Yashica YEM-35 Meter & Pentamatic ’35’

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

The Pentamatic was unique in the fact that the accessory shoe was located on the camera’s left side just above the rewind lever. Since the Pentamatic didn’t have TTL metering adding a separate meter was as easy as simply sliding whichever model you wanted on. Of course, the meter wasn’t coupled with the camera so you would set the camera’s aperture and shutter speed according to the meters readings.

Vintage view with the meter attached to the accessory shoe.

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, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.

Hard working Canons past and present

June 5, 2021June 5, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

I purchased this Super 8 camera from a friend way back in 1977 while stationed in Japan on the USS Midway. I ran quite a few reels of film through it before the video revolution took hold in the early 1980s. I’ve since sold the camera to another collector (a few years back) but I still miss not owning it. What a beast but man was it an awesome camera to use. It’s macro and slow motion capabilities were not to be believed.

Here I am in the Philippines (near the Subic Navy Base) using the Canon with a curious onlooker.

As time went by my original Canon F-1 became somewhat obsolete as new advances in technology and electronics could deliver a lot of camera features in a “compact” 35mm SLR.

The Canon A-1. Lots of stuff packed in a compact camera (compared to the F-1).

I still have a couple of A-1s in my collection – one for show and one for go. Pictured above is the go-to camera in my bag. My Canon F-1 pictured below. This was a beast to carry on a photo walk!

The monster F-1 with all of its goodies. This is my original F-1 that pretty much went with me everywhere in the 1970s and 1980s. See pic below.

Me with the F-1 while walking on the outskirts of Kowloon (Hong Kong) around 1978 or so.

I should mention that both images of me were taken by my very good Navy buddy and dear friend Jim. Sadly Jim and his wife were killed in an airplane crash in late 2001. Jim was a Nikon guy and it was always great fun to see who got the best from their cameras.

Yashica Pentamatic II – The Phantom

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

The Yashica Pentamatic II is without a doubt the hardest camera to find in any condition in Yashica’s lineup. If you do find one, buy it at least for its standard lens. You won’t be disappointed.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

A new Pentamatic joins the family – this one was made in September of 1960.

DSCF7800 Seldom seen in the wild, Yashica’s “Phantom” camera – the P2

The Pentamatic II was fitted with a limited production lens made by Zunow Optical – a 5.8cm f1.7 Auto Yashinon with 10 aperture blades. It’s a massive camera with a ton (1,028 grams) of brass and glass.

It’s a distinctive design – very modern but classic at the same time. A clean pentaprism without the cold shoe mounted on it – in fact, the cold shoe (accessory shoe) is mounted on the camera’s left shoulder just above the hidden rewind knob.

DSCF7802

The serial number (NO. 96000944) indicates the “when” of this camera. The “9” is for September and the next digits, “60” is for 1960. The last 5 digits are the sequence number or production number. This one is the 944th made since production…

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Yashica Heavyweights – 1960s glass & brass

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is a fun visual comparison between three early Yashica cameras.

Yashica’s first 35mm SLR released in early 1960. The Pentamatic 35 with its fast f/1.8 lens was a neck breaker to be sure.

Yashica’s first modern 35mm SLR released shortly after the end of the Pentamatic series in 1962.

First released in 1964, the Yashica Mat EM (Exposure Meter) was and still is a very popular TLR (twin-lens reflex) 120 roll film camera. It features a built-in exposure meter powered by selenium cells. The meter on mine is still working and is accurate when shooting negative films.

What’s the heaviest camera in your collection? Not pictured here I’d say my fully decked out Canon F-1 with a motor drive and big f/1.2 lens is crazy heavy. I’ll have to dig it out and post the results here soon.

The Best of Yashica – 1972

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From the Yashica book The Creative System of Photography. Some of the lenses pictured here are nearly impossible to find today in mint or near mint condition. I do know some intrepid Yashica collectors that have come very close to owning all of this.

To chase down all of this is a pretty monumental task so I’d give it a Chase Factor of a solid 10 (CF-10). Good luck chasers!

Yashica’s last TLR – Chasing a True Classic!

May 27, 2021May 27, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Yashica’s (Kyocera by this point) last TLR model. This one was part of the last run of the model before production shut down in 1986. Yashica (originally named Yashima) started off in 1953 with the obscure Pigeonflex TLR followed by the Yashima Flex and then continued to build TLRs way longer than the market could bear (or need). The good news is that the 124G can be found today in great quantities and cameras as “young” as 35 years-old.
It’s a very affordable way to get into medium format photography and in the case of this model, be able to use both 120 and 220 roll film giving you either 12 or 24 exposures.

After about 33 years of making TLRs, this was Yashica’s best.

A beauty – here’s what a modern TLR looked like back in 1985.

The design of the last box that held the 124G (1985-1986).

This gorgeous camera was the first to carry the company name – Yashica Flex made in 1954.

For contrast, compare the Yashima Flex to the Yashica Mat 124G. Their excellent build quality remained throughout the decades. If you’re chasing one of these for your collection you’re in luck because Yashica made a bunch of 124Gs and there’s a bunch still out there. Expect to pay a premium for mint examples but be careful, they’re still older cameras and a host of bad things can happen to them from lack of use and improper storage. Ask lots of questions of the seller if you’re buying online and look for sellers with excellent reputations for selling quality classic and vintage cameras. BTW, not too many of the original Yashima Flex cameras will look like my example pictured above. I was so very lucky to buy mine from the original owner in Japan who obviously kept it in pristine condition both physically and mechanically.

SUNday Spotlight – visible instamatic

May 23, 2021May 23, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Kodak Instamatic X-15F (1976-1988).

Leica M4 – 1969

May 22, 2021May 22, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A beauty in black.

CC Design Studios

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Good day, all! My camera shop http://www.ccstudio2380.com is filled with an eclectic mix of some really cool and rather rare items this month. Here’s a small sample.

There’s a little bit for most everyone in the shop from rare historical pictures to vintage film and of course, classic and vintage cameras and photogear collectibles. I’m about to list a few Fuji and Fujifilm cameras from my personal collection – a new in the box Fuji Discovery 90 35mm camera set and a new in the box Fuji Discovery 3000 Zoom 35mm camera set. I’m always open to offers and if there’s something you’re looking for to add to your collection just contact me at ccphotographyai@gmail.com – I just may have what you’ve been looking for.

Monday’s Camera – Asahi Pentax 6×7 – Beauty IS the Beast!

May 17, 2021May 17, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A beautiful monster. That’s how I described this camera to a friend. A beautiful heavy monster is what it felt like in your hands and no way was I going to use the neck strap. It’s also a camera that I wish I still owned because I really didn’t get to shoot with it as much as I’d liked to.

The true beauty of this camera was the 6×7 cm negatives or color slides that it produced. It was advertised as an SLR albeit a giant SLR with through the lens metering, easy and quick focusing, interchangeable lenses, backs, viewfinders, and more but I couldn’t get over its bulkiness and weight. So it was passed on to another collector and to this day I wish I still owned it.

Chase Factor. CF7 considering that there’s a bunch of them out there online but it’s a hard camera to find that checks all of the necessary boxes – condition, appearance, functionality, and price. In my case I was lucky to find mine still in it’s original box and in nearly mint condition (and fully working) but I was afraid to take it in the field or on a photoshoot because the collector in me was worried it would get scratched or damaged and eventually hurt its resale or collector value. It’s hard to have a collector grade camera also be your shooter.