View source for Tsubasa Semi

{{Japanese Semi postwar
|image=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerawiki/46764449972/in/pool-camerawiki/  http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7909/46764449972_e84e97f76f_m_d.jpg]<br>''Picture courtesy of eBayer aniwak. {{with permission}}''
}}
The '''Tsubasa Semi''' is a [[Japanese 4.5×6 folders|Japanese 4.5×6 folder]] made by [[Kigawa|Kigawa Kōgaku]] between 1950 and 1952.<REF> Dates: advertisements mentioned in {{Kokusan}}, p.355. </REF> The [[Rosen (postwar)|postwar Rosen]] seems to share many parts with the Tsubasa Semi, and is probably related.

== Description ==
The body of the Tsubasa Semi is copied from the [[Ikonta]] 4.5×6, but there is a top housing containing the viewfinder. It is placed on the right, as seen by a photographer holding the camera vertically, so that the body release is tripped by the right hand. It is the reverse of the usual arrangement. The advance knob is at the left end of the top housing. To the left of the finder there is an accessory shoe and the folding bed release.

The back is hinged to the left and has a single red window at the top, protected by a horizontally sliding cover, to control film advance. The lens is always a 75/3.5 with front-cell focusing, and the aperture is set by an index on top of the shutter housing.

Most of the markings are common to all models. The body serial number is engraved in the film flange at the right end of the top housing. A red ''KKK'' logo is engraved above the viewfinder together with the company name ''KIGAWA KōGAKU'' in black. A ''KIKO TSUBASA'' logo is engraved in the folding struts, and the word ''TSUBASA'' is also embossed in the front leather, in a slightly different shape depending on the model.

== The Tsubasa Semi ==
The '''original Tsubasa Semi''' has a hexagonal trim around the finder window and a ''Tsubasa'' marking in front of the top housing. In the front ''TSUBASA'' embossing, the "T" is higher than the rest of the word.
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| colspan="3" | ''Tsubasa Semi, [[Lotus]] shutter, Tsubasa Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens.''<br>''Pictures courtesy of eBayer used35showcase. {{with permission}}''
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In advertisements dated December 1950<REF> Advertisement in {{AR}}, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.148. </REF> and March 1951<REF> Published in ''Ars Camera'', reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.148. </REF>, the Tsubasa Semi is offered in two variants, both with a Tsubasa 75/3.5 coated lens and a synchronized shutter:
* '''Tsubasa Semi I''': B, 25–200 speeds;
* '''Tsubasa Semi II''': B, 1–250 speeds.

Advertisements dated May<REF> Advertisement in {{FAR}}, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.149. </REF> and June<REF> Published in ''Photo Art'', reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.148. </REF> 1951 list other variants, all with a synchronized shutter and a coated f/3.5 lens whose name is not given:
* '''Tsubasa Semi I''': T, B, 25–100 speeds;
* '''Tsubasa Semi II''': B, 10–200 speeds;
* '''Tsubasa Semi III''': B, 1–200 speeds, self-timer.<REF> The May advertisement says that only the model I has a self-timer, but this is certainly a typo, corrected the next month. </REF>
An example has been observed with T, B, 25–150 speeds and a lens engraved ''TSUBASA Anastigmat 1:3.5 f=75mm''.<REF> Example pictured in [http://www.ksmt.com/eos10d/eos_nikki_body7.htm#060213 this page at ksmt.com]. </REF> The speed range given for the model I is perhaps a typo.

In an advertisement dated November 1951<REF> Advertisement in {{AR}}, reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p.148. </REF>, the variant names have changed again, and the lens is a coated Bessel 75/3.5:
* '''Tsubasa Semi I''': B, 10–200 speeds;
* '''Tsubasa Semi II''': B, 1–250 speeds, self-timer.
At the time, Kigawa was beginning to use brand names referring to pioneers of optics, like Daguerre or Carl (obviously for Carl Zeiss).<REF> Bessel is the name of a German astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 19th century. There is a method called Bessel's method to determine the focal length of a given lens, see for example [http://www.siue.edu/~ahamad/Optics%20fall%202004/Problem%20set%202/P1.htm here]. It is unknown if the lens name is related. </REF> The Bessel lens is usually seen on the later Tsubasa Semi F body, with a black lens bezel.

{{Flickr_image
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|image_align= center
|image_text= Tsubasa Semi no.25551, K.K.K. shutter, Bessel f/3.5 75mm lens no.26418
|image_by= Geoff Harrisson
|image_rights= wp
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== The Tsubasa Semi F ==
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The '''Tsubasa Semi F''' has no hexagonal trim around the finder and the ''Tsubasa'' marking in front of the top housing is replaced by two black lines extending on both sides of the finder window. This design is obviously styled after the [[Pearl (I), II and III|Pearl I–III]] by [[Konica|Konishiroku]].

Advertisements dated January 1952<REF> {{Showa10ad|Tsubasa Semi F1, F2 and F3|606|January 1952|Ars Camera}} — {{Showa10ad|Tsubasa Semi F1, F2 and F3 and Grace Flex I and II|503|January 1952|Asahi Camera}} </REF> list three variants, all having the Bessel 75/3.5 coated lens and a KKK synchronized shutter with ASA bayonet connector:
* '''Tsubasa Semi F1''': B, 10–200 speeds;
* '''Tsubasa Semi F2''': B, 10–200 speeds, self-timer;
* '''Tsubasa Semi F3''': B, 1–200 speeds, self-timer.
The shutter rim is engraved ''K.K.K.'' and the lens is simply engraved ''BESSEL 1:3,5 f=75mm''. One example has been observed with a shutter having B, 10–200 speeds and a self-timer, probably engraved ''K.O.C.'' in the speed rim, like the shutter of the [[Carl Six]].<REF> Example sold by a Japanese dealer, only the two first letters of the engraving are visible in the pictures. </REF>

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|| ''Tsubasa Semi F no.31037, KKK shutter, Bessel 75mm f/3.5 lens no.31400.''<br>''Pictures courtesy of eBayer aniwak. {{with permission}}''
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== Notes ==
<references />

== Bibliography ==
* {{Showa10}} Items 503, 606–8.
* {{Lewis}} P.73 (brief mention only).
* {{McKeown12}} Pp.464–5.

== Links ==
In Japanese:
* [http://madam3.web.fc2.com/photo/060618-1.html Tsubasa Semi F1] at [http://homepage3.nifty.com/madam/index.html Madam's Ichirizuka website]
* [http://www.ksmt.com/eos10d/eos_nikki_body7.htm#060213 Tsubasa Semi] and [http://www.ksmt.com/eos10d/classic2.htm#52 Tsubasa Anastigmat lens] at [http://www.ksmt.com/ ksmt.com]
* [http://clacamera.exblog.jp/4405182/ Tsubasa Semi] at [http://clacamera.exblog.jp/ doraDD's clacamera blog]
* [http://neco.aki.gs/neco99/neco30/00/kigawa/tsj0010.html Tsubasa Semi F1] in [http://neco.aki.gs/neco99/neco30/index.html Neco's camera collection]

[[Category: Japanese 4.5x6 viewfinder folding]]
[[Category: Kigawa]]
[[Category: T]]