Month October 2019

A rare Yashica Pentamatic II instruction booklet surfaces.

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Every now and again something new turns up in our never-ending search for the complete history of the Yashica Pentamatic series of 35mm SLR cameras. The first model of the Pentamatic was dated (by serial number) in December 1959 and the last, the Pentamatic S ended in March 1962. In between the Pentamatic II had a short run from August 1960 to January 1961. Fewer than 26,000 Pentamatics were made (of all models) during its brief run which makes the Pentamatic one of the hardest to find models in Yashica’s historical line-up of SLR cameras.

A recent online auction featured this never before seen instruction booklet (below).

Yashica P2 book lolo

It’s not much to look at as the cover is devoid of any attempt to market the camera.

My best guess is that the booklet is an English edition of the Pentamatic II instructions. The Japanese edition (below) is much more in keeping with the style of the other books. My good friend and Yashica collaborator Paul Sokk and I agree that the Pentamatic II was never released for sale outside of Japan which makes the discovery of this white cover booklet for the Pentamatic II that much more interesting.

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Front and back covers of the Pentamatic II instruction booklet. It’s the only manual found so far that’s printed in Japanese.

Here are all three of the instruction booklets for the Yashica Pentamatic (below).

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Up to this point, these were the only known Pentamatic instruction booklets.

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Here’s a scan of the first page inside the white covered booklet – pictured is a Pentamatic II with it’s Zunow sourced 5.8cm f/1.7 lens. The camera is still identified as the original Pentamatic in this image, however.

So the big question is why did Yashica print this instruction booklet in English when from all evidence the Pentamatic II wasn’t released for sale outside of Japan? A secondary question is why did they choose to not title the booklet as being for the Pentamatic II? Our best guess is that a few Pentamatic II models were in fact sold in Japan possibly in military exchanges and in duty-free shops and an English version was needed. It’s also possible that a few Pentamatic II’s were sold outside of Japan and the booklet was produced to supplement the camera. Nothing yet to prove that the Pentamatic II was sold outside of Japan but the existence of this book adds a new wrinkle to the history of this camera.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, if you have additional info about any of the three Pentamatic models please share it with us. Thanks, 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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

random scans from Japan

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Every now and again I’ll find the time to scan a bunch of camera brochures for easy future reference. Here’s my latest batch fresh from Japan.

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Buy, sell, build or renovate your home!

Tokyu Lines, Minatomiral Line Route Map (current).

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Canon AE-1 Instruction Book (below) from March 1981. Definitely a different cover from the English Edition.

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Asahi Pentax Slide 501 (below) automatic 35mm slide projector/viewer. No date on the brochure but I’m guessing that it was released in the mid to late 1970s (around the time of the Pentax ME).

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From inside the brochure a rather surprising graphic. Can you imagine if something like this was inside your Kodak slide projector instructions in the US??? But Japan takes a more mature approach to nudity and the graphic is quite funny to see the reactions on the catoons faces.

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The Minolta TC-1 (below) from a brochure dated 1999. The TC-1 is a compact point and shoot 35mm film camera that still commands a strong price in the used market. Mint and near mint examples regularly sell from $800 to $1,200 USD on sites like eBay and Yahoo Japan Auction.

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The brochure that I scanned this from shows a list price of  ¥148,000 and an actual selling price of ¥122,000 (about $1,140 USD).

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28mm G-Rokkor f/3.5 lens – kinda slow for the money IMO.

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Fujifilm X-T1 / X-T10 brochure dated May 2015.

Nikon F80 (N80 in the US) brochure dated August 29, 2001.

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Fujifilm X-Pro2

Thanks for stopping by and some of these brochures can be found in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – Chris

Happy SUNday! – Black, Silver & Fire

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica J3s and book

The book is ‘A Day in the Life of Japan’ published in 1985. The image is of a Buddhist monk illuminated by the burning of prayer sticks. Original image by Matthew Naythons and was taken on Mount Hiei near Kyoto.

Yashica J3 on book

Yashica J-3 single-lens reflex 35mm camera from 1962. Satin chrome finish contrasts nicely with the black leatherette. The lens is a Tomioka Optical made Auto Yashinon f/ 2.0 5cm beauty.

Yashica J3 black on book

A rather rare camera as it is Yashica’s first pro-black body in a 35mm SLR. Uses a CdS exposure meter located behind the small ‘light-gathering lens’ on the camera’s upper left side. The taking lens is gorgeous… super smooth focus and as clear as a bell. Made by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo for Yashica… Auto Yashinon 5cm f/ 2.0
Bonus pieces include the original black metal lens cap and Yashica lens shade.

The book, ‘A Day in the Life of Japan’ published in 1985 and printed in Japan, contains hundreds of images all taken on the same day on 7 June 1985. If you have a chance to find this book it is a fantastic documentation of the people and places of modern Japan.

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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

 

 

New In the Shop – 10.17.19

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Lots of new items in the shop this week and some old favorites. As always, my camera shop can be found 24/7 at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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My shop can be found at http://www.ccstudio2380.com and if there’s something specific that you’re looking for let me know what it is by dropping me a line at ccphotographyai@gmail.com

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Everything is on sale at 10% off plus there’s free shipping on some items too! Most everything that’s in my shop is kinda rare and in mint new condition. Check back often as I continue to add cameras and gear from my personal collection.

Thanks, 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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Happy SUNday! – Trying out my new old lens.

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Bunches of old lenses + a mirrorless digital camera + a bevy of lens adapters = lots of fun!

Fujifilm X-A10 with Nikkor

Fujifilm X-A10. One of Fuji’s most affordable mirrorless cameras mated with my cherished Nippon Kogaku Nikkor-H.C f/2 5cm lens from around 1956 or so. The adapter is from Fotodiox.

Fujifilm X-A10 w Nikkor 2

The adapter was about $17 direct from Fotodiox (that included shipping). The adapters from Fotodiox are of excellent quality and their customer service has been exceptional. M39 allows you to use Leica type screw-in lenses (L39) made by a variety of lens makers back in the day.

The results (so far). I’m pretty happy with the contrast, sharpness, and colors that the lens captures. Using vintage glass can be a lot of fun!

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About f/11

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f/5.6

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f/8

About the trickiest part of using vintage manual focus lenses of a modern digital mirrorless camera is achieving an accurate focus in bright sunlight. Most of my focusing is guessing at the distance and knowing my depth of field limitations. On my Fujifilm X-Series camera, I set the exposure dial to aperture priority, select manual focus, set my ISO, then set the desired aperture on my lens and monitor the shutter speed selected by the camera.

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Focused at infinity at f/16

None of these images received significant post production – pretty much as captured and certainly no cropping. Below is a different Nikkor lens that has a case of fungus.

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Here’s another Nikkor-H.C f/2 5cm lens with significant fungus on the last internal lens element(s). Other than the fungus the lens is in mint condition.

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Same kitty different results. By using a digital adapter I can quickly test a lens and decide if it’s worth getting the lens serviced.

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Here’s a different adapter made for a Sony E-mount body mirrorless camera.

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Fotodiox adapter for mounting Canon FD lenses to my Fuji.

If you haven’t tried using an adapter for your old manual focus lenses you’re missing out on a bunch of fun. They’re inexpensive and you’ll probably like the “look” the vintage glass gives your images.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – 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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

 

Time Capsule – 1960

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Another look at this post from last year. New evidence shows that the Pentamatic (original model) was released in Japan in January 1960 but as of this reblog still no instruction booklets found printed in Japanese – only English. The Pentamatic made its first appearance in the US around March-April 1960 with the first ads appearing in May.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

yashica pentamatic set The original Pentamatic.

A nice example of Yashica’s first 35mm SLR – the Pentamatic. Also known as the Pentamatic ’35’ in its earliest advertisements and sales brochures. This particular camera is from August 1960 – the same month that Yashica started production of the Pentamatic II – a model that was destined for the Japanese home market and not for world export. The Pentamatic II stayed in production only until January 1961 when it was replaced a few months later with the Pentamatic S. The original Pentamatic was first produced in December 1959 but widescale production didn’t begin until January 1960. As of this update (Oct 11, 2018), I still haven’t found evidence of an instruction booklet printed in Japanese – only English booklets so far. I would think that there must be booklets in Japanese and at least 2 or 3 other languages but none found. The Pentamatic II…

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New In the Shop – 10.10.2019

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Lots of goodies were added to my camera shop this week as I continue to list items from my personal collection and some recent acquisitions from other collectors.

My shop is always open and can be found at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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The Sony tripod is in mint condition and it’s rather cool – it features a built-in remote control right in the handle! The Nikon F book is from 1971 and it’s also in mint condition – these are getting much harder to find this nice after all these years.

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The Fujifilm Fuji DL-7 is awesome as it’s still brand new in the box – never used! The Fuji Zoom Cardia is as close to an SLR slayer that you can get in a 35mm compact point and shoot camera. How about the Minolta Six medium format camera from around 1936! It’s the very first one to carry the Minolta name.

Lots more to see in the shop so pop on over to http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.