Our best timeline for the development of the Yashica Pentamatic 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera… Pentamatic ’35’

Please note that this is a “dynamic timeline” and it will be updated as we discover new dates and developments…

• Summer 1959… Yashica develops / invents its first 35mm SLR
• September 1959… Yashica files to trademark the name ‘Pentamatic’ in Japan
• October 1959… Tomioka starts production of a new lens for the Pentamatic. f/1.8 5.5cm
• December 1959… First Pentamatics assembled at the Suwa factory
• February 1960… Yashica files to trademark the name ‘Pentamatic’ in the U.S.
• March 1960… Production reaches 1,500 units
• March 1960… First showing of the Pentamatic occurs at a trade show in St. Louis… first images of the camera are provided by Yashica
• April 1960… First published look at the Pentamatic in the May 1960 issue of Modern Photography magazine
• May 1960… First full page advertisements for the Pentamatic…