Hinomaruya ひのまるや and Nicca Camera

May 5, 2019May 5, 2019Chris and Carol 4 Comments

Nicca camera made one of the better 35 mm rangefinder cameras in the 1950s. The style of camera is typically referred to as a Leica copy or Leica clone which is an unfair label to attach to the cameras of this design. One could argue that all cameras are copies of some previous camera – someone had to be first.

Here’s one of my favorite cameras in my collection – the Nicca 3-S rangefinder from about 1955.

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Seldom seen outside of Japan, here’s a nice lens hood with Nicca branding. It was distributed by Hinomaruya Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. The hood (or lens shade) was designed to be used with the Nikkor 50 mm f/2 lens and had a mount size of 40.5 mm.

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The attention to even the smallest details is what makes collecting these vintage bits of photo gear interesting and fun. The Yashica branded lens shades from this period look exactly the same so I will assume that the same manufacturer made them all. Could it have been Hinomaruya? No proof that they actually “made” things.

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The back of the leather case carries the Hinomaruya (in Japanese it’s ひのまるや) logo in a similar font as the Nicca logo (or at least close to it).

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Side view of the box – the translation is “Nicca Lens Hood”.

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There’s very little about the company Hinomaruya available on the web. It’s last known address was Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi 4-3 (which was just around the corner from Yashica). The company was the exclusive distributor of Nicca up until 1958 when Yashica acquired Nicca. They also distributed the rather cool Melcon 35 mm rangefinder camera and the Nikkor lenses used on both the Melcon and Nicca.

Hiromaruya in hiragana is ひのまるや

Here’s a bag that has Nicca and Hinomaruya on it. Another direct link between the two of them.

I’m not sure if they made this slide projector or if they distributed it but this item is from about 1959 – interesting because it’s a year after the Yashica acquisition of Nicca.

Maruya Pet hinomaruya

There are a few (very few) advertisements floating around on the web from Hinomaruya and I haven’t seen that name anywhere on paperwork from Nicca associated with the camera. It’s unknown if they handled warranty registrations and related paperwork for Nicca or Nikkor.

Thanks for stopping by and BTW, if you have additional information about Hinomaruya or Nicca please feel free to share it with me! Thanks – Chris

Studio Camera: Fujifilm X-A10

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Happy SUNday! – cherri oh’s!

May 5, 2019May 5, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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Have a beautiful day y’all – thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

I’ve added some new items in my camera shop this week at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Stop by and take a look as you may find that unique item that you’ve been searching for!

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Single Shot Focus on the Canon AV-1

May 2, 2019May 2, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Introduced in 1979 into an already crowded family of super slick Canon 35mm SLRs, the AV-1 has always been kicked around in the world of auto exposure cameras. Most question the need for such a camera that only features aperture priority AE. Whereas its much more famous siblings like the AE-1 and A-1 have gone down in history as two of the best 35mm AE cameras of all time (my opinion), almost no one has seen an AV-1 let alone use one. Probably the only other lesser known Canon is the AT-1.

Why aperture priority? Simple, you select the aperture (f-stop) on your Canon FD lens based on the lighting available and the depth-of-field that you want in your image. The camera selects the proper shutter speed based on the film’s speed (ASA, ISO, DIN) and the f-stop that you selected. If there’s not enough light to hand hold the camera it’s up to you to know your limitations. If you’re a steady shooter then you may be able to squeeze off a shot at let’s say 1/30th of a second with a wide-angle or normal lens. If you’re like most people you’ll more than likely be much more successful staying north of 1/60th of a second. The AV-1 will auto expose accurately down to (or up to) 2 seconds! You’d better be on a tripod for that shot or have your camera perched on a flat, stable surface.

The other reason for the AV-1’s existence is that it cost significantly less than the other A series cameras – much lower but with no real drop-off in build quality IMO.

Here’s my AV-1 in the pro-black finish. It’s a beautiful camera and it accepts all of Canon’s FD lenses (which is a major plus) plus it was designed to operate with the Canon Power Winder A and the A2 and it provides full auto flash with the Canon family of Speedlites like the 133A, 155A, 177A and the 199A (all are dedicated electronic flash units for the AV-1). One final plus, it uses the still very easy to find and afford No. 544A silver oxide 6v battery.

So here’s the “Single Shot Focus” of my AV-1

This one was made in June 1982 (date code is W628K)

Studio Camera: Fujifilm X-A10 set on aperture priority AE

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Hi! Mickey Mouse – Fuji Fun

May 2, 2019May 2, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Fujifilm Hi! Mickey Mouse MD – released March 1995 for sale in Japan.

The camera set sold for ¥6,300 and this one was purchased at Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo in December 1995.

Fixed focus Fujinon f8 33mm lens with a shutter speed of 1/100

This was one of the early officially licensed Mickey cameras from Fuji Photo Film Company. It sold for ¥5,800

Fuji Hi! Mickey Mouse – released in December 1989 for sale in the home market. This simple point and shoot 35mm camera is based on the Fuji Bene camera that was also only available in Japan.

Not autofocus but fixed focus – Fujinon f9.5 35mm lens with a shutter speed of 1/100

They are both as simple as simple can be – load film, compose, click. As with most all of the basic Fuji cameras, it produces an acceptable image especially under full sun with fast film or with the flash.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com for a nice assortment of classic cameras and vintage photo gear. – Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Pentamatic Microscope Adapter – 1960

May 1, 2019May 1, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I have yet to use a microscope adapter in nearly 50 years of 35mm photography – but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t collected them and enjoyed the thought of someday using one. I’ve had a few Canon adapters over the years too.

The first step would be actively looking for a microscope to purchase on one of the many online auction sites. Something I will do.

Here’s a nice adapter from Yashica with the Pentamatic bayonet mount. It’s one of the first accessories to appear in the early Pentamatic instruction booklets from 1960. List price was ¥2,500 which was fairly expensive back in the day.

The adapter mounts directly to the body of the camera – no lens needed.

A scan from an early Pentamatic sales brochure.

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These instructions are from a later booklet featuring the adapter for the M42 screw mount.

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I believe that the microscope depicted here is a Yashima microscope but it’s not made by Yashica. Yashima was the first name that Yashica went by in the early 1950s.

Not made by Yashica but still a super cool vintage microscope.

Typically you’d use a right angle finder such as this one to make it a bit easier to use the adapter on a microscope.

What’s always amazed me is just how many different camera manufacturers made microscope adapters – Canon, Olympus, Nikon just to name a few and how many are still available for purchase online from various auction sites that are unused, still new in their boxes.

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Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Month May 2019

Hinomaruya ひのまるや and Nicca Camera

Happy SUNday! – cherri oh’s!

Single Shot Focus on the Canon AV-1

Hi! Mickey Mouse – Fuji Fun

Pentamatic Microscope Adapter – 1960

I have yet to use a microscope adapter in nearly 50 years of 35mm photography – but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t collected them and enjoyed the thought of someday using one. I’ve had a few Canon adapters over the years too.

The first step would be actively looking for a microscope to purchase on one of the many online auction sites. Something I will do.