Timeless Tuesday – My 1982 Toyota Pickup

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

Back in 1982 it was known as just a Toyota Pickup Truck – no longer a Hilux and not yet a Tacoma and this beauty was as basic as they came. The famous 22R 4-cylinder engine, 4-speed (I think) manual transmission, painted bumpers, steel wheels, and vinyl everything inside. Bench seat, radio (I think) and I opted for AC to deal with the relentless Florida heat and humidity.

In 1982 the truck was the third generation (N30) still with no name other than Pickup. “I drove through the desert in a truck with no name, it felt good…”

I choose a beige model to match the dirt road I lived on. I think Toyota called it “tan”. Unloaded the rear end was prone to skidding around 180 degrees or more on slightly wet roads if you hit the brakes too hard. I once did a complete 360 at a traffic light to my shock and the surprise of bystanders.

2.4 L (2,366 cc) 22R SOHC I4, 98 PS; 97 hp (72 kW) at 4,800 rpm.

Photographed with a Canon F-1.

My original owner’s manual. Yes, I still have it but not the truck.

Who keeps a nearly 40-year-old owner’s manual for a vehicle you no longer own?

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.

Tuesday’s Camera – Yashica A Twin-lens Reflex

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

We love Yashicas here on the blog and I can’t tell you how many enjoyable hours have been spent chasing these classic beauties from the 1950s.

This one was made in 1962 and features Yashikor lenses (the bottom lens is the “taking lens” and the top lens is the “viewing lens”.

As simple as simple gets so you’re likely to find one of these in a fully functioning condition. Not much can go wrong with these unless they’ve been abused or stored improperly.

The focus knob is on the right and the film advance knob is on the left. Simple.

The little door on the back has a red plastic window under it so that you can see which exposure you’re on as you’re advancing the film. Simple.

An accessory shoe and the two film spool knobs.

Opening and closing the camera is done by this rather large knob on the bottom.

You’ll get 12 exposures from a roll of 120 roll film, either color negative, color transparencies, or black and white negatives in a large 6 x 6 cm (2 1/4 x 2 1/4″). BTW, that is the backside of the taking lens. If you look closely you can see the leaf shutter inside the lens.

What a deal! $29.95 and the leather case for 1/5th the cost.

One of the easiest instruction booklets to follow. The Yashica A was made for beginner photogs on a budget.

So there you have it, our pick of the day. If you’re looking to get into medium format film photography then give this Yashica model a try. Use my example as a guide as to what to look for when you’re looking at purchasing one for yourself. No corrosion, complete leatherette coverings, clean and clear lenses, and no missing parts. Good luck!

May I suggest a visit to my good friend Paul Sokk’s site at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage1.html for some of the best information you’ll find anywhere about all things Yashica, Nicca, Leotax, and more.

Timeless Tuesday – Jacksonville Jaguars Beer Mug

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

More fun stuff from our collections of things – here’s an unused Jax Jags NFL Football (Miller Lite) 3D ceramic beer mug. This is the year the Jags will be going to the Super Bowl either as a team competing for the trophy or as individuals watching in the stands or at home.

It would look awesome in your home bar, man cave or she shed. Heavyweight ceramic mug weighs over 2 pounds empty!

It’s available here for a limited time and includes free USPS Priority Mail shipping anywhere in the USA. I can ship it worldwide too just ask for a quote first.

Jacksonville Jaguars Ceramic Beer Mug

In new, never used condition, Heavyweight mug with the NFL and Miller Lite logos – oh, and the Jax Jags too! Cool old style original logo from 1995. It mails for free within the USA – ask for a shipping quote elsewhere.

$35.00

Canon Macrolite ML-1… 1970s Tech

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Canon’s ultra-sophisticated and hyper-expensive ring flash from the late 1970s. Designed specifically with Canon’s new FD 80-200mm f/4 zoom lens in mind (combined with the Canon Close-Up 500T Lens) it performed well with the A-1, AE-1, AV-1, AT-1, and the AE-1 Program. The flash was also very capable on most of Canon’s SLRs of the late 1970s and 1980s including the original F-1 and the F-1 (New).

Both flashes could be used together or with a flip of the white switch, one side only.

The flash is perfect for photographing flowers and insects outside and in the studio as you get the greatest control over the depth of field and eliminate harsh shadows. The flash also works beautifully for portrait work and in documentation photography.

The lenses recommended by Canon are: New FD 80-200mm f/4, FD 80-200mm f/4 S.S.C., FD 50mm f/3.5 S.S.C. Macro, FD 100mm f/4 S.C. Macro, and the New FD 50mm f/3.5 Macro, New FD 100mm f/4 Macro.

When it was released, the ML-1 set retailed for around $425 or more! That’s some serious coin back in the day (and still is).

Here it’s fitted on my Canon New FD 50mm f/3.5 macro lens which works well for general macro photography.

The original instruction book is complete with 39 pages. It was published in November 1979.

This gorgeous set has been an important part of my Canon collection for years but it’s time to move on with some of my gear. I tested it completely just the other day and it works just like new. It’s in mint condition overall, a solid 9 of 10 and a 10 of 10 operationally. The original box is complete and comes with its styrofoam insert. The box is solid but it does show some shelf wear. It does not have the original wide adapter inserts for the flash heads. I’ve never used them and I guess I never noticed that they went “missing”. They’re probably in another box somewhere. The set includes both of the adapter rings (52mm and 55mm) and both of the tightening rings (52mm and 55mm).

The battery pack takes (8) AA batteries in two magazines and they recharge the capacitor very quickly.

DSCF6723

It’s a bit hard to see but the test lamp does light and the auto exposure system is spot on.

The Canon A-1 is not included with this listing. Only the Macrolite ML-1 set.

It’s available in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com or you can purchase it directly from here. I’ll ship it almost anywhere in the world as long as I can see tracking to your door (signature required). Please contact me for a shipping quote first.

Canon Macrolite ML-1 Electronic Ring-Flash Set

Like new Canon Macrolite ML-1 close-up flash set as described in this post.

$225.00

As always, 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.

Timeless Tuesday – exploring early digital cameras – Sony Mavica

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019Chris and Carol 4 Comments

As the title implies, I’ve decided to take another look at some early digital cameras and to see if they can find a place in today’s photographic landscape. Here’s a look at what was essentially the first digital camera to use a 3.5-inch floppy disk as “film”. Sony used the advertising tagline “The Fun is in the Floppy” in its late 1990s ads.

The Sony Digital Mavica 1.3 model MVC-FD85 made its way to market in the late days of 1999 with an official release of February 2000. Here’s that camera.

The strength of Sony has always been the sheer size of the company and the ability to do incredible R&D.

Sony lenses in video cameras were almost beyond equal (maybe Canon would disagree) but the Mavica made good use with what it was given.

The film. A standard 3.5-inch floppy. The “MVC” in the camera’s name refers to “Magnetic Video Camera” hence the use of a floppy disk for file storage.

At its highest resolution (1280 x 960) the Mavica FD85 will record only six images on one disk. This led to photographers carrying around a box full of disks if they were expecting to record a number of images. Six disks equaled one roll of 36 exposure 35 mm film.

I acquired this Mavica from the original owner – a local guy that was downsizing his collection of “stuff”. It’s in mint condition with only a few marks indicating gentle past use. From some of the other cameras that I purchased from him, I could tell that he took excellent care of his gear. It fired up perfectly after an overnight charge of the battery and with a fresh disk inserted here’s the first batch of pics. Except for the last photo, none of these images were enhanced in any way.

After nearly 15 years of slumber here’s the first image taken with the Mavica and recorded to floppy. All things considered, the auto exposure and auto focus handled the scene perfectly. Yes, we’ve become accustomed to high def pics from our smartphones and this picture falls way off in that regard but I like it because it appears “film-like” with its softness and lack of mind-shattering contrast. This is a wide angle shot.

Using the telephoto zoom lens this image is not technically bad. Auto focus and auto exposure appear spot on and the scene is pleasing. Remember, back in 2000 the main purpose of this camera was to upload the images to your PC and for emailing them as attachments. Most people had less than cutting edge PC’s at home – remember “Y2K”?

I took the Mavica into my studio and under the harsh studio lighting (5600K) the camera did just great. This was shot using the macro setting but I believe the camera has a pretty broad focusing range. This pic was cropped a bit and I made a slight adjustment in the contrast. It looks like there’s good depth of field and overall it’s reasonably sharp. I would use this image for listings in my various online shops as it’s technically just fine for that venue.

Ads from back in the day suggest that this camera sold for around $700 to $800. That’s crazy big money then and still is today. It will be fun to give the camera a bit of a workout over the coming months – 1.3 megapixels might just be a new way of seeing things.

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.

Timeless Tuesday – Yashica 8 U-matic

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019Chris and Carol 2 Comments

42343866145_361107190e_o

Yashica 8mm film movie camera from 1961. Fast f1.8 Yashinon zoom lens. The camera sold for around $140. in the early 1960s.

29388131048_a5d3c072cb_o

Complete kit. BTW, the little hang tag from LIFE depicts a cover from 1947.

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.

Timeless Tuesday – Hippie Strap

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Here’s a bit of throwback photo gear from my collection – it’s time to pass it along. This one is very lightly used and was actually on display with one of my 1970s Yashicas. It’s about 1.5 inches wide and about 36 to 40 inches long as it is adjusted now so it’s a nice long camera strap that’s perfect as a neck or shoulder strap.

DSCF2035

It has nice leather accents and the metal clips are shiny and bright.

DSCF2037

Great colors and an awesome vintage pattern.

DSCF2042

It holds two film canisters (film cans if you’re going old school) and the underside is a soft suede-like material.

DSCF2041

It’s available in my studio shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – lots of other neat items in the shop at 10% off too! – 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.