This wonderful set sold to another collector a while back but I wish I still had it in my collection! Oh well, it’s time to look for another one. – Chris
New in my shop today is this awesome Canon New F-1 with AE Finder FN, Canon FD 50mm f1.8 Lens and the Official 35mm Camera of the 1984 Olympic Games Lens Cap (plus all boxes, straps, caps, instruction booklets, warranty cards).
This is the first time that this set has been offered for sale and it’s in nearly perfect cosmetic condition and in 100% fully working (tested) condition.
The best Canon SLR to come out of the early 1980s – by far!
The Canon New F-1 with AE Finder FN is a professional camera that combines a balance between the electronic and mechanical worlds – its electromechanical hybrid shutter provides greater overall accuracy and a wider range of shutter speeds. If the battery fails, you can continue shooting at any of the high speeds or B, all of which are mechanically controlled. A new Energizer battery has been installed and…
Hi all… if you’re looking to get into medium-format film photography may I suggest you look for the Yashica Model A as a good starting point. The camera is super simple to operate and is very affordable compared to other Yashica models. The better price doesn’t get you an inferior camera though as the Model A uses high-quality Yashica lenses made by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo. Here’s an example of a Model A. This one was made in 1966 and is in mint condition.
The right side has a large focusing knob in feet and meters and a smaller film advance knob (upper left).This camera’s left side features an accessory shoe.A red viewing window indicates which exposure you’re on.Film loading is simple as is unloading. The camera uses easy to find 120 roll film. I like using film from Fujifilm.Both the viewing lens (top) and the taking lens are Yashikor f3.5 80mm made by Tomioka Optical. The shutter is made by Copal and features speeds from B (Bulb) to 1/300. The shutter is cocked by moving the lever (with a green dot) downward after advancing the film. The shutter release is the silver button on the lower left of the faceplate. The aperture is set by the silver lever to the right of the taking lens.Instruction booklet from the first version of the camera (1956).
Why I love the Yashica-A. It’s simple to use and simple to operate and with less fussy features it’s likely to operate for decades to come and it’s easy to chase down on the online auction and buying sites (eBay, Etsy, Mercari). What’s the downside? Like any camera that’s over five decades old, fungus and mold on the lenses are the biggest issues. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to get at the lenses and give them a good cleaning as long as the fungus hasn’t etched the glass lens elements. I find my Yashica-A’s lens is just as good a picture taker as my much more feature-laden Yashica-Mat EM with a Yashinon lens. For much more on everything related to Yashica TLRs, stop by my good friend Paul Sokk’s site at http://www.yashicatlr.com – Thanks for stopping by, Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
My Yashica LM as seen on my Burke & James Press 4 x 5 camera’s focusing screen.
Yashica LM from 1957.Yashica LM complete set.
The Yashica LM has a “built-in” exposure meter that’s attached to the camera’s left side. It’s a selenium cell meter so no batteries are required but after 60 years most have stopped working. This one still works! For more about all Yashica TLRs, visit my good friend Paul Sokk’s site at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage4.html#yashicalm
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
Yashica-A TLR SetYashica-A 1956 to 1968Yashica FR II 1977Yashica CS-20 Auto 1973Yashica Half-17 1963Yashica Sailor Boy 1962
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
Testing my new to me Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS 10-megapixel digital bridge camera with a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 28-420mm (equivalent) AF 15X Optical Zoom lens. Wow, what a mouthful!
The all-glass Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon Optical Zoom Lens provides powerful zoom combined with precision optics. Its fast aperture range (f/3.5-5.4) and 15x zoom range (28-420mm equivalent) offer extraordinary creative performance and sharp images.Full telephoto.
It was rather late in the afternoon when I gave the camera a bit of a test so the images are quite contrasty. I am surprised at just how sharp the lens is even fully zoomed at the 420mm handheld.
Here are some late morning images a few days later.
Close-up at telephoto zoom.Full telephoto (handheld).Close-up “macro” setting with fill-in flash.
I didn’t know this about the camera until just now doing some background research – The EasyShare Z1015 IS comes with a rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (KLIC-8000) but is also compatible with disposable CRV3 Lithium batteries, and it can use AA-size batteries (Lithium & Alkaline) as well. Plus, the camera includes an AC adapter/charger, that utilizes the camera’s USB port to provide power. With all of these power options; you’ll always have the means to power your camera available to you. Frame your shots with the high-resolution electronic viewfinder (EVF) or with the 3.0″ indoor/outdoor color LCD, and then verify the exposure of your pictures using the histogram feature with highlight clipping. The LCD display lets you view your pictures right-side-up with auto picture rotation and in review mode, quickly magnify images up to 8x to confirm focus and details, fast scroll through pictures, or view multi-up images. I’m impressed.
Overall a smaller and more compact 15x bridge camera.Nice 3 inch LCD.
As best as I can tell the camera was released around 2008 and all things considered, it had some impressive specs for the time. I’m very impressed with the performance of this vintage digital camera here in 2022. At the moment I think this one is a keeper. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
It’s been fully serviced and brought back to the factory specifications. The old leatherette covering has been removed and the new leather has been delivered. So why haven’t I finished with the restoration? The simple and short answer is I have no idea. This image was taken in the Summer of 2020 and the camera hasn’t been touched since – it’s not on display either. I guess it’s time to finish this project, load some film, and enjoy it. I can’t believe how quickly time is slipping by.
In color.
It looks so industrial without the leatherette. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
I’ve added this lovely Canon AV-1 to my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. If you’re not familiar with this model it’s worth your time to read a bit more about it as it has some very interesting features and is super simple to use (it’s a great camera to use when you’re just starting into film photography).
This one is from 1981. A nearly perfect example of this not often seen Canon 35mm SLR. The AV-1 (Aperture Value) camera is pretty unique in that you select the aperture you want on the FD lens and then the camera selects the proper shutter speed for true auto exposure photography. The AV-1 accepts all of Canon’s FD mount lenses (tons of them to choose from) and works directly with the dedicated Canon Speedlites like the 133A, 155A, 177A, and 199A.
This one is in collector’s condition – it’s that nice.Load the film, set the ASA (far left dial) adjust the shutter dial (red A), pick an aperture (here it’s set to f8) compose and focus your subject then fire away.The AV-1 accepts all of Canon’s FD mount lenses which is a bunch!The AV-1 uses an easy-to-find and not expensive 6v A544 battery that’s sold pretty much everywhere. I buy these batteries online in groups of 5 to save even more.
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and, while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
This errata sheet was included with the Yashica brochure (pictured below) from 1974.
Yashica’s “Infallible” System needed to be corrected.
There aren’t too many of these sales brochures still floating around so I ended up buying one that is a bit rough condition-wise (but complete). It even has some prices written on the cover as a bonus.The date code (lower right corner) is E074 which I take to be July 1974. It’s one of the few brochures from this period that both the English and Japanese versions use the same images inside.
The sales brochures for the Yashica Electro AX and FFT cameras are pretty hard to find online here in the US on eBay and Etsy or through the Japanese auction sites. The owner’s manuals are even harder to find!
Here’s the back cover of the Japanese sales brochure. It uses the same date code 074.The Japanese front cover.
Small stuff I know but I’m trying to document as much as I can on these last two models (AX & FFT) from Yashica in their M42 screw-in mount camera line (1972-1974). Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and, while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
A dream collection of Yashica cameras – if only it was 1975 again! This photo is from the Yashica publication intended for US camera dealers and represents only a small portion of what was available from Yashica in 1975. Conspicuous in its absence is the flagship TL Electro-X ITS with its distinctive gold electron logo on the pentaprism.
Contax Heaven
From ‘Yashica A New Horizon’ – 1975 marketing brochure. If you look closely at the copy stand in the area just below the bulb on the right you can just make out a piece of black tape. On my copy stand, it says Yashica and since Contax didn’t make one (at the time of this image) they just covered up the Yashica name. How cool would it be to own everything pictured?
My good friend Graham Buxton-Smither had this to say about the Contax image above – “It was an aspirational piccie back in the late 1970s – one could only dream about owning such gear – even more so when you added the Zeiss lens range. You are absolutely right about the copy stand – it’s Yashica’s Cope Stand II. Two other Yashica items are shown – the Microscope Adapter and the Magnifier. All is not as it seems with other gear too! The motor drive/250 back is the one later used by Olympus with the OM1n; the hammer-head flash is a lower-powered National, quite unlike the RTF540; the bellows is simply a basic Novoflex rebranded (the Contax Auto Bellows is far superior with swing/tilt), and the radio control kit is nothing like the actual one eventually produced under the Contax name. It’s still a great piccie though! I’m adding a photo to the Yashica Group showing the ML 55 2.8 + 27mm Tube on a Contax RTS Fundus that shows the true Contax 250 back and drive.” I’ve included an image of Graham’s Contax that he mentions above (see below).
This shows the ML 55 2.8 in 1:1 macro mode using Yashica’s 27mm Extension Tube. It’s attached to my lab kit – a Contax RTS Fundus with the Professional Motor Drive and 250 Back. I often use it with the AC Control Box when observing an item over extended periods of days or weeks.
Thank you for stopping by and hopefully, I’ve piqued your curiosity a bit! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and, while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
I purchased this gorgeous advertising leaflet from a collector in Japan that is as fresh as the day it was printed back in 1964 (best guess of the actual date).
Yashica Minister-700 35mm rangefinder film camera.
The lower portion of this leaflet talks about a test that Asahi Camera magazine published in December 1964 praising the sharpness and speed of the f1.7 Yashinon 4.5cm lens and the accuracy of the built-in CdS light meter.
Yashica Minister-700 “DeLuxe” model 35mm rangefinder camera. There’s no mention as to what makes this a DeLuxe model other than the cost of a premium leather case for an additional 1,800 JPY.
The Yashinon f1.7 4.5cm lens has 6 elements in 4 groups. A lens like this would not normally be on a “simple” rangefinder like this at this price point of 18,000 JPY in 1964.
This model is not as common as the other models in the Minister “family” and it would be an excellent find for any collection. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and, while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 