Yashica Pentamatic II – The Phantom

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018Chris and Carol 1 Comment

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

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.

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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 began in August 1960.

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A rather unique lens for its time – I feel that the lens was made by Zunow Optical for Yashica and was only produced in an extremely limited number for the short run of the Pentamatic II (about 6 months). This is one of Yashica’s hardest cameras to acquire – there may only be less than 500 of these (if that much) left in the wild.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris

Olympus 35 SP Brochure

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Here’s a nice sales brochure from Olympus – published May 1969

Take note of the camera store’s stamp in the lower right corner. Our translation app isn’t doing a good job at translation at the moment so we’re not quite sure which camera shop this is from.

Carol and I love to collect vintage sales brochures for the cameras in our collection. This one came to us recently from a collector in Japan. The date of publication is 0569 which we assume is May 1969. The young man’s clothing certainly screams the 1960s!

The Olympus 35 SP is considered by many to be a nearly “perfect” 35mm rangefinder camera – with a host of automatic exposure controls plus full manual shooting. The 42mm lens is considered to be the perfect focal length for 35mm photography as it closely matches the field of view of the human eye.

Thanks for stopping by!

For more “good stuff” please stop by our online store at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Chris

Kodak Vigilant Junior Six-20

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Here’s an interesting camera from Kodak – the Vigilant Junior Six-20 which was produced between 1939 to 1949. I’m sure there are more than a few of these floating around in junk bins and what not.

We acquired the camera during one of our camera buying forays – the owner wanted it to go to a good home and told us that it was his families only camera for many years. It was dirty but the bellows are in good condition (I think we were the first ones to open it in maybe 30 or more years) as it was a struggle to get the bellows to deploy. We “bought” the camera along with a few of his Minolta lenses and a Minolta SR-T 101.

The camera is missing its winder knob but the film can still be advanced with a little effort (and luck). The Junior version of this popular camera was as basic as basic can be – simple shutter and even simpler aperture settings. We have no plans to shoot with this camera – 620 film is no longer available and although 120 roll film can be re-spooled to fit it’s not worth the effort. With 120 film you’d get only 8 exposures in the 6x9cm format.

So this little time machine gets added to our collection and for now, makes a nice display piece. I found a great new place to set up as a makeshift studio (see the picture above). Nice natural lighting and interesting backgrounds.

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Thanks for stopping by! By the way, this camera is available for purchase at https://www.ccstudio2380.com if you’d like to add a nice clean vintage camera to your home or office decor.

Chris

Funny Flickr

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

You just never know which images will “take off” on Flickr. Sometimes you think that you’ve nailed a shot only to see it fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out that one of my pictures (below) was invited to be in Flickr’s “in explore” group. Cool beans!

It’s far from my best ever studio shots of my camera collection but I bet that the popularity of this image has something to do with the popularity of the camera.

“This camera is actually quite famous – back in its day it was considered a groundbreaker in the 35mm SLR autofocus “world”. This one has led a very gentle life – I’ve fully tested it with film and the thing that impressed me the most was how quickly the autofocus locked on to my subjects. The lens is a Minolta AF Zoom 35-70mm f4 and is sharp as a tack!
The camera, lens, and 4 (AAA) batteries weigh in at 847 grams (1 lb 14 oz)!”

My caption that accompanied the picture on Flickr.

Have a great day – thanks for stopping by!

Chris

Minolta SR-T 101 from 1969

May 24, 2018Chris and Carol 3 Comments

We’ve got a wonderful vintage classic from Minolta – the venerable SR-T 101. Actually, quite a groundbreaking camera back in its day with many never before seen features and functions. This one was purchased by a young man serving in the U.S. Army in South Vietnam in 1969.

It was a combat camera having flown with him on several missions aboard a helicopter over the Mekong Delta region. He told me that he purchased it almost as soon as he arrived in country at a Post Exchange in Saigon. Despite its exciting beginnings, it’s made it to today with no dents and only a few bright spots in the satin chrome finish. It’s a fully mechanical camera – the shutter operates independently of a battery from Bulb to 1/1000 of a second. A battery is only needed to operate the TTL meter.

This good-looking Minolta has received a complete inspection and has been meticulously cleaned inside and out by me. I tested it with a fresh 1.5v alkaline battery and the light meter works just fine. It will be off by about 1/2 to 1 full stop but when shooting with negative film the wide exposure latitude of film usually makes any exposure differences unnoticeable.

That’s a “fresh” roll of expired Fujicolor film (from 2010) and the original soft body cap from Minolta. For more details and to see additional pictures of it, visit our online store at https://www.ccstudio.com

Or you can purchase it directly from here – I’ll ship nearly worldwide. Please drop me a line for a shipping quote to your country. In the USA, I will ship it USPS Priority Mail for only $6.00 Just click on the “Pay with PayPal” button below.

Many thanks for stopping by! Chris

Minolta SR-T 101 35mm Film Camera

Vintage (100% fully working) 35mm SLR from Minolta - the SR-T 101

$49.00

Mickey & Minnie by Fujifilm

May 21, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Another neat find from our collection – this rather rare Mickey and Minnie Mouse APS camera by Fujifilm. From about 1999 or so, purchased at Tokyo Disneyland.

This limited edition Mick & Min camera was only available for a limited time at Tokyo Disneyland. The camera inside the collectible tin has never been opened and is still loaded with Fujicolor APS color negative film. I believe my translation of the “40” means that there are about 40 flashes available with the cameras built-in flash. Chances are (although they may still be working) the batteries have long since expired.

For more details on this wonderful Disney collectible, stop by our online store at https://www.ccstudio2380.com

While in our store, feel free to browse around and check out our many rather unique and classic cameras. We’re offering a 10% discount (Code YSB) on your total purchase (less shipping) if you purchased an item you saw on our blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris & Carol

Happy SUNday! Vintage Camera Edition

May 20, 2018May 20, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Happy SUNday y’all! Two new offerings in our online store – from our collection to yours!

Nikon Nikkormat FT3 – as clean as new – it’s been fully tested and is ready to roll! Check it out in our online store for a super deal on the wonderful classic from Nikon.

Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP model – early first version of this super popular camera. I’ve replaced the light seals and mirror pad and it’s been detailed inside and out. 100% fully working and a joy to use. Available in our online store at a great price.

Visit our store at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for more pictures and a complete detailing of the specifications of each camera set. These are from our personal collection of classic film cameras and have never been offered for sale before. Our home is smoke and pet free and we always store and maintain our cameras and lenses properly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris and Carol

Vintage Glass – Vivitar FD 300mm f5.5 Telephoto Lens

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Offered here is a very nice example of some early (1970s) Vivitar lens making.

This wonderful lens was made to some very high standards in Japan during the late 1970s. This manual focus telephoto is set up to mount to Canon (FD mount) film body cameras such as the AE-1, F-1, A-1 and the T Series of 35mm SLRs. This heavyweight lens (almost 2 pounds worth) of glass and brass was designed to compete with the best optics out there but at a reasonable price. This one owner lens is in mint new condition and functions like it too!

It’s easily adapted to most any digital camera body – this one is set to use on my Fujifilm X-A10. Of course, it’s able to use straight up on any Canon FD mount film body and most any vintage 35mm film cameras with an adapter.

It’s available for purchase from our online shop at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for a very reasonable price.

Thanks for stopping by!

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.

Happy Earth Day 2018!

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Celebrate the Earth and all of its creatures –

collage africa

collage mountains

collage coastline

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Do something nice for the Earth today!

Thanks, Chris and Carol

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.

Happy SUNday!

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Our “stickered” Gremlin.

Late 1970s AMC Gremlin

Have a beautiful weekend!

Chris & Carol ^.^

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

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Category Classic Film Cameras

Yashica Pentamatic II – The Phantom

Olympus 35 SP Brochure

Here’s a nice sales brochure from Olympus – published May 1969

Kodak Vigilant Junior Six-20

Here’s an interesting camera from Kodak – the Vigilant Junior Six-20 which was produced between 1939 to 1949. I’m sure there are more than a few of these floating around in junk bins and what not.

Funny Flickr

You just never know which images will “take off” on Flickr. Sometimes you think that you’ve nailed a shot only to see it fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out that one of my pictures (below) was invited to be in Flickr’s “in explore” group. Cool beans!

Minolta SR-T 101 from 1969

We’ve got a wonderful vintage classic from Minolta – the venerable SR-T 101. Actually, quite a groundbreaking camera back in its day with many never before seen features and functions. This one was purchased by a young man serving in the U.S. Army in South Vietnam in 1969.

Mickey & Minnie by Fujifilm

Another neat find from our collection – this rather rare Mickey and Minnie Mouse APS camera by Fujifilm. From about 1999 or so, purchased at Tokyo Disneyland.

Happy SUNday! Vintage Camera Edition

Happy SUNday y’all! Two new offerings in our online store – from our collection to yours!

Vintage Glass – Vivitar FD 300mm f5.5 Telephoto Lens

Offered here is a very nice example of some early (1970s) Vivitar lens making.

Happy Earth Day 2018!

Happy SUNday!