It would appear to the casual follower of this blog that we may have strayed off the Yashima-Yashica path a bit with our recent posts about the Fuji Photo Fujipet and the Shinano Pigeon 35 Model IIB. Yes we have and we’re even further away from current posts about the Yashica Pentamatic series of cameras. Guilty on all counts!

One of the things that attracted us to the Pentamatic 35 mm SLR in the first place was the general lack of accurate information on the web about the “mysterious” and seldom seen Pentamatic. Our goal was to enlighten the web with some new and hopefully correct info about Yashica’s first single-lens reflex camera which was released in the first half of 1960.

Our attempts to locate a good (and affordable) Pentamatic Model II for our collection have hit financial deed ends… that is to say that occasionally a Model II does come to auction but are going for near record prices in the ¥30,000 range and better! That is an indicator to us on just how rare that model is and why it shouldn’t be passed up by the collector. There is only a slight difference between the two models but in the terms of units sold new, the original Pentamatic 35 outsold the Model II at a 3 to 1 ratio or more. The Pentamatic S which was the last in the series, isn’t even advertised in the mainstream photography magazines of the early 1960s. In fact, magazine ads from as late as June 1962 were still running ads for the Pentamatic 35 and nothing for the Model II or S. Yashica pulled the plug quickly on the series and adopted the M42 mount for all future 35 mm SLRs.

The biggest change from the original Pentamatic 35 was the change over to a new lens (made by Tomioka Optical). The first Pentamatic came with the 5.5cm f/ 1.8 lens with exclusive Pentamatic bayonet mount. The Model II was fitted with the rather odd 5.8cm lens and a slightly faster f/ 1.7 aperture. It still held on to the bayonet mount.

The “new” Pentamatic Model II lens.

Could it be true? The first sighting of the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure for the Japanese home market.

Thanks for stopping by !

Chris and Carol

We were able to scan some images from the Fujipet’s instruction booklet and a scan of the ‘warranty card’ / registration card. If you’ve read one of our previous blog posts about the Fuji Photo Film Company’s Fujipet, then you have been introduced to a rather unique camera from Japan in the late 1950s.

A scan of the front cover of the Fujipet Camera instruction booklet. c1958

Back cover of the Fujipet instructions. Nice graphic showing which Fuji films to use given the sun conditions of the day.

Near the back of the user’s book is this lovely model showing us how to use a flash gun not mounted to the camera’s accessory shoe. The only problem… no direct wire connection.

Here is a scan of the front and back of the warranty / service / registration card that came with the Fujipet.

A scan of the front cover of the Fujipet Camera instruction booklet. c1958

The reverse of the card where you can tell Fuji Photo the who, what, when and where of your purchase.

Tomioka Beauty… rather rare lens in this apparently near mint condition. If we understand the serial numbering system… the ‘552’ is the model number if you will (for lack of a better term). The 55 = 55 mm and the ‘2’ is the maximum aperture of 1.2. The next numbers are the production sequence numbers… 1,773 rd made.

So there you have it! One of the best of the original super fast 55 mm lenses for the M42 mount.

Have a great Yashica Day!

Wow! Hard to believe that June is almost over! The summer is going to be long (always) and hot (yep)… no forecasting needed there.

We’ve been reviewing some of our early 1960s photography magazines… always looking for any mention of the Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ that we may have missed in the first glance. The May 1960 issue of ‘Modern Photography’ magazine… on page 48 the new Pentamatic makes its appearance in an article titled ‘Behind the Scenes’. It is incorrectly listed as having a f/1.9 55mm automatic lens (the image clearly shows the f/1.8 5.5cm lens). But at least it’s recognition!

May 1960 ‘Modern Photography’ magazine article that states that the Pentamatic will be available “soon”.

Another note we would like to share with you is that we recently discovered a new Japan Shopping Service… Zen Market. Their site is super easy to navigate and offers a wide variety of different outlets to shop from. You can find them at http://www.zenmarket.jp/

The translations are very good and the searches are easy. Give them a look!

Stay well and thanks for checking us out! C&C

We’ve recently discovered a neat magazine advertisement for what appears to be Yashica’s full line of film cameras from sometime in 1962.

I personally haven’t seen an ad from this period in an English language magazine… I feel that ads like this help to date and understand Yashica’s thinking when it came to production and marketing.

The 35mm single-lens reflex cameras in this ad from 1962 are… top left is the Pentamatic S, the next camera down is the Penta J and the last SLR is the original Pentamatic ’35’.

The Yashica family from ‘Life’ magazine advertisement 1962. By the way, the dad is holding the Pentamatic S.

An interesting mix of cameras… 35mm SLRs, 6x6cm TLRs, 4x4cm TLRs, 8mm movie cameras and some lenses, flashes and of course 35mm rangefinder cameras.

We are looking into acquiring the ad so we can present a higher quality image.

Thanks for looking!

Chris and Carol