Why show a 35mm viewfinder camera on a blog about the Yashica Pentamatic? Well, Shinano and Yashima-Yashica share a common history. The first camera that carried the Yashima name was the Pigeonflex… a twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera!
Anyway here’s a nice example of a gorgeous 35 mm viewfinder camera that we acquired recently. The lens is made by Tomioka… a sharp (we hope) Tri-Lausar f/ 3.5 4.5 cm lens. NKS shutter B – 1/200.
It’s a nice heavyweight camera that has a good feel to it. In our opinion, it’s far from being a cheaply built camera as some would say. In fact, it still functions as intended after 6 decades of use. Most leather cases would be a complete mess after this amount of time but the leather is nice and the stitching is intact.
1952 Pigeon 35 by Shinano.
Nice view of the Tomioka lens.
Beautiful logo on this metal cap.
Classic style. The top plate of the Pigeon 35.
After 6 decades of use, the case has held up nicely.
Interesting bottom plate
More to come! By the way, everything works just fine! Can’t wait to run a roll of film through it. Images of the leather case to follow too!
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
My camera shop is always open at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 
Nice camera, Chris. I have a Toyoca 35-S camera, with the same lens. I shot a film with it, and the lens is sharp enough, but the corners of the image show vignetting.
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Hello John… Thank you! I was lucky that the Pigeon turned out to be better than expected. I’ll have to check out the Toyoca 35-S… I didn’t know it had the same lens. That’s interesting to hear about the vignetting… I plan on running a roll through the Pigeon soon. I’ve always liked Tomioka lenses and it will interesting to see how the images turn out. R/ Chris
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Chris – the lens is just “Tri-Lausar”. I’ll try to attach a photo
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Hi John! What an awesome looking camera set! I had never heard of this brand… thanks for sharing it with me. Love the original box and instruction book!
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It even has the original sachet of dessicant. The camera is a bakelite casting, with aluminium covers. The film wind and shutter cocking aren’t linked – there’s a button on the back to release the film for winding on, after taking a shot.
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That is super cool. Do you know the “when” it was made?
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According to McKeowns Price Guide, it was made by Tougodo around 1957.
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Oh good. It looks to be in mint condition.
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Reblogged this on Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic and commented:
A reblog of an earlier post about this amazing and seldom seen 35mm rangefinder camera made in Japan in the early 1950s.
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