About

We are Chris and Carol – The Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic(s). We’ve been kicking around this planet since the early 1950s… so we’re vintage just like the cameras we blog about.

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We’re die hard Mets fans (can you tell?),  avid photographers, camera collectors, crafters, lovers of almost anything Japanese and retired folk!

Thanks for stopping by and we welcome comments anytime about almost anything! Peace

24 thoughts on “About”

  1. I had hoped you had written a bit about yourself and your fascination with Yashica cameras. Recently my wife traded her old TLR for a newer Yashica-Mat Twin lens. We both tried 124Gs back in the early 1980s, but moved on. Now I intend to search out a Yashica TLR for myself so we can shoot film together.
    I was saddened when Contax/Yashica folded. They had such a great stable of fun cameras (such as your little “Pet”)
    My blog is about Photography. Thats it…Photography. And I change the subject each week.
    I am really glad I found you and plan on reading your thoughts and viewing your photography (with Yashica I assume) in the future.

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  2. Thank you for your kind words and of course thank you for visiting our blog. I’m glad to hear that you intend to visit film photography again and with a Yashica TLR. A site that you may care to visit is my friend Paul’s site at http://www.yashicatlr.com
    Paul’s site is probably the best on the web dedicated to accurate information on anything Yashima-Yashica made in the world of twin-lens reflex cameras. On that site you can find a short bio on Paul and his contributors (myself included).
    I also post on my flickr page as http://www.yashicasailorboy.com (same as this blog but on flickr).
    I intend to spend some time reading your blog as I see you have a wealth of knowledge about photography.
    Best regards, Chris (and Carol)

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  6. Hello, love your site and information. I recently bought a Yashica FR-1 like I used to have in the 70s. Included was a Pentamatic. The mirror seems to be always up. Any ideas on how to fix it? Thanks Paul from Wisconsin

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    1. Hi Paul,
      Thanks for your kind comments. Oh, how I wish I had a fool-proof way to fix that as I have about 5 Pentamatics with that same issue. It was a design flaw from the factory – some of the earliest Pentamatics started to fail very quickly. Some say it’s a simple lubrication issue – some say it is simply gummed up. With the baseplate off and with the camera on its back, you’ll see the inner workings of the shutter-mirror on your left. Operate the film advance lever (if you can) a few cycles and sometimes that will do the trick. You may have to “play” with the mirror manually more than a few times to “help” it along. You’ll be able to see which parts that move when you advance the film and fire the shutter. I’ve had a bit of luck with the smallest of a drop of light oil (sewing machine) on the levers. Some people have had luck doing just the opposite. I hear a tiny drop of lighter fluid “could” free up the levers if they’re gummed up. I haven’t tried the lighter fluid way yet.
      Good luck! Let me know if you get it working.
      Regards,
      Chris

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      2. I did what you suggested. I think I’m making progress. It only stays up 20-30% of the time now. Before it was all the time. I think more use will help. Thanks again
        Paul

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      3. That’s great to hear. Even my best working Pentamatic still occasionally gets the “yips” and all it takes is firing the shutter a few times. I believe I get better results at the higher shutter speeds (north of 1/125).

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  7. Chris – I hope you can help me out.

    I just picked up a Yashica J rangefiner. My first 35mm was a Yashica J my Dad sent me for my birthday when he was working in Vietnam. This was back in ‘68. The original is long gone, but finding one in good condition is amazg.

    I got a flash unit with it. No model numb. It’s a Yashica, uses a 22.5V #505 battery. Would yo know what bulbs to use with this? Hard to tell, but looking on line, it looks like AG1 would fit. But would it work?

    Hope you can help! Thanks!

    p.s. Great site!!!

    Albert Yan

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    1. Hi Albert,
      Yashica made a bunch of “no-name” flash units in the 1950s and early 1960s that used the 22.5V battery and a capacitor. To the best of my knowledge, no one makes the “correct” 22.5V battery today and the old capacitor may not work. Is it the fan fold type of flash unit? My friend Paul Sokk has an excellent site dedicated to Yashica TLRs but it also includes accessories that would be able to be used on any camera. http://www.yashicatlr.com/AccessoriesYashicaTLR.html#accessories Scroll down a bit and you’ll see a wide array of flash units from that period. Maybe you’ll see something that looks like yours.
      Thank you for your kind comment! Best of luck and please let me know what you find out.
      Regards,
      Chris

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  8. Thanks, Chris! Not a fan fold unit. It’s a small (2″ x 3″ or so) flash that fits into the accessory show and has a cable to plug into the X-sync on the camera. I did find what appears to be a #505 22.5V replacement battery (at least it’s claimed to be a replacement) and I will test the cap to see if it’s still good. Maybe not, but it looks like an aluminum electrolytic so a replacement should not be too hard to find.

    It’s the bulbs I am not sure about. Do you think an AG1 would work?

    I’ll check the links you sent me.

    Looking forward to running a roll through this camera to see just how it performs.

    Thanks for your help!!

    Albert

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  9. Chris – I think I found the flash unit.

    From Paul Sokk’s site –

    “Although using electronic flash is mentioned, the Yashica 24 manual has a photo of a flashbulb type unit with small, non-folding circular reflector integrated into a 1960’s style TV screen shaped housing sitting on top of a “Yashica” branded flash handle. The flash unit is described in other documentation as “AG Flash Gun”:”

    My flash looks like the AG Flash Gun, which then implies the AG1 bulbs should work! I will try it and report back to you.

    Albert

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    1. Glad to hear that! I like the look of that flash unit and it was available from Yashica for quite some time. It sounds like you’re well versed in the vintage flash technology. Yes, please do let me know as I have a few vintage flash units that I would like to know if they can be used again.

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      1. Hi again!

        It’s been a while, bout I finally got around to testing the flash. Doesn’t work but I think the capacitor needs to be replaced. 100uF/22.5V aluminum electrolytic. But I can’t find any in the same form factor. It’s bigger all around than any currently available.

        From looking at the flash it seems extremely simple. battery charges the cap, cap discharges through the flash bulb when the shutter release is pushed and the circuit is closed.

        Would you know:
        1) If there’s a slurce for caps in the same form factor?
        2) if there’s anything special about the cap? Low ESR, or a tighter tolerance, or anything like that? Or is it a generic cap?

        Thanks for your help!

        Albert

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  10. HI Chris and Carol ! I am hoping you might be able to help me with any info about a Yashica-A III cine camera. None of my searches show have shown me this exact model. Would be happy to email you pictures of it and give you a little background history if you would be happy to take a look. Appreciate any help you have time and knowledge to provide. Many thanks in advance 🙂

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  11. Hi Chris and Carol!

    I’m not sure your page is still running but I write and hope for an answer.

    I have some questions about a Yashica U-matic that my grandmother had and now I have it.

    I’ll write my questions when I know this works because I have a little trouble with my English…

    Regards from Sweden

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