Yashica L AF vs. Kyocera T Scope

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In case you missed this post the first time around here’s another look at these two exceptional cameras by Yashica-Kyocera.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Round 1 – The Introduction

The Yashica-Kyocera L AF from 1986 and the Kyocera T Scope (Japanese name, T3 elsewhere). The L AF was assembled in Hong Kong with parts made in Japan and the T Scope was made in Japan.

Key feature – waterproof (more like weatherproof) – not a dive camera.

kyocera t scope

N.A. Scope = “New Angle Scope”

The scope is just like a waist-level finder – pretty cool actually.

Cousins

I’ll be doing a side by side field test of these two cameras shortly. Is the T3 really worth the extra money over the Yashica? The T Scope features a Carl Zeiss T* Series Tessar f/2.8 35mm lens against the Yashica (Tomioka?) f/3.5 32mm lens. I have a hunch that the Yashica’s lens was also made by Zeiss at the Tomioka factory in Tokyo. We’ll see if the vaunted T* coating makes a noticeable difference.

Not often seen…

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Vintage View

May 11, 2019May 11, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Happy Saturday!

Digging through some archived pics I came across this one.

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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.

Tuesday 2’s

May 7, 2019May 8, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica’s first two TLRs – 1953 1954

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Twenty years of Yashica development – 1950s 1970s

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Studio Cameras: (Top) Samsung Galaxy S4 (Bottom) Sony DSC W-170

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

BTW, my camera shop is always open at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – lots of specials!

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 Microscope Adapter – 1960

May 1, 2019May 1, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I have yet to use a microscope adapter in nearly 50 years of 35mm photography – but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t collected them and enjoyed the thought of someday using one. I’ve had a few Canon adapters over the years too.

The first step would be actively looking for a microscope to purchase on one of the many online auction sites. Something I will do.

Here’s a nice adapter from Yashica with the Pentamatic bayonet mount. It’s one of the first accessories to appear in the early Pentamatic instruction booklets from 1960. List price was ¥2,500 which was fairly expensive back in the day.

The adapter mounts directly to the body of the camera – no lens needed.

A scan from an early Pentamatic sales brochure.

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These instructions are from a later booklet featuring the adapter for the M42 screw mount.

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I believe that the microscope depicted here is a Yashima microscope but it’s not made by Yashica. Yashima was the first name that Yashica went by in the early 1950s.

Not made by Yashica but still a super cool vintage microscope.

Typically you’d use a right angle finder such as this one to make it a bit easier to use the adapter on a microscope.

What’s always amazed me is just how many different camera manufacturers made microscope adapters – Canon, Olympus, Nikon just to name a few and how many are still available for purchase online from various auction sites that are unused, still new in their boxes.

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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.

Yashica TL Electro-X

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Another look at a recent post about my all-time favorite Yashica. This one was sold to another collector hours after listing it in my shop.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

One of the best cameras that Yashica made – in 1968 Yashica produced an exciting 35 mm SLR with a built-in computer! Well, integrated circuits and an electronic “brain”.

It was my first SLR and I fell in love with its looks and the feel of it in my hands. This one is from my rather silly large collection of Yashica cameras and I’ve decided to make it available in my online shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

This one is from around 1970 and besides being in stunning mint condition it works like new!

Gotta love the gothic “Y” on the pentaprism – pure Yashica!

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The battery for this camera is still readily available today and isn’t very expensive.

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I’ve always felt that the satin silver finish on this model was the best – it holds up well and it’s easy to keep clean.

The camera will come with a fresh (new)…

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Just Arrived! New items in the shop.

April 28, 2019May 1, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Some new items have just been listed in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Canon EOS nylon camera strap from the 1980s. New, never used. Super nice.

A must have original (not a copy) Canon Booster T Finder instruction book. Near mint condition.

Hyper rare Minolta Six 6×6 cm medium format 120 roll film camera from 1936. This was the first camera to carry the Minolta name and was the first 6×6 cm camera made in Japan.

Classic early 1970s Mamiya/Sekor 35mm SLR – the 1000 DTL was a landmark camera from Mamiya.

Super cool camera case (camera not included). Made by Marsand. I still have the key and the lock still locks!

Not often seen outside of Japan, this SLR slayer from Fuji Photo Film Company is like new in its original package – with all the goodies included it’s ready to be a street photog’s dream.

Brand new Canon Olympics fanny pack. Step back to the future with this HTF collectible from Canon.

There you have it – a small sample of some of the neat items I’ve added to my shop recently all at 10% off in my big Spring sale! Check it out at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks – 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 SUNday! – Yashica Cousins

April 28, 2019April 28, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica’s advertising figurine (doll?) from the early 1960s. Officially nameless but I’ve tagged him with “Sailor Boy” for obvious reasons.

My camera shop display sized (20 cm) Yashica “Sailor Boy”. This one was still in its sealed plastic bag and original box from Modern Plastics of Japan.

Another dealer display model (not mine) of Yashica’s “Sailor Boy” – this one looks as though he’s been in a bar fight in Tokyo!

I’m not sure which one was first but my guess is that the “tough guy” version may have been a prototype as I’ve never seen another one for sale in all my years of collecting Yashica branded items.

Have a great day y’all! – Chris

I’ve listed some neat items in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – pop on over and check it out!

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.

Are TLRs a good way to discover medium-format photography?

April 26, 2019April 26, 2019Chris and Carol 2 Comments

I guess another way to pose the question would be “are TLRs still relevant”?

Film photography appears to be holding its own in this digital world but have twin-lens reflex cameras lost their appeal? Obviously, not all vintage and classic camera sales go to just collectors – many of these 40 and 50-year-old cameras are being purchased and used by today’s crop of film photographers looking for a way to explore medium-format images without breaking the bank.

Typical twin-lens reflex (TLR) film camera.

I decided to take a snapshot of just completed sales of cameras that were listed as “TLR – Film Cameras – Sold” on eBay.

tlr sold list

The top six are –

Mamiya
Yashica
Rolleiflex
Lubitel
Rollei
Konica Minolta

This list goes back to the last few days of January 2019 and does include some accessories (lenses, lens caps, cases) that are not cameras. So the total numbers will be a bit skewed.

Here’s the list searching for “TLR Camera – Film Cameras – Sold” on eBay which removed accessories like lenses, cases and other minor parts.

tlr list

The top six are –

Yashica
Mamiya
Rolleiflex
Rollei
Konica Minolta
Minolta

This represents an unscientific look at the popularity of TLRs as a viable tool for enjoying medium-format (6×6 cm) photography. 120 roll film is still widely available and it’s easy to find online companies that develop the film.

6×6 cm image taken with my Yashica-Mat EM TLR. Learning to compose and shoot this square format takes a bit of practice but the quality of the finished picture is worth it.

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Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

My camera shop is always open and it can be found at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – I’ve got a big sale in progress with some super savings… check it out!

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.

Yashica-Mat 120 Film Camera Set – 1960

April 12, 2019April 12, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

For those who may have missed this post from two years ago here’s a reblog of it. This is one of the nicest sets we’ve ever come across in all our years of collecting Yashicas.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

dscf3786 Pretty close to the way it looked when it was unboxed back in 1960. This one was part of a short production run of only a handful of cameras. It was for sale at US Military Exchanges (stores) in Japan as it is marked *EP* which meant and exempt purchase. No taxes paid but it could not be purchased or sold on the Japanese domestic market.

dscf3787 It was Yashica’s first crank film advance TLR and it had auto cocking of the shutter. First released in April 1957.

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The quality of the images taken with a Yashica-Mat are outstanding – Yashica used high quality Yashinon f3.5 80mm lenses made for them by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo.

They are a joy to use and it’s a great camera to get into medium format photography. It produces large 6 x 6 cm negatives or slides.

Thanks for your visit!

Chris and Carol ^.^

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Yashica “J” Series of 35mm SLRs – 1960s

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In case you missed it, here’s another look at our post about the “J” Series from Yashica.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

The Yashica ‘J’ series of 35mm SLR film cameras. Top body is the J-7, next is the J-4, then the J-5 and finally the first one in the series the J-3. These were heavyweight cameras in their day…the best (for the most part) that Yashica produced from their factory in Nagano Prefecture (Shimosuwa).

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Produced in 1962 to around 1967 to early 1968. The black body J-3 was Yashica’s first 35mm SLR ‘Pro Black’ camera. They were released in the following order… J-3, J-5, J-4 and J-7. These cameras feature lots of brass and glass. They also represent Yashica’s first SLRs with built-in exposure meters. TTL exposure metering was just around the corner for Yashica after the release of the J-7 in the form of the TL Super.

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16358708177_7df772c4d4_o The J-5 was super popular in the mid 1960s.

15954848841_c16d47ab60_o Another tough one in the series to find complete and in mint condition.

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Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Category Yashica Collectibles

Yashica L AF vs. Kyocera T Scope

Round 1 – The Introduction

Vintage View

Tuesday 2’s

Pentamatic Microscope Adapter – 1960

I have yet to use a microscope adapter in nearly 50 years of 35mm photography – but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t collected them and enjoyed the thought of someday using one. I’ve had a few Canon adapters over the years too.

The first step would be actively looking for a microscope to purchase on one of the many online auction sites. Something I will do.

Yashica TL Electro-X

Just Arrived! New items in the shop.

Some new items have just been listed in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Happy SUNday! – Yashica Cousins

Are TLRs a good way to discover medium-format photography?

Yashica-Mat 120 Film Camera Set – 1960

Yashica “J” Series of 35mm SLRs – 1960s