Awesome photographs – 1972

Titled “Fantasy”. This image is by Hiroki Hayashi, an acclaimed professional photographer using a Yashica TL ELECTRO-X ITS and Auto Yashinon-DX 28mm f/2.8 lens f/8 at speed setting 1/30 second.

Taken with a Yashica TL ELECTRO-X ITS and Yashinon-DX 21mm f/3.3 lens at f/5.6 at 1/60 second. Image by acclaimed professional photographer Takeji Iwamiya. Titled “Solarization”.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day! – Chris

Be sure to stop by my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

No Love Fuji? The Discovery 90 Date

This wonderful Fuji deserves another look.

Chris and Carol's avatarChasing Classic Cameras with Chris

The plastic fantastic wonders of the 1980s and 1990s generally receive no love – especially looking back on them with our digitized eyeballs in 2017. These overlooked (even when new for the most part) cameras were the bridge cameras for many photographers that were moving away from their bulky SLRs from the 1970s and looking for something easy, carefree and light to take with them on short outings and family get togethers. The 35mm format was the clear winner in the format wars, now manufacturers wanted think-free 35s that were as easy to use as falling outta bed (?).

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This Fuji Discovery 90 Date was introduced in May 1993 to an already crowded plastic 35mm marketplace. So how to stand out? Drop-in loading, auto focus, auto exposure auto rewind and auto wind was a good start. A big bright viewfinder centered over the lens – and macro capability (23 1/2…

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Happy SUNday! – ‘ratsun’?

Hi all – just a quick hello on this Sunday. It’s not the best picture in the world but I was able to catch a rodent peeking out from our garden sun.

You have to look really close but you can just see the little face and paw peeking out from the mouth of our garden sun sculpture. I’ve seen them there before and I believe it’s a common Florida woodrat or in this case, ratsun.

Have a wonderful day and be safe out there! – Chris

Visit http://www.ccstudio2380.com for all of your photographic needs.

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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Burke & James 4×5 Press Camera Kit – 1952

Hi all! Thanks for stopping by. I wanted to share this wonderful camera kit that I’ve recently acquired from the original owner’s family. I’ve done some minor restoration on the rare original leather and wood case and I’ve gone through the camera and cleaned and inspected (tested) everything.

The complete kit with sheet film holders (5), rare lens shade, instruction booklet, flash bulbs, and the camera.
The case is made from wood that’s been covered with leather. Some of the edges showed some wear so I did some minor restoration. The aluminum lens shade is made by Tiffen and uses a Kodak adapter. An original unused lens board is also included.

The camera was originally owned by noted New Mexico writer and photographer Ken Cobean. Ken’s work has appeared in magazines such as Life, Time, and National Geographic and Ken received two prestigious awards from Kodak at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.

This beautiful set is now available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – pop on over and check it out. There’s even a short video that you can watch.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! – 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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

New in the Shop – Amazing Cameras, Awesome Values!

Hi all!

We’ve added some really unique and hard to find cameras in our camera shop this week and we’re offering for the first time ever a 15% discount on almost everything in the shop – some with free shipping too! Visit the shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! – 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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Macro Monday – simple but elegant machines

Yashica self-timer ca. 1955

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Walz self-timer ca. 1957

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Canon self-timer 1953

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I say simple but still amazingly complex and elegant.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by my online camera shop hosted by Etsy 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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

SUNday Spotlight! – Discovering some Fuji Fun

Fujifilm = Fuji Fun! Here’s a simple but fun to use point and shoot 35mm film camera from Fuji Photo Film Company – 1993. It’s hard to imagine that this camera is now over 25-years-old and it’s never been used.

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It features a Fujinon f8 34mm lens with 3 elements in 3 groups. The shutter operates from 1/40 to 1/600 of a second. Built-in automatic flash and of course, red-eye reduction.

The Discovery line from Fuji was very popular with a ton of models produced in the early 1990s. The Discovery 90 Date listed for ¥18,500 in 1993 (about $160 USD).

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It has some pretty nice features for such an easy to use camera.  That’s the original film that came with the set – it’s expired but still usable.

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I replaced the original CR2025 battery with a fresh one and reset the date.

These “Plastic Fantastic” cameras are a joy to use and with its Fujinon 34mm lens produced some quality images especially loaded with Fujicolor film.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic Sunday! – Chris

http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Classic Mamiya M645 – a medium format SLR from 1975

Who hasn’t seen a professional photographer with a Mamiya M645? They were the go-to camera systems for weddings, school photos, and just about any type of photography that benefited from its 6×4.5cm format. I’ll admit, the camera did best on a tripod in a studio but with a steady hand and fast film, it did well on walkabouts.

Here is mine from a recent purchase from the original owner’s estate. Mr. Ken Cobean was a well-known writer and photographer from New Mexico back when it was still part of the old west. Ken’s works were published in magazines such as Time and Life and Ken received two prestigious awards for his photography during the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Here’s Ken’s Mamiya M645 from 1975.

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It’s a beautifully maintained camera from Ken’s collection of portrait and press photography and it’s available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

I Like Leica (stuff)!

More Leica-Leitz stuff. This well-preserved brochure is from March 1949.

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The finder was useful from 35mm to 135mm – a must once you started using lenses above 50mm.

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The Leica catalog code is ‘VIOOH’ and the catalog number is 66,006a.

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The finder was quite expensive for 1949 at $77 plus tax. I believe this brochure is dated 3/49 if I interpret the code correctly.

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A somewhat similar viewfinder from Japan ca. 1952 from an unknown maker. This one is dedicated to using 13.5cm lenses.

Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to visit my “gift 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.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.