late entry

October 17, 2020October 17, 2020Chris and Carol 1 Comment

As Saturday becomes Sunday I’ve decided to tease a post I’ll actually finish tomorrow (my Sunday). Nearly 100 years old and counting (the camera not the post).

Rather rare movie camera from 1925 gets a new home. For more please visit my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks, Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

SUNday Spotlight – Chasing Classic Cameras – Leica Bits!

August 23, 2020August 23, 2020Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Part of the fun of collecting cameras is discovering something you didn’t know existed. In this case, I recently discovered that Leica Leitz made lens cases out of Bakelite (ancient plastic) that held various Leica lenses in the late 1940s and early 1950s (reportedly as early as the mid-1930s).

The case is designed to hold the lens securely with a small notch for the focus knob.

There are small numbers embossed in the base, 2729, and on the cap 2617. These numbers do not show up currently on a search of Leica catalog numbers.

The outside of the base of the Bakelite case.

‘BCDOO’ was the Leica catalog code for the Bakelite lens case for the 3.5cm Summaron. The translation of the French is “Bakelite boxes with screw-thread cover for…”.

Apparently, at some point in time (I don’t know the date of this catalog) these Bakelite cases were offered with the lenses as either a standard accessory or available as a separate option.

A small sample of the Bakelite cases.

Thanks for stopping by and here’s hoping you have a beautiful day and that you’re about to discover something neat in your camera collection! – Chris

By the way, my camera shop is always open at http://www.ccstudio2380.com so feel free to pop on over.

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

SUNday Spotlight – Chasing Classic Cameras – Arco Colinar Lens

August 16, 2020August 16, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From 1952, a little known Japanese lens maker produced this super nice Leica screw mount telephoto lens. The Arco Colinar 13.5cm f/3.8 short telephoto.

DSCF2163 (1)

It was one of the first lenses produced by this start-up company. The serial number, No. 27559 gives a clue as to when it was made. The ’27’ is the Showa year and when converted to our Western calendar is 1952 (27 + 25 = 52). The remaining numbers would indicate the number made up to that point. In this case, it is the 559th made.

I believe it is a chromed brass bodied lens as it weighs 615 grams. Lots of brass and glass in a small package.

DSCF2171

Test image from about 10 feet at f/11.

Test image from about 15 feet at f/11.

The lens is designed for 35mm rangefinder cameras that use the Leica LTM/L39 screw mount – Leica, Nicca, Canon, Leotax to name just a few.

The lens was mounted on my Fujifilm X-A10 mirrorless digital camera using a Fotodiox M39-FX adapter. I’m very happy with the performance of this classic and a rather rare lens that’s still going strong after 68 years of service.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day! – Chris

Be sure to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – lots of new old stuff added this week – check it out.

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Chasing Classic Cameras – Nicca 3-S

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Nicca 3-S 35mm rangefinder camera from the mid-1950s. Here it’s mated with a rather rare Nippon Kogaku W-Nikkor C 28mm f/3.5 wide-angle lens and matching Nippon Kogaku optical 2.8 viewfinder.

The Nicca is a solid camera in its own right. Many call this type of camera a Leica copy or clone but I prefer to say it was inspired by Leica’s design.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day! – Chris

My camera shop can be visited at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris – hello Miranda!

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Here’s a seldom-seen “system camera” from Miranda first released in 1965. The Miranda G was a one-hit-wonder and was quickly replaced with metered models. I think it was called the Miranda GT when a metered pentaprism was added.

Exploded view of the Miranda G. Up to three viewfinders were available for use in the system.

A fast Auto Miranda wide-angle lens (made by Soligor?) – f/2.8 2.8cm

A focal-plane shutter with speeds from bulb to 1/1000 second.

There are 8 different focusing screens available for this model.

This beast weighs in at 877 grams as pictured minus film and batteries. Wait, there’s no batteries as this is the meterless prism. Time to break out your hand-held meter because this is basic photography 101 – pure analog.

I wanted to post an advertisement from around 1965 or so with the Miranda G but I couldn’t find any. The G is rather uncommon in any condition.

This wonderful classic is available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks for stopping by and stay safe! – Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

No Love Fuji? The Discovery 90 Date

April 19, 2017May 20, 2021Chris and Carol 8 Comments

The plastic fantastic wonders of the 1980s and 1990s generally receive no love – especially looking back on them with our digitized eyeballs in 2017. These overlooked (even when new for the most part) cameras were the bridge cameras for many photographers that were moving away from their bulky SLRs from the 1970s and looking for something easy, carefree and light to take with them on short outings and family get togethers. The 35mm format was the clear winner in the format wars, now manufacturers wanted think-free 35s that were as easy to use as falling outta bed (?).

DSCF5081

This Fuji Discovery 90 Date was introduced in May 1993 to an already crowded plastic 35mm marketplace. So how to stand out? Drop-in loading, auto focus, auto exposure auto rewind and auto wind was a good start. A big bright viewfinder centered over the lens – and macro capability (23 1/2 inches / 60cm). Auto flash. How about a good price too? And free film? Free batteries… sure. $10 in coupons too!!! Fuji did everything it could to sell these things, and they did alright too. It helps that you make film.

We like our recently acquired Fuji… it feels balanced in my hand and I like the big centered viewfinder. The lens is a Fujinon f8 34mm lens – we can’t wait to run a roll through it to test it out. By the way, the Fujicolor expired in May 1997.

DSCF5092

DSCF5083

DSCF5085

DSCF5086

DSCF5090

DSCF5082

Thanks for your visit… check back when we run a roll through it. Do you have a favorite plastic fantastic camera? Let us know.

Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Category Chasing Classic Cameras

late entry

SUNday Spotlight – Chasing Classic Cameras – Leica Bits!

Part of the fun of collecting cameras is discovering something you didn’t know existed. In this case, I recently discovered that Leica Leitz made lens cases out of Bakelite (ancient plastic) that held various Leica lenses in the late 1940s and early 1950s (reportedly as early as the mid-1930s).

SUNday Spotlight – Chasing Classic Cameras – Arco Colinar Lens

From 1952, a little known Japanese lens maker produced this super nice Leica screw mount telephoto lens. The Arco Colinar 13.5cm f/3.8 short telephoto.

Chasing Classic Cameras – Nicca 3-S

Nicca 3-S 35mm rangefinder camera from the mid-1950s. Here it’s mated with a rather rare Nippon Kogaku W-Nikkor C 28mm f/3.5 wide-angle lens and matching Nippon Kogaku optical 2.8 viewfinder.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris – hello Miranda!

Here’s a seldom-seen “system camera” from Miranda first released in 1965. The Miranda G was a one-hit-wonder and was quickly replaced with metered models. I think it was called the Miranda GT when a metered pentaprism was added.

No Love Fuji? The Discovery 90 Date