Author Chris and Carol

Yashica Pentamatic II – The Phantom

Chris and Carol 1 Comment

A new Pentamatic joins the family – this one was made in September of 1960.

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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.

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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.

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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

Another one bites the dust – more destruction = less trees

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

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Former residential property is now commercially zoned along a quiet stretch of Sadler Road here on Amelia Island. With proper tree protection zones established around the massive oaks on the front of the property, these trees may make it through the construction process – but as you can see in this image, destruction is in progress with NO tree protection barriers in place! Soil is also being dumped over the existing grade which tends to suffocate the tree’s root system.

These 5 beautiful oaks need immediate protection from the destruction-construction process. The City of Fernandina Beach has tough tree protection ordinances on the books but at this moment, it would appear that some of those codes may have been broken. Stay tuned!

Chris

Olympus 35 SP Brochure

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Here’s a nice sales brochure from Olympus – published May 1969

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Take note of the camera store’s stamp in the lower right corner. Our translation app isn’t doing a good job at translation at the moment so we’re not quite sure which camera shop this is from.

Carol and I love to collect vintage sales brochures for the cameras in our collection. This one came to us recently from a collector in Japan. The date of publication is 0569 which we assume is May 1969. The young man’s clothing certainly screams the 1960s!

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The Olympus 35 SP is considered by many to be a nearly “perfect” 35mm rangefinder camera – with a host of automatic exposure controls plus full manual shooting. The 42mm lens is considered to be the perfect focal length for 35mm photography as it closely matches the field of view of the human eye.

Thanks for stopping by!

For more “good stuff” please stop by our online store at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Chris

Kodak Vigilant Junior Six-20

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Here’s an interesting camera from Kodak – the Vigilant Junior Six-20 which was produced between 1939 to 1949. I’m sure there are more than a few of these floating around in junk bins and what not.

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We acquired the camera during one of our camera buying forays – the owner wanted it to go to a good home and told us that it was his families only camera for many years. It was dirty but the bellows are in good condition (I think we were the first ones to open it in maybe 30 or more years) as it was a struggle to get the bellows to deploy. We “bought” the camera along with a few of his Minolta lenses and a Minolta SR-T 101.

The camera is missing its winder knob but the film can still be advanced with a little effort (and luck). The Junior version of this popular camera was as basic as basic can be – simple shutter and even simpler aperture settings. We have no plans to shoot with this camera – 620 film is no longer available and although 120 roll film can be re-spooled to fit it’s not worth the effort. With 120 film you’d get only 8 exposures in the 6x9cm format.

So this little time machine gets added to our collection and for now, makes a nice display piece. I found a great new place to set up as a makeshift studio (see the picture above). Nice natural lighting and interesting backgrounds.

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Thanks for stopping by! By the way, this camera is available for purchase at https://www.ccstudio2380.com if you’d like to add a nice clean vintage camera to your home or office decor.

Chris

Sad SUNday! Remembering the kitties we lost this year

Chris and Carol 2 Comments
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Zoe – Our Sunroom Kitty – 2000 to 2018

Zoe was nearly 18 years old and she went missing just 2 days after we found Pirate dead.

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Pirate – The King of the Neighborhood – 2003 to 2018

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Sukoshi – The Soft One – 2003 to 2017

As much as Carol and I have enjoyed our different kitties over the 45 years of our marriage, with the loss of these three we have moved on from pet ownership. It’s painful to think about it but as we age it’s best for the cats and us.

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Our first kitty – Avon – 1975

Our cats: Avon 1975, Tank 1975, Sony 1981, Candy 1983, Zoe 2000, Pirate 2003, Sukoshi 2003 ^.^

Thanks for stopping by. Have a beautiful SUNday!

Chris and Carol ^.^

Fujicolor Simple Ace Disposable Camera

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Great review, awesome pics, and a timely message about plastic consumption! Well done my friend!
Be sure to check out her blog – always great stuff!

Peggy's avatarCamera Go Camera

A couple of years ago there was a bit of a “thing” about this single use camera after a 30th-anniversary edition was released. I bought one and shoved it in my fridge and basically forgot about it.

As you can see it came with a cover, which I didn’t use. Recently I have seen a rubbery cover on sale too. Anyway, as for his style of camera – it seems ridiculous to me, given all the issues with plastic consumption. Plus there are literally thousands upon thousands of great film cameras around that cost the same as one of these. I tried another one I found in a junk bin, but this is the first time I have ever bought one and I felt guilty every time I used it. Lomography have released a semi-single use camera which is slightly better, but even they say reloading it is tricky.

While researching…

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Funny Flickr

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

You just never know which images will “take off” on Flickr. Sometimes you think that you’ve nailed a shot only to see it fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out that one of my pictures (below) was invited to be in Flickr’s “in explore” group. Cool beans!

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It’s far from my best ever studio shots of my camera collection but I bet that the popularity of this image has something to do with the popularity of the camera.

“This camera is actually quite famous – back in its day it was considered a groundbreaker in the 35mm SLR autofocus “world”. This one has led a very gentle life – I’ve fully tested it with film and the thing that impressed me the most was how quickly the autofocus locked on to my subjects. The lens is a Minolta AF Zoom 35-70mm f4 and is sharp as a tack!
The camera, lens, and 4 (AAA) batteries weigh in at 847 grams (1 lb 14 oz)!”

My caption that accompanied the picture on Flickr.

Have a great day – thanks for stopping by!

Chris

Happy SUNday!

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A couple of the advertising boys from Yashica

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Could this be the camera that our Sailor Boy is holding? Yashica’s Auto Focus Motor 35 from 1981.

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Since Yashica has never officially named their advertising doll, I’ve always referred to him as ‘Sailor Boy’ for obvious (to me) reasons. Sailor hat and blue sailor pants. The other boy – well that’s still up for discussion. I originally thought of him as being a party boy and then a Christmas elf and now back to party guy and now… Yashica’s take on the nursery rhyme, “Wee Willie Winkie”. Floppy hat with the little ball or tassels on the end, and pointy slippers. It appears that Yashica used him to “announce” the arrival of their new camera. A stretch but thanks to my friend Paul, a good stretch.

The camera that the boy is holding resembles the Yashica Auto Focus Motor which was released in the early 1980s. The brochure shows the camera on a table with party hats, presents and a cake with candles – a birthday cake?

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Party hat? Christmas hat? Sleeping cap? It is missing a green decal on the front of the hat that says Yashica in katakana. The green decal and the white hat with red stars made me think that these were Christmas colors.

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The Sailor Boy (far right) with his proper green decal on his cap. Pointy (elf?) shoes and what appears to be a Christmas ball hanging from the cap… or maybe not.

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A true Christmas Sailor Boy – he’s a candle and so is his tree.

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Could this be Yashica’s inspiration??? Hmmmm

Thanks for stopping by Y’all! Have a great day!

Chris and Carol