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

We found this lens recently while surfing various sites. It’s the first time I’ve seen the famous f/ 1.2 M42 mount lens with the original maker’s marks and serial number. Just a really nice find!

Super rare Tomioka Kogaku (optical) Auto Tominon f 1.2 55mm lens. Looks to be in excellent condition overall. Knowing just a bit (actually very little) about Tomioka, the serial number is in sequential production number which would make this lens the 102nd lens off the production line! Wow!

Nope… it’s not our lens (wish it was) and we can’t afford it but at the time of this blog post it was for sale on one of the well known auction sites ($1,450.00)…

Go for it!!!

Thanks for looking… Chris and Carol

Another big step in Yashica’s growth was the groundbreaking introduction of the TL-Super in 1966. Yashica started making 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras in 1959 with the Pentamatic ’35’. The Pentamatic was a solid first offering by Yashica but it was a timid first step. On one hand, the Pentamatic was a beast but lacked some serious upgrades… no self timer and no built-in exposure meter. The self timer was not much of an issue as Yashica made an accessory timer that could be used on many of their camera platforms and was simple to use. There was an option to buy a separate exposure meter (more money) and slide it on the accessory shoe so that at least you didn’t have to hold a meter in your hand to take a meter reading. Awkward. What was groundbreaking for the TL-Super is the fact that two CdS resistors were mounted inside the finder and would accurately measure the amount of light actually reaching the film. The ‘TL’ part was for through-the-lens metering (TTL) and it became the standard practice from that point forward.

Two other firsts for the TL-Super… first camera in the world to use silver-oxide 1.5v batteries and the Super marked the first time Yashica permanently mounted an accessory shoe (hot shoe) to the top of the pentaprism. Small stuff but big for Yashica.

Over the course of production for the TL-Super, two versions (3 actually) were made. V1 still used a baseplate locking system similar to the previous ‘J’ series of SLRs. The film advance lever was a rather plain but elegant lever much like some very early Yashicas used. The lenses were chrome nosed Auto Yashinons and came in two different apertures… f/ 1.7 and f/ 1.4 50mm. V2 changed the baseplate to a new cleaner style that no longer had the locking lever to open the film back. Instead the back was opened by lifting the rewind lever upwards and that would release the door. The film advance lever changed to a part metal and part plastic design which looked more like the more modern cameras at the time (1967-1970). The lenses became the black nosed Auto Yashinon-DX 50mm in both f/ 1.7 and f/ 1.4. The third unofficial version? Mine. Caught between part upgrades my Super has the old style film advance lever but has the later baseplate and uses the rewind knob to pop open the film back. My Super also came with a black nosed f/ 1.4 lens and a much later edition of the instruction booklet. So I’ll call it V1 (a).

TL-Super version V1 (a).

Beautiful Auto Yashinon-DX 50mm f/ 1.4. Made by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo. The serial number starts with a ’54’. 5 = 50mm and the 4 = f/ 1.4. The rest is a production sequence number.

Rather nice logo.

Version 1 (1966) Instruction Booklet.

Version 1 (top) back cover of the Instruction Booklet. Note the blue color. Version 2 (bottom) is the back cover to the Instruction Booklet. Note the green color. This one is also dated… 1971 July 5.

Version 1 baseplate. Note that it uses the old style (previous ‘J’ series SLRs) of open and close locking lever for the film back.

Version 2 baseplate. Locking lever has been removed. The film back now opens via the rewind knob.

Version 1 differences from the newer V2 design. Locking lever and smooth metal film advance lever.

V2 baseplate and film advance lever changes from V1.

Typical of Yashica… no date on this ad but it does look like a V1 camera.

Thanks again for your visit! Chris and Carol

Please feel free to comment or add items that we may have overlooked.