Author Chris and Carol

Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ vs. Pentamatic II

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Why did Yashica bring out the Pentamatic II less than a year after releasing the original model?

The only difference we can tell between the original Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ and the Pentamatic II (which came out around September 1960), is the standard lens that was mated with the camera body. The original Pentamatic came with the Auto-Yashinon, f/ 1.8, 5.5cm fully automatic 6 element lens. Of course it has the unique Pentamatic bayonet mount and not the M42 screw mount. The Pentamatic II came with the Auto-Yashinon, f/ 1.7, 5.8cm lens (pictured below). Both lenses were made for Yashica by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo. We imagine the 58mm, f/ 1.7 lens was a bit faster than the f/ 1.8… but we don’t see why Yashica changed from the model I to the model II and why they changed the lens… we may never discover the reason either.

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The standard lens for the Pentamatic II – 5.8cm, f/ 1.7

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Gorgeous lens for the Pentamatic II.

Brochure c1961

The first sighting of the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure for the Japanese home market.

We’ve yet to find an advertisement for the Pentamatic II in English and along those same lines, have yet to find the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure in English. The Pentamatic S replaced the model II less than a year after its release. The model S went back to using the original 5.5cm, f/ 1.8 lens that was on the original Pentamatic.

That makes the Auto-Yashinon 5.8cm, f/ 1.7 lenses one of the rarest of the early Pentamatic bayonet mount lenses.

06-12-2016 pentamatic II 2 (2)

Happy hunting!

Chris

Leave sleeping gators be…

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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Or maybe not…

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Local pond gator doin’ his thing. He’s started to get interested in my presence.

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Here’s Wally out of the pond.

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Pond gators (what I call the local boys) are quite common around my neighborhood – but they are still gators, wild and unpredictable. I give these guys plenty of room and there’s usually a nice escape route available for me. It also helps to have some type of gator barrier (short seawalls work best) between you and your friend. DO NOT stand along the same shoreline of a small pond or swamp area with gators – they are super quick and can actually “climb” small obstacles.

Amelia Island Florida.

Camera: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170

Chris

Island Life

Chris and Carol 7 Comments

The church looked so beautiful in the late day lighting yesterday, I decided to revisit it this evening a tad bit earlier. I love the silhouette of the peak and steeple as the sun was perfectly placed.

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Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Amelia Island Florida.

Camera: Samsung Galaxy S4

Chris

Pentamatic vs. Pentamatic S – Yashica’s Heavyweights

Chris and Carol 6 Comments

The Pentamatic was Yashica’s first single-lens reflex (SLR) and was released in 1960 (May-June) timeframe. The Pentamatic S was released about mid to late 1961. Not much changed between the two – the S model added a built-in self-timer and most notably, a provision for mounting an exposure meter to the top right of the camera that coupled with the shutter speed dial. Other small changes were to add lugs for holding the neck strap (moving them from the extreme right and left sides of the body on the Pentamatic to a more typical front mounting on the S). Unseen from the exterior is a change to the focusing screen inside the pentaprism. The original fresnel screen in the Pentamatic was replaced with a split image screen in the model S. For me, that change makes the Pentamatic S much easier to focus and improves the brightness inside the viewfinder.

A look at both models shows these changes and the tiny bit of extra weight that the S carries over the original Pentamatic.

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At 978 grams, the original Pentamatic is anything but a lightweight. (2.16 lbs)

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At 1,004 grams, the S shows the slight weight increase from the changes made between the two models. (2.21 lbs)

Both cameras are photographed with the same lens attached – Auto Yashinon 5.5cm f1.8 lens which was the standard lens that came with both models. Only the Pentamatic II (released in September 1960) came with a different lens. (5.8cm f1.7)

Compared to other SLRs from the same time period, the Pentamatic was a bit of a beast to tote around. The buying public never embraced these wonderful cameras and they ended their production run in less than 2 years.

Finding good looking (and still working) Pentamatics is a challenge for any collector with the Pentamatic II being especially difficult to find in any condition.

Of note, if you have an Asahi Pentax, Nikon F or Canoflex camera with the standard lenses from the late 1950s or early 1960s, we would love for you to let us know what their combined weight is. We could be way off in our assumption that the Pentamatic was significantly heavier than the other cameras of that era. Thanks!

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris