Fuji Fail-ed… Discovery S700 Zoom Date

July 19, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

It was bound to happen. One klunker out of a bunch of good ones isn’t bad. We think it isn’t so much a bad build as possibly improperly stored… maybe.

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Another in the long line of plastic fantastic Fujifilm cameras from the late 1990s.

Part of the Discovery series of compact 35mm point and shoots from Fuji Photo Film. This one came to us still new in the box, unused but maybe stored in a too hot environment. Some of the plastic bag protecting the camera became stuck to the back film door (see below). This one is, using a nautical term, dead in the water. Despite a new battery, the camera won’t fire the flash and the shutter works intermittently or not at all. The power zoom works but beyond that, nothing else. Possibly a short in the circuitry caused by the hot storage (pure speculation).

Sticky residue on the film door from the factory plastic bag. So far it’s resisted all attempts at cleaning it off.

When the battery was first inserted for the date mode, this is the programmed date that popped up. We’re thinking it may be the build year. Why not?

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Talking about the date mode battery, what a pain to change it! Number one, it’s not even mentioned in the owner’s manual for starters. It takes a CR2025 3V lithium button battery but it wasn’t mentioned. Take a peek at what it takes to get at it… ⇓

Remove 6 screws and the film pressure plate, the battery cover and then peel up 2 felt light seals!

That baby was buried and stuck down with the light seals!

Back together.

Anyway, it’s a good looking camera and may have been fun to use.

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Oh and the remote control (below), no mention of that battery either.

Another CR2025 button battery.

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We’ve had great results with our other Fujifilm Discovery series cameras in the past. No reason to believe the series is not worthy of a look. Having said that, this is a new camera that’s never been used and still failed – but that’s why there’s warranties.

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Quick specs: Lens Fujinon 35-70mm electronic zoom, 5 elements in 5 groups. DX coded for ISO 100/400. Continuous shooting at 1 frame per second. Weight 235 grams with battery and data back.

Can we recommend the S700 Zoom Date? Well no. There are much better models out there from Fuji. Stick with the longer zoom models still built in Japan.

Thanks for your visit! Comments always welcome.

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris

Yashica FR II – the camera that made me buy the Canon F-1

July 13, 2017Chris and Carol 3 Comments

I know – the FR II and the F-1 are miles apart in features (and price). I purchased my first Yashica, a TL Electro-X in 1971 and used it faithfully through much of the 1970s. Being a young (and married) US Navy Sailor and money deprived, the TL suited me just fine – until I was transferred to Japan in 1977. If you were ever stationed in Yokosuka then you know what Building A33 means. It was the Navy Exchange camera and stereo heaven!!! Reps from all of the major camera manufacturers were present and demonstrated their latest gear to the now cash flush Sailors. Upstairs was a branch of Navy Federal Credit Union… if you couldn’t afford it, finance it! Pure bliss.

I’m so easily distracted.

So it was time for me to upgrade my trusty TL Electro-X, so naturally I looked at what Yashica had to offer. The FR was out but it didn’t do it for me and quite frankly, the Contax RTS didn’t either. So I waited and saved some money and started reading the Navy Exchange catalog every day (and night). The Canon F-1 looked promising but was expensive. The TL needed to hold me over as I was diverted to purchasing stereo equipment. Sansui pre and power amps, Teac reel to reel, Dual turntable and some killer Kenwood speakers. A small fortune so a camera upgrade would have to wait.

Now it’s the summer of 1978. My ship was inport (finally) long enough for Carol and I to spend some quality time together and to focus our attention on replacing the Yashica. Another visit to A33 and another visit with the Yashica rep. Now the FR II was the camera of the day (and he was still pushing the RTS too). No way. The friendly Canon rep was all too happy to take my money and hand me a bright new F-1 with 55mm f/ 1.4 lens and Canon 80-200mm zoom. The Yashica was sold off to a friend and that was it for Yashica (for the next couple of decades).

Oh happy day! July 1978 – my new Canon F-1 and Canon FD 80-200mm f/ 4 zoom lens.

Present day now and I’m finally an owner of a Yashica FR II.

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I picked up this beauty recently because it looked to be in near perfect condition and I figured, why not. Well I gotta say that I’m impressed. Not impressed enough to regret my F-1 purchase back in 1978, but impressed.

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The camera feels good in my hands – well balanced and the viewfinder is super bright. What a big difference over the Yashica TL Electro-X. The Contax/Yashica lens is crisp, clear and focusses easily (split-image). The meter is simple (this is a aperture priority camera) so you’re only messing with the f stops.

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With the power winder attached it’s a tad on the heavy side but would be useful as a weapon (or anchor).

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Simple lines and layout. The meter switch (upper right) is a bit awkward but the meter is accurate and that’s all that matters.

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Uses all of the C/Y bayonet mount lenses which can be had for a song today. Here is a 135mm, f/ 2.8 lens that came with it in basically unused condition.

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We have so many cameras in the queue right now I have no idea when we’ll get a chance to run a roll through it.

Verdict. I’ve waited nearly 40 years to shoot with it so I’m excited to see how it does out in the field. If you find a nice one for sale (mint condition) then give it a try. Stay away from the ones that look rough – these don’t hold up well with abuse. Prices are all over the place – you may be able to strike a nice deal with a seller who’s ready to part ways. Best of luck!

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris

Modern Classics – Fujifilm Zoom Date 110EZ

July 13, 2017July 13, 2017Chris and Carol Leave a comment

No it’s not a 110 film camera as the name might imply but one of the last in a long series of 35mm super compact cameras from Fuji.

This one debuted about late 2003 – not that long ago when you think about recent film cameras vs. emerging digital cameras.

As the name implies, it has a zoom lens (38-110mm) and can imprint the date on the film.

Autofocus, exposure, flash and red-eye reduction.

Electronic shutter from 1/2 to 1/500th second.

Nice bright viewfinder – large LCD with date/time imprint and super fast two position zoom buttons. The red power button is almost impossible to push with a normal fingertip. Too small for me.

Power zoom Fujinon lens 38-110mm (f 6.3 to 11.7).

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The camera is one of the smallest in our collection of plastic fantastic Fujifilm compact 35s. It weighs in at only 190 grams without the CR123A lithium battery.

Automatic DX film ISO setting from ISO 50-3200. Automatic film loading and film advance and auto pre-wind system.

As we’ve stated before, these cameras are getting harder to find in still brand new condition (with all original factory issued stuff)… so, they are somewhat collectable and if you’re looking for a super compact film camera to take on your next outing, the Fujifilm line is a very good choice.

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Thanks for your visit!

Chris

Cute or uncomfortable by today’s standards?

July 9, 2017July 9, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Is this image from a mid 1960s Yashica camera instruction booklet simply cute or does it make you feel a tad uncomfortable?

Is it a fun reminder of how the world was in 1965 – a bit “western obsessed”? Was it a little out of line even then? If this image were to be posted to a social media site today, what would the reaction be?

The original full context image from the booklet.

Weigh in if you’d like. We’d like to know your feelings.

Thanks, Chris and Carol

Twin-lens Reflex… a peek inside.

July 9, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

From an August 1963 sales brochure from Yashica (Printed in Japan). An excellent article we think. Of course Yashica produced twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras well into the late 1980s so they would be considered experts (one would think).

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Also known today (more so) as medium format. An inexpensive way to get into medium format film photography, Yashica made enough TLRs over the decades that there is an ample supply of well made Yashicas available online. Budding film photographers should be able to experiment with that format without breaking the bank.

The Yashica model A is a great first choice as it is one of the most widely available and simplest to “master”. Less stuff to break or need adjustment. Another good model is the Yashica Mat-EM (1964). It has a built-in light meter that doesn’t require a battery to operate. The meters can fail over time so be sure to ask the seller about it first and if you’re looking at one in person, then check it against a meter from a phone app.

The Yashica-Mat 124G is the last model. Usually still very expensive but has a meter and requires a battery. The good news is that they are still fixable if something fails (they all are but our point is that they’re the newest out there).

The Yashica-D… well, we’ve never had much luck but others do and they are good cameras. The Yashica-Mat is another common camera and has a crank winder.

Give it a try. Shooting in squares is a challenge but fun!

Thanks for your visit.

Chris

Maybe this isn’t the best way?

July 8, 2017July 8, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

We’re always searching for interesting cameras to review here on the blog – sometimes our searches online lead us to discover cameras that we’ve never heard of.

This is one of those cases. While searching for Topcon cameras, we discovered a TLR (127 film) that struck our fancy. Partly because of the name – Sawyer’s Mark IV… made by Topcon in Japan.

And then… THIS!!!

Would you want to bid on this camera claimed to be in near mint condition? By the way, there is a half eaten donut on the table just behind the camera.

You don’t need a fancy studio to take good images of items that you sell online. Heck we started out by putting our cameras on a clean piece of white poster board and shooting with the natural daylight coming in through the window. Now we use “studio lights” that we put together from utility lights from a hardware store and daylight fluorescent bulbs.

I wish this seller all the best – I hope he continues to do well – just watch your backgrounds man!

Chris

Yashica Arrivals – Pentamatic S & 635

July 6, 2017July 6, 2017Chris and Carol Leave a comment

As if the collection needed more Yashica anything – but collections are dynamic things and as such, something “new” arrives which paves the way for a duplicate(s) to go.

Although we have some very nice Pentamatic-S models in the family, this one is close to mint new and is in fully working condition (including the “no name” exposure meter). So we’ll take a hard look at the others and decide which will be listed for sale in our online store.

The Yashica-635 is another story.

The first one we acquired (about a year ago) looked perfect – new in fact – but it had a fatal flaw – the shutter was jammed because the “M-X” lever was in the wrong position when someone tried to use the self-timer. That one was sold for parts. This one came to us from England and was likely purchased new in Singapore in the late 1950s. A guess on our part but there’s a cleaning cloth with it from a camera store in Changi Village, Singapore which was located right outside the gates of the RAF Changi airbase. This 635 is super clean and works! It even came with the hard to find large Yashica-635 carry case in excellent condition. We can’t wait to try the 35mm feature on it.

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The Yashica-635 is a dual format TLR which was released in 1958 (this model) and the Yashica Pentamatic-S came out in early 1961 – possibly January (this one September 1961).

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Much more to come on the Yashica-635. We hope to restore the large leather carry case that came with it and we’ll do a complete feature on the dual formats. The ability to shoot 12 6x6cm negatives with 120 roll film and with a few easy change outs inside, switch to shooting a roll of 35mm film with the same camera. Cool.

Thanks for stopping by!

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris

Modern Classic – Fujifilm Zoom Date 140

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Released around late 1999 or early 2000 – another of Fujifilm’s high zoom 35mm autofocus compact cameras.

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It’s a good looking camera that fits well in my hand. Not too small but not overly big either. Still handles like a quality point and shoot camera from the 1990s. Features a nice Fujinon zoom lens so it handles a wide range of shooting situations. Of course when it extends the lens it looks a bit goofy at 140mm but at least the motor is kinda quiet.

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The Fujinon lens features 5 components, 5 elements, 38-140mm zoom f/ 7 to 13 with closest AF focusing from 0.9 meters to infinity.

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Quality materials used throughout – solid construction.

Nice bright viewfinder – recessed on/off button and an easy to use zoom lever (gray thingy) for zipping through the different focal ranges.

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Easy to set date modes and of course an easy to see and read LCD. Big shutter button feels good under your finger.

Easy to load and has some what looks like glass over the rear element. Nice touch.

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Of course it has a self timer, auto film advance and rewind, autofocus, autoflash with red-eye reduction and DX coding from ISO 50-3200. Uses the still easy to find CR123A lithium battery. Weighs 240 grams without the battery.

Comes with a roll of Fujicolor Superia film – expired in 2002.

Should you collect these plastic fantastic P&S compact 35mm cameras from the 2000s? Yes of course – if you can find one still new in the box, why not? They don’t make them anymore and if you’re looking to find a good 35mm film camera as a user, this one has enough features and a quality zoom to handle most demanding shooting situations.

This set can be viewed at our online store, CC’s Studio Twenty-3 Eighty at http://www.ccstudio2380.com if you’re interested.

Thanks a bunch for your visit and as always, Carol and I appreciate your comments and likes.