Semflex Ilford PanF+ - a photo on Flickriver

            My photowalk with my Semflex Standard 3.5, a French TLR camera year 1959, Lyon, France June 18, 2024.

The camera was equipped with a Semflex yellow filter x2 and the Semflex metal shade hood. An Ilford PanF+ 120 film was loaded and exposed  for 32 ISO (Instead of 50 ISO to compensate in part the filter absorption) using a Minolta Autometer III equipped with a 10° finder for selective measures privileging the shadow areas. 

Typically I used the 1/100s (one at 1/50s) with aperture ranging from f/8 to f/4.5. 
 
June 18, 2024
69004 Lyon
France

After the view #12 exposed, the film was fully rolled to the taking spool and was developed in a Paterson tank with a spiral adapted to the 70mm large film. 500 mL of Adox Adonal (Agfa Rodinal) developer were prepared at the dilution 1+25 and the film processed for 6min at 20°C.

Digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) held on a Minolta vertical macro stative device and adapted to a Minolta MD Macro lens 1:3.5 f=50mm. The light source was a LED panel (approx. 4x5') CineStill Cine-lite  fitted with film holder "Lobster" to maintain flat the 70mm films. 

The RAW files obtained were inverted within LR and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printed files with frame or the full size JPEG.

About the camera and lenses :

New in my camera collection this French Semflex TLR year 1959-1960 equipped with f=75mm SOM Berthiot lenses. 

The SEM company ("Société des Etablissements Modernes de Mécanique") was founded in France by Paul Royet in 1946, in the small city of Aurec near Saint-Etienne (Loire). The SEM camera's was known essentially for the TLR Semflex that were a great commercial success in France until the 70's. The camera's are constructed around an injected aluminum alloy chassis, very resistant and rigid permitting precise optical alignments. The focusing mechanism is made of a cam system like the Rolleiflex giving an accurate and smooth focusing. SEM constructed their own shutters called Orec with 5 leaves capable of the 1/400s to 1s with B. 

Semflex received in majority French optics Berthiot with 3 or 4 lenses (Tessar type). Some camera's were also mounted with Angénieux lenses.

Semflex were trusted TLR camera's used by amateurs and for professional purposes. From 1949 to 1976, 171.000 Semflex were produced in many different types and versions. 

My Semflex in a middle grade version Standard 3.5 type-10 (1959-1960). It was the last version mounted with the 3-lens SOM Berthiot 1:3.5 f=75mm. I got the camera with set of accessories  and several documents including the user manual of the Semflex Standard 4.5 versions. The accessories include a leather SEM ever-ready bag, a Semflex push-on shade hood, a Semflex push-on yellow filter x2 in its original box, and close-focusing lenses. The 1D one is constructed with a prism for the finder lens that compensates the parallax in the zone 1m to 0.5m.

The decorative ring around each lenses can also receive push-on accessories in 36mm diameter as the FOCA or Leitz 36mm filter series. I adapted two protective lens caps from Kodak film canister snapped covers.

Taken on: June 18, 2024

Tags:

SEM

Semflex

TLR

camera

Year

1959

Made

Aurec

Loire

France

SOM

Berthiot

lens

1:3.5

f=75mm

Ilford

PanF+

Lyon

69001

Adox

Adonal

Agfa

Rodinal

1+25

dilution

Sony

Digitization

Minolta

Macro

vertical

stative

50mm « less

Sets appears in: • Semflex Ilford PanF+

Camera: vivo V2124, f/2.0, 1/100 sec, 3.8mm, ISO 207 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	vivo V2124
Aperture:	f/2.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	3.8mm
ISO:	207
Exposure Bias:	+0.6 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Light Source:	D65
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Macintosh)
Show full info

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