Yashica macro photography gear in the 1960s

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica’s first pro-black 35mm SLR.

Yashica J-3 with Yashica extension tubes and right-angle finder (1962).

A few years later here’s a gorgeous Macro Yashinon f2.8 60mm Tomioka lens set (1964).

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.

More Yashica – Yashica Flex S – 1954

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Also known as the Yashica Flex S. I’ve put together a nice complete set of this hard-to-find early TLR from Yashima-Yashica. As you can see on the box, at this point in time the company that would change its name in 1958 to Yashica was still Yashima Kogaku Seiki Company. The instruction book is in English as the camera was marketed by the Miura Trading Company and not directly marketed by Yashima. The Model S was the first TLR with a “built-in exposure meter”. The meter was simply a light meter made for Yashima by Sekonic and attached to the camera’s left side. The selenium cells for the meter are located under the nameplate which is a flap that swings upwards.

If you would like to know more about this landmark camera then I invite you to visit my good friend Paul Sokk’s Yashica TLR site at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage2.html

Paul’s work on the Yashica TLR family of cameras is second to none. He’s also included a wonderful addition to his pages with additional pages dedicated to Leica, Nicca, Leotax, Minolta, and others. Give his site a read and tell him Chris sent you!

Yashica’s J-Series of 35mm SLR Cameras from the 1960s

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Regular readers know that the main focus of my collection has been centered around cameras made by Yashica. I have collected quite a few examples going back to their 1953 origins. This particular series caught my fancy a few years back when I was lucky enough to find a pristine Yashica J-3 in a pro-black finish with a matching lens. When it comes to chasing classic cameras, the J-3 in black and in pristine condition is no easy task. Here are a few images of what I’ve put together so far.

Chasing these guys has been fun, to say the least. It’s not that any one of these is rare in the true sense of the word but finding pristine examples has been the tough part.

As best as I can tell, the J-7 wasn’t the last one produced in the series as the J-4 came out just a bit later.

The black J-3 was never mentioned in any brochure which was odd considering it was Yashica’s first all-black SLR and was produced in limited numbers.

Since the cameras from Yashica were never meant to be of interest to collectors very few survive to this day in mint and better condition. The little circle on the camera’s left side front is the CdS exposure meter. These cameras did not feature TTL (thru-the-lens metering).

If you decide to collect this series you’ll find a very nice assortment of lenses to choose from as Yashica produced thousands over the years. The body accepts m42 screw-in lenses which for a time was one of the most widespread lenses made.

Here is what a complete in-the-box set looks like for the silver J-3 from around 1962.

As always thanks for stopping by – I hope I’ve shed sufficient light on this often overlooked series from Yashica. Maybe a few of you would enjoy the chase in pursuit of these mid-1960s gems. – Chris

Friday Fotos!

January 21, 2022January 21, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A stunning camera from Yashica – the early 1960s.

Yashica’s black beauty.

Yashica J-3 35mm SLR in wonderful black & white.

Here it is in a more traditional silver and black body. The brochure is from 1962.

This black body version of the J-3 is extremely difficult to find online. Yashica didn’t release production figures and I’ve never been able to find a mention of it in any English or Japanese product brochures.

I like both images and it would be hard to say which version is my favorite. The black & white image seems a fitting way to express the stark black of Yashica’s first pro-black camera. The color version I believe gives depth to the smooth black surfaces. Do you have a favorite? Let me know. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Ihagee Exakta Varex – rare European model, 1950

December 21, 2021December 21, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

As the title states, this is a rather rare (very hard to find at least) European model of this popular camera. In the United States, this model was simply marked “V.” on the body and it was sometimes referred to as the Varex V.

35mm single-lens reflex film camera with interchangeable lenses.

The camera’s place in history is it was the first or at the very least, one of the first 35mm single-lens reflex cameras made beginning in the late 1930s in pre-war Germany and picking up again after the war in what would become East Germany (Dresden).

Here it is viewed from behind with the waist-level pop-up viewfinder opened. The small rectangular opening is an eye-level “sports finder”.

Pictured here with the prism removed. Ihagee also made an eye-level pentaprism that could be swapped out.

With the lens removed the Exakta bayonet mount is visible. The lever locked the lens flange securely to the body.

With the back film door removed. This particular camera uses yarn as a light seal. The serial is located inside just above the shutter curtain.

A few words about the serial number. As best as I’ve been able to tell, the serial numbers range from around 667000 to 692000 for this Varex. I’ve seen other estimates of somewhere between 670000 to 684000. If a reader has more definitive information I’d love to see it.

Heat stamped on the bottom plate is “Made in Germany”.

My nearly complete set with some hard-to-find accessories.

The lens. It’s a well-respected lens by Meyer Gorlitz – Primoplan Red V f/1.9 58mm. It has an impressive 14 aperture blades and is claimed to be constructed with 5 elements in 4 groups. Collectors today still chase after nice examples of the lens, especially in the M42 mount. As seen pictured above, I have an aluminum lens hood (shade) made by Cenei in its original leather case, an Ihagee Dresden 42mm slip-on blue filter in its original box, a Heliopan yellow slip-on filter in its original plastic case, and finally a 42mm push-on plastic lens cap (unmarked but made in Germany).

I’ve come to the decision that my collections of cameras have grown a bit beyond my original intent so this gorgeous set is available for purchase in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com where additional images can be found and a more complete description of its features. It can be purchased directly through Etsy and it ships nearly worldwide!

Thanks for sticking around to the end of this post and as always, have a fantastic day and evening! – 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

Preview image – Exakta Varex

December 20, 2021December 20, 2021Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Hi and thanks for stopping by! Here’s a preview of a rather rare camera that will be available in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (hosted by Etsy). Hopefully, it will be fully listed by mid-day on Tuesday. I’ll post additional pictures here too. – Chris

The magical Leica M4

December 14, 2021December 14, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In my opinion, the M4 is an interesting model to chase after but be prepared to pony up for super-sharp black versions with smaller production runs like this stunning M4 from 1969.

In this example, it’s mated with a sharp f2 35mm Summicron lens (I much prefer a wide-angle lens for the type of street photography I enjoy).

An exceedingly handsome camera from the 1960s.

I sold this camera and lens set for around $6,800. My advice is to chase after the best M4 your budget will allow and expect to have it serviced by Leica. It’s a joy to use and to just hold in your hands. I wish I had kept the one I had access to but it was a consignment piece and it was sent to auction on eBay. Offers came in from China and Japan and from many parts of Europe but in the end, they went to a collector in the US (I believe).

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

January 1988 Nikon Ad

December 9, 2021December 9, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Ad for Nikon cameras and Pan Am from Life magazine. How many of these Nikon’s have you owned in your film camera years? I had a Nikonos II way back in 1971. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Best Yashica ever!

November 23, 2021November 23, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

This is one of the best sets I have ever run across in all of my years of collecting (well OK, it’s in my top ten at least).

Amazing complete set from Yashica. A virtual time machine from 1965.

The Yashica D twin-lens reflex (TLR) is one of the more popular models from Yashica’s line of medium format 120 roll film cameras. The camera is fully functional and looks (and works) as if it arrived from the factory yesterday! The Yashikor lenses are crystal clear.
This set comes complete with its original inner and outer boxes, inside packing materials, all papers, and its original beautiful brown leather case.
By the way, it’s a matching number set – the camera serial number matches the box and papers!

I had a buyer for this set in mind and it sold within 24 hours of my listing it in my online camera shop. It originally came from a collector in England.

Here are a few more boxed sets I was lucky enough to find in my travels.

I’m like a kid on Christmas morning whenever I find these still “new in the box” camera sets. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! – Chris