Unique Yashica TL Electro-X from Denmark – Update 1

June 14, 2019September 11, 2019Chris and Carol 7 Comments

Many thanks to reader Jens Erik at http://www.jebsign.dk for sharing a photo of his Yashica TL Electro-X with me recently. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it appears that a distributor of Yashica cameras and photo gear (Kirk) in Denmark had a rather neat twist on this popular SLR. Here’s the ad that ran in 1969 –

1969 April, Yashica TL Electro-X

Here’s Jens Erik’s Yashica – his TL Electro-X matches the one depicted in the Yashica ad from 1969 and it clearly shows that the “X” is black vice the typical red and that the gothic “Y” that would normally be on the pentaprism is “missing”.

An example of an early version of this popular Yashica. The lens is not the lens that would have been on the camera at the time of its release. I’ll call this version the Type 1.

Updated info as of September 2019. It now appears that this no “Y” version wasn’t unique to this Danish or any other European distributor. I’ve just acquired my own version of this camera through a seller in the United States with no indication that it was purchased outside of the US initially. In my opinion, Yashica’s first version (pictured above) of their wildly popular TL Electro-X was the version missing the “Y” on the pentaprism – production looks like it first began in October 1968. My newest camera for my collection is from December 1968 as its serial number is 81200636. There’s one for sale on the Spanish eBay site that has the serial number 81000991 (which is October 1968).

Below is an example of the more typical Yashica TL Electro X design. The “X” is in red and there’s no hyphen before it and of course, the traditional gothic “Y” on the pentaprism.

Yashica TL Electro X Type 2 – with red “X” and gothic “Y”

Yashica sales brochure from the early 1970s.

Update #1: So Yashica’s first design for the TL Electro-X was the one without the “Y” on the pentaprism (Type 1) and the second and much more available TL Electro X with the “Y” is the Type 2. There also appears to be a large gap in production between the T1 and T2 of about eight or nine months. At this point in time, we don’t have a reason for the changes or for the gap.

Yashica sales brochure in German from around 1972. The ITS model with its distinctive gold electron design on the pentaprism is on the right.

Thanks again to Jens Erik for sharing his Yashica with me (and you).

Chris

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Yashica TL Electro X – studio views

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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Yashica’s best SLR – ever!

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 – A New Horizon 1975

May 18, 2019May 19, 2019Chris and Carol 1 Comment

From the rarely seen sales brochure ‘Yashica A New Horizon’ published in early 1975.

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This booklet was sent to all US camera dealers with a cover letter addressing Yashica’s future plans for distributing their line of cameras and photo equipment directly to dealers in the United States. In all of my years of collecting Yashica related items, this is the first time I’ve seen this publication. It’s a perfect 8.5 x 11 inches, in full color, printed on heavy stock glossy paper with 14-pages filled with photographs never used outside of this book.

Here is the cover letter that accompanied the brochure. It provides some insight into the heart of Yashica and at this point in time, brings to light their attempts to turn the company around and emerge from bankruptcy in a much better place.

The letter is typed on bond paper (with watermark) and was signed by Mr. Kenji Sakuma so I don’t believe it is simply a photocopy casually dashed off to dealers. It shows how important this new program was to Yashica.

My good friend Paul Sokk (https://www.yashicatlr.com) pointed out the gender-specific remark “In the very near future, one of our salesmen, under the direction…”. When read using today’s optics it would appear as though it was out of place and implied that there would be no women calling on you Mr. Camera Dealer. Considering that this is from Japan and written in 1975 I believe it was simply stating the obvious – there probably weren’t females in these positions at this point in time and it would be many decades before the glass ceiling would be broken (struggles exist even to this day). Of course, the term salesmen could also be interpreted as a generic term for the position as the term sales person had not yet come into use.

A view of the back cover which was released without the usual printing data or date.

The Yashica Line as represented in early 1975. Noticeably missing is the TL Electro X ITS model with its distinctive gold electron logo on the pentaprism.

The Yashica line as presented in the brochure. The TL Electro X and TL-E are represented in the SLR category but no TL Electro X ITS which I find very odd.

As always, thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to share anything that may enhance this post or correct any inaccuracies. – 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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Yashica TL Electro-x

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019Chris and Carol 1 Comment

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”.

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) battery, the original leather case, an unopened vinyl strap, a roll of Fujicolor film and an instruction booklet. The beauty of this Yashica is that it accepts a wide array of M42 screw mount lenses which are available everywhere for very fair prices.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Studio camera – Fujifilm X-A10 with a Fujinon Aspherical Lens – Super EBC XC 16-50mm f3.5 OIS II

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.

Monster Glass! Tomioka 55mm f1.2

June 13, 2018June 13, 2018Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Yashica TL Electro-X ITS with Tomioka Auto Yashinon 55mm f1.2 – the best SLR of its time (1968-1972).

Yashica sales brochure with ‘fake’ serial number on the lens. There’s a possibility that it may have been a prototype lens and was given an odd serial number.

yashica tl its 1.2

One of our all-time favorite SLRs with one of the fastest 55mm lenses made. The Tomioka designed f1.2 is an exceptional lens and we’re happy to have it in our collection. This lens is in the batch of the first 1000 made and carries a low serial number.

A super early lens in this German sales brochure – SN 5520124

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris

USS Midway (CV-41) – Anchored off the coast of Perth, WA – 1977

February 5, 2018February 5, 2018Chris and Carol 7 Comments

The great United States Ship Midway anchored off the coast of Western Australia near Fremantle (just south of Perth). September 1977 during a 5-day liberty port visit by the Midway and Air Wing 5 (CVW5).

Starboard side forward – note the small ferry that is tied up alongside the ship waiting to take crew members ashore. The coast is just visible on the distant horizon. That’s the A-3 “Whale” just forward of the island and an A-6 Intruder just aft of the island.

Starboard side aft with F-4 Phantoms on the flight deck.

Camera: Yashica TL Electro-X on Kodacolor

Of note, these original prints were damaged by seawater and these are the best scans I could salvage until I rescue the negatives.

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.