, made by Fujimoto between 1940 and 1943 and offered again in 1949.[2]
Description
The Semi Sport is a copy of the Ikonta, with a folding optical finder and a body release. There is one red window in the back, at the bottom left, protected by a vertically sliding cover. The folding struts are engraved with a SEMI SPORT logo. The name Semi Sport is also embossed in the front leather and sometimes in the back leather too.
The Semi Sport seems to have the same body as the earlier Semi Lucky III by the same manufacturer. The main difference is that the camera is now equipped with a Rapidex shutter (T, B, 1–300 speeds and self-timer), made by Fujimoto itself[3], with the aperture scale above the shutter housing.
Prewar and wartime
The Semi Sport was advertised in December 1940[4] with a Radionar 75/4.5 lens, for ¥121. In September 1941[5] and January 1942[6], it was offered in a choice of variants:
- Schneider Xenar 75/4.5 lens (¥160 in 1941, not available in 1942);
- Lucky Anastigmat 75/3.5 lens (¥160 in 1941, ¥188 in 1942);[7]
- Laack Regulyt 75/4.5 lens (¥121 in 1941, ¥142 in 1942);[8]
- Lucky Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens (same price as the Regulyt variant).
The distributor in 1942 was perhaps[9] called Taihō Shōkai (大寶商会).
Two examples of the Semi Sport have been observed with a Compur-Rapid shutter giving T, B, 1–500 speeds, one of them having a Xenar 7.5cm f/4.5 lens[10] and the other having a four-element Lausar 7.5cm f/3.5 lens made by Tomioka.[11] Another example has been observed[12] with a Rokuoh-Sha Hexar Ser. II 75mm f:3.5 lens mounted on a probably non-original shutter, the shutter rim presenting only the 100, 200 and 400 speed settings.
After the war
The Semi Sport was offered again after the war. It appeared in a September 1949 advertisement[13], equipped with a Texar 75/3.5 lens, together with a Lucky enlarger, also made by Fujimoto in the prewar and wartime period. The company name written in the advertisement is Nihon Kōki Kōgyō K.K. (日本光機工業株式会社). On the picture, there is no visible change from the prewar and wartime model, and it was probably made from remaining part stocks, maybe assembled by Nihon Kōki Kōgyō: Fujimoto had ceased activity in 1945 and would not be reactivated until 1950[14]. The company was certainly conscious that the camera was a little outdated, and the advertising sentence is: "Based on an experience of several years, now available again!" (多年の経験に基いてここに再登場).
Notes
- ↑ It is called "Semi Sport I" in McKeown, p. 332, but the advertisements observed only show "Semi Sport".
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 337and 353.
- ↑ Fujimoto maker of the Rapidex: Company history at the Fujimoto official website.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 76.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 76.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 76. A similar advertisement, dated between 1942 and 1945, is reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura.
- ↑ Observed several times, notably in online auctions.
- ↑ Reported at an eBay auction.
- ↑ It is written in small characters and the reproductions of the advertisements are difficult to read.
- ↑ Example presented in Supuringu kamera de ikō, p. 78–80. This example belongs to the Fujimoto company, thus there is a higher probability that the lens and shutter equipment is non original, for example because it was mounted for testing purpose.
- ↑ Example observed in a Yahoo Japan auction, lens number 35914.
- ↑ In a Yahoo Japan auction.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Kohga Gekkan, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 143.
- ↑ According to the company history at the Fujimoto official website.
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 131 and 561.
- Kawamata Masataku (川又正卓). Semi Prince — Luck. 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: The use of and actual examples from 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp. 78–80.
- 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 332.
Links
- Semi Sport at Japan Family Camera, the Semi Sport embossing is absent from the front leather, maybe the leather covering is not original.
- Advertisement dated between 1942 and 1945, reproduced in Nostalgic Camera, a page of old Japanese advertisements by Toshio Inamura
