Yashica’s Early 35mm SLRs

Chris and Carol

My good friend Paul Sokk from Australia (www.yashicatlr.com) has compiled a great database of almost all of Yashica’s cameras and by decoding serial numbers we’ve been able to come up with a list of manufacturing dates. So, by using these serial numbers here is a general list of when the following models were first and last made.

Penta J      Aug 1961 to Aug 1965

Reflex 35   Mar 1962 to Jan 1964

J-3            Nov 1962 to Sep 1964

J-5            Mar 1964 to Jun 1965

J-P            Aug 1964 to Sep 1966

J-4            Mar 1965 to Jun 1965

J-7            Nov 1966 to Dec 1967

Yashica’s little oddball model. I believe it was only manufactured to be sold by Montgomery Ward as the Wards SLR 500. For Wards, Yashica fitted it with a Tominon C 5cm f/2 lens vice the lens shown here. A true budget model for around $160 US.

The Pnnta J was the first modern style SLR from Yashica with the universal M42 screw mount for a wide variety of lenses. It was the first model after the Pentamatic S. The J-3 was the first model that had a coupled CdS light meter built into the camera’s left shoulder.

Yashica cousins.
From the 1964 Wards catalog. It’s easy to see that the Wards slr 500 is mostly made from the Yashica J-P with the film advance lever used from the Penta J.

One final note. The serial numbers tell when the camera was produced, not when a camera was released for sale to the public. I believe this list represents the most accurate timeline of these early models from Yashica. Many thanks to Paul for his efforts to compile the most accurate data to date. There is no one better.

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3 thoughts on “Yashica’s Early 35mm SLRs”

  1. Great post! I was recently in touch with Paul Sokk about the Wards cameras. I believe the Wards SLR 500 was actually primarily based on the Penta J, with a few features brought over from the J-P, including obviously the top plate/light meter bracket. I say this because the SLR 500 uses the semi-automatic aperture mechanism from the Penta J, not the mechanism that supports a fully automatic aperture as with the J-P. I think the internals are mostly Penta J-based. Keep up the great work!

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    1. Thanks! I would like to get my hands on either one if anything just for the Yashica/Tomioka Tominon C lens which is the same lens that’s on the all black Yashica J-3. – Chris

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      1. I recently found an SLR 600 at a thrift store–I’ll have to admit I was not aware of these cameras before finding this one. I was initially drawn to the camera when I noticed the Tomioka-branded lens, and then quickly recognized the Yashica heritage in the camera body as well. I’ve just finished my first roll of film in the camera and should get the results back any day now.

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