Yashica’s First 35mm Cameras – 1958-59

October 18, 2018October 18, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

From a rather hard to find (OK, kinda rare) sales brochure (above) from late 1960 or early 1961.

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The Yashica 35 YK (identified here simply as the “K type”) is the least expensive of the cameras and was produced in large numbers starting in June 1959. The camera is marked with the “YK” on the front right of the body in gold while the top has Yashica engraved in it next to the serial number (pictured below).

Yashica 35 K type – aka the YK

The Yashica 35 (above) was the first 35mm rangefinder camera from Yashica. In this brochure, the marketing department has added an “S” as part of the description of the camera (f2.8 lens). It appears from my translation that the “S” may have to do with something about the lens – either a new coating or some other design feature(s) which makes it new. Of course, it may be simple marketing hype as the 35 was getting on in years by this time.

The Yashica 35 Fair-Way (YF) is the only one in this series that was given a name that I’m aware of. It’s also the only one marked Yashica and Nicca. It was a transition camera as Yashica had just acquired Nicca in 1958. It’s one of the most expensive in this series to acquire as sellers recognize the relative rarity of the model especially in mint or excellent condition.

Yashica’s first interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder camera – basically a Nicca in Yashica cladding.

The Yashica 35 E type (above) is also known as the Yashica YE which is engraved in the top plate. Here again, it’s a case of the marketing department manipulating the name of the camera – either to make it appear as a new model of it may be that the Japanese market tends to simplify the names of cameras. I believe that the unifying theme here is that Yashica wanted each of these cameras to feel connected to one another. By using the common name Yashica 35 “X” type the cameras couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a 35mm camera from a company known for TLRs and 8mm movie cameras.

My one and only Yashica YE

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Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com for some classic collectible cameras and photo gear. – 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.

Time Capsule – 1960

October 12, 2018October 11, 2019Chris and Carol 1 Comment

The original Pentamatic.

A nice example of Yashica’s first 35mm SLR – the Pentamatic. Also known as the Pentamatic ’35’ in its earliest advertisements and sales brochures. This particular camera is from August 1960 – the same month that Yashica started production of the Pentamatic II – a model that was destined for the Japanese home market and not for world export. The Pentamatic II stayed in production only until January 1961 when it was replaced a few months later with the Pentamatic S. The original Pentamatic was first produced in December 1959 but widescale production didn’t begin until January 1960. As of this update (Oct 11, 2018), I still haven’t found evidence of an instruction booklet printed in Japanese – only English booklets so far. I would think that there must be booklets in Japanese and at least 2 or 3 other languages but none found. The Pentamatic II booklet is in Japanese and no English editions have been found.

As always, thanks for stopping by and please check out my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – 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.

My First Pentamatic – the quest begins

October 12, 2018October 12, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

It was “love” at first sight! Well, kinda like love – more like a very strong attraction.

The starkness of the Pentamatic’s design caught my eye straight away. Here was a Yashica the likes of which I’d never seen before.

I thought I would share a very popular image of my first Yashica Pentamatic. I say popular because it’s been viewed more times than anything else I’ve ever posted on my Flickr page.

yashica p1 in blue

Designed in middle 1959, Yashica’s first 35mm single-lens reflex camera is a stunning beauty. It appears it was a collaborative effort between Yashica and Nicca with some “help” from the designers at Zunow. The first lenses for the Pentamatic were made by Tomioka and most carried the Yashinon name – a few, like this one, sported the Tominon branding along with Yashica’s Yashinon name. By the way, the serial number on this lens is fairly easy to “decode”. The first 2 digits indicate the focal length of the lens – in this instance, the lens is a 3.5cm wide angle so the first digits are “35”. The next 4 digits are a simple production number that I’m guessing started at “0001”. This lens would have been the 246th lens made (0246).

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this little tease is enough to cause you to explore my blog (and Flickr site) to learn more about the Pentamatic and its sister models – the Pentamatic II and the Pentamatic S. – 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.

Groundbreaking Cameras from Yashica

October 11, 2018October 12, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

yashica 20 years

From the groundbreaking Yashica Flex S to the exciting TL Electro X ITS – over twenty years of development by Yashima-Yashica.

Playing around in the studio – 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.

Pentamatic Model – II

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

The Yashica Pentamatic Model – II instruction booklet – September 1960

Front and back covers are scanned from the original hyper rare booklet.

If you look closely at the lower right corner of the booklet you’ll see that Yashica dated the book in the Showa style – 09S35 – that “translates” to 09/60. You add “25” to the Showa date to arrive at the Western date.

Thanks for stopping by! BTW, I am a very active buyer of Yashica gear especially Pentamatics. If you have one banging around in your closet please contact me and maybe we can put a deal together. – 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.

Canon AE-1 Program

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Canon AE-1 Program 35mm SLR Film Camera

Canon AE-1 Program in super clean and fully working condition - a one owner camera (mine) since 1981. It will include a battery and a roll of Fujifilm Fujicolor 100 film (ex 07/2010). The AE-1 P is one of Canon's easiest to use compact 35mm film cameras. This SLR features full manual mode, shutter and aperture priority modes and full program (automatic) mode. Simply compose, focus and shoot! It accepts all Canon FD lenses (which is a bunch!) I'll mail this most anywhere in the world - please contact me for a quote. In the USA a flat $10.00 gets you USPS Priority Mail with insurance and a tracking number.

$69.00

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Thanks for stopping by! You can buy this outstanding Canon here or visit my store at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks, Chris

Happy SUNday! – Minolta Maxxum

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

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This nice Minolta Maxxum 450si is available in our shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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Everything is fully tested and ready to go.

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Minolta Maxxum 450si Panorama Date 35mm SLR
with Minolta AF Zoom 70-210mm f/4.5 Lens
and Sigma Aspherical 28-80mm f/3.5 Macro Zoom Lens
– Fully Tested – 100% working – Batteries Included!

Really nice camera set from Minolta. Super clean camera with
two lenses, the owner’s booklet and the original Minolta strap.

The lens optics are clean and issue free – the autofocus is
sharp and the autoexposure is spot on.

Great way to step into 35mm film photography!

Features include: Full-Auto Mode, Portrait Mode, Landscape, Close-up,
Sports, Night Portrait, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual Exposure,
Bulb, Fill-in Flash, Self-timer, Continuous Film Drive and Exposure Compensation.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy SUNday! – Chris

“This is a Toy” – Goofy Stuff from Yashica

September 29, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

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Normally you’d expect to see “this is not a toy” on something not designed to be played with. Here we have a rather odd promotional item from Yashica.

My best translation – Color Camera Yashica Electro 35

Still looks good and holds air after 50 years!

A Yashica float. It’s about 6 feet in length and I’m guessing Yashica didn’t want you to use this at the beach or pool as anything but a toy.

Admittedly a pretty goofy item that we’ve added to our Yashica collection recently. I saw it on a Japanese auction site and well, I couldn’t resist. It was listed by a seller in Shiga Prefecture (which is just east of Kyoto). I paid a silly amount to ship it after paying less than $10 to purchase it. Collecting – jeez. On the bright side, I may have the only matching set of Yashica beach gear in the world!

We now have a matching set of beach gear from Yashica. The Sailor Boy logo was popular with Yashica in the early 1960s – here he makes another appearance to promote the Electro 35 camera.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Yashica LM -1956

September 27, 2018Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Made by Yashima Optical – my first model LM

This Yashica LM was the first camera that I posted on my Flickr site back in December 2013

The selenium cells were hidden under the nameplate – it was a highly accurate light meter

Yashica LM twin-lens reflex (TLR) 6×6 cm medium format film camera. This is one of my most favorite TLRs from Yashica. It features a built-in light meter (LM) and sharp Tomioka made lenses.

These two images were the first two that I posted on my Flickr site back in 2013. I was fond of using two different backgrounds – a dark blue (pictured above) and a softer light blue. I use a stark white background now but I’m getting a bit tired of it. I may go back to using a light blue (see below).