We’ve recently acquired a rather rare catalog from around 1958 – I think early 1958 as Yashica was still Yashima Optical at the time of the printing. It’s a large format catalog with practically everything Yashica offered at the time.
Just a small sample of what’s inside. We love collecting these catalogs and brochures from Yashima-Yashica’s early days.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Fuji Photo Film Fujipet
1959 version
Medium format 120 roll film camera
Shoots a 6×6 cm negative
Cute little Pet in gray!
Always smiling…
And his cousin – Fuji Photo Film Fuji Pet 35 – the more refined Pet that shoots 35mm film vice 120 roll film.
These are fun to use film cameras that produce exceptionally nice (and unique) looking images.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
The Fujica GW690 Professional 6×9 120/220 roll film camera – 1970s tech never looked so good!
This beast will eat through film like it’s candy! 8 exposures from a roll of film but oh how pretty the pics are!
Thanks for stopping by! A big thanks to the City of Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida for hardly changing since 1890!
Chris
Yashica sales brochure with ‘fake’ serial number on the lens. There’s a possibility that it may have been a prototype lens and was given an odd serial number.
One of our all-time favorite SLRs with one of the fastest 55mm lenses made. The Tomioka designed f1.2 is an exceptional lens and we’re happy to have it in our collection. This lens is in the batch of the first 1000 made and carries a low serial number.
A super early lens in this German sales brochure – SN 5520124
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
From 1983, Fuji’s Auto Mate DL-20. The first ever drop-in loading feature. For more, visit here.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
For those new to this blog, here’s another look at a bit of the history of Yashica and an important step in the development of the Pentamatic – Yashica’s first 35mm SLR camera.
What connection could this attractive 35 mm rangefinder camera have with Yashica? And why on earth is it in a blog about the Yashica Pentamatic???
Nicca 3-F from early 1957 (maybe late 1956). Obviously, it is one of many Leica copy cameras that were built during the 1950s and beyond.
First a little bit about Nicca. Nicca was one of the literally hundreds of camera manufacturers in Japan during the late 1940s and through the 1950s. Production appears to have been, on average, anywhere from just a few hundred units per year to nearly 5,000 per year by 1958. Nicca made what many consider to be one of the better Leica copy cameras. The fit and finish of this particular 3-F are extraordinary. After six decades of use, the camera still functions perfectly and the finish is beautiful. Of note, the leatherette is some of the finest we’ve seen from…
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“Willie Mouse” on a 1960s era movie editor.
Mickey’s delinquent cousin? I can’t remember how many times when I was a kid that I’ve watched this cartoon – there was something fun about running your own cartoon through the family projector.
Super cool 8mm film editor – we love the 1960s style of this thing! It was made in Japan by Ohnoya Shoten, Ltd.
Back to the movie. “Baby Faced Battler” by Castle Films, produced by United World Films. The character first appeared in 1938. Crazy violent!
DeJur Model 750 8mm movie projector – c1953
Mindless fun!
Have a great day y’all!
Chris
A new Pentamatic joins the family – this one was made in September of 1960.
Seldom seen in the wild, Yashica’s “Phantom” camera – the P2
The Pentamatic II was fitted with a limited production lens made by Zunow Optical – a 5.8cm f1.7 Auto Yashinon with 10 aperture blades. It’s a massive camera with a ton (1,028 grams) of brass and glass.
It’s a distinctive design – very modern but classic at the same time. A clean pentaprism without the cold shoe mounted on it – in fact, the cold shoe (accessory shoe) is mounted on the camera’s left shoulder just above the hidden rewind knob.
The serial number (NO. 96000944) indicates the “when” of this camera. The “9” is for September and the next digits, “60” is for 1960. The last 5 digits are the sequence number or production number. This one is the 944th made since production began in August 1960.
A rather unique lens for its time – I feel that the lens was made by Zunow Optical for Yashica and was only produced in an extremely limited number for the short run of the Pentamatic II (about 6 months). This is one of Yashica’s hardest cameras to acquire – there may only be less than 500 of these (if that much) left in the wild.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 