A sign posted on the extreme north end of Amelia Island. Apparently, the owner of this property overpaid a bit.
Submitted by my son Tim on his travels around the island.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! – Chris
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In the Shop – Asahi Pentax and more!
New in the shop this week at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
There’s plenty more items in the shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
My camera shop is hosted by Etsy so it accepts most forms of payment and I can ship practically worldwide. Feel free to message me here on WordPress or at ccphotographyai@gmail.com
Thanks for stopping by and happy shopping! – Chris
Yashica’s Tokyo Headquarters – 1974 and 2019
Yashica opened its new Tokyo headquarters officially in the Summer of 1974. Here’s a before and after picture.
Yashica’s headquarters as it appeared in August 1974.
Yashica headquarters building from April 2019. Photos courtesy of Paul Sokk.
The current building is known as the Kyocera Harajuku Building located at 6-27-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Kyocera acquired Yashica in 1983 and for the most part, Kyocera continues to operate in many of Yashica’s former properties.
For more about Yashica’s history please check out Paul’s excellent site here.
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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
In the Shop – Yashica FR II & more!
New in the shop this week is this excellent Yashica FR II. It’s a wonderfully simple film camera to use as it incorporates aperture-priority autoexposure. You select the f-stop and the camera’s computer sets the shutter speed based on your film’s ISO (ASA) speed.
The Yashica FR II is one of my favorite cameras to use. The viewfinder is big, bright and clear and coupled with the fast Contax/Yashica DSB 50mm lens it’s a joy to shoot with. The focusing screen on this Yashica uses a diagonally split focus spot that makes it super easy to get an accurate focus quickly even in dim lighting (perfect for my gettin’ older eyes!).
This Yashica FR II (FR2) has been fully inspected, serviced and tested. It will come to you with a fresh battery and the original lens cap. Just load a roll of film and you’re good to go!
Here’s some of my other cameras and gear in the shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
More can be found at http://www.ccstudio2380.com which is hosted by Etsy.
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Canon F-1 35mm SLR
Canon F-1 35mm single-lens reflex camera from 1975.
This beautiful Canon is part of my extensive Canon camera collection. Having said that, it’s time to pare down some of my collection. Besides being super clean, this camera has been fully tested and is working perfectly. I’ve installed new film door light seals and a new mirror bumper pad. It has a fresh battery and it will come with its original Canon nylon neck/shoulder strap, the original Canon body cap, and two Canon books. The instruction book is a high-quality copy dated 03/1975 and the F-1 sales brochure is dated 03/1978 and it’s an original.
The camera. If you’ve never had the opportunity to shoot with an F-1 then you’d be very happy with this camera. The F-1 is a professional grade camera designed to last a lifetime. It’s a pleasure to use and of course, it accepts all of Canon’s FD and FL lenses and a ton of accessories.
It’s available at http://www.ccstudio2380.com and here in this post (see below).
The original Canon F-1 is a fully manual camera – you control the focus, you set the lens aperture and shutter speed, and you determine the proper exposure using the thru-the-lens (TTL) built-in light meter. It’s film photography at its purest.
This camera is available through my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com of you can purchase it directly from this post.
Canon F-1 35mm SLR Film Camera
As described in the accompanying post. Fully serviced, tested and ready to roll. I'll mail it pretty much worldwide but please ask for a shipping quote for outside the US. Thanks, Chris
$194.75
Yashica 1958 & Yashica 2019
The title is a bit misleading – well actually very misleading as Yashica (the original Japanese company) no longer exists. Yashica was acquired by Kyocera in 1983 and killed off by 2004. My good friend Paul Sokk and I have been on a quest to find some of Yashica’s old factory buildings and because Paul has a sharp eye for details, he was able to find Yashica’s factory in Shimosuwa (Nagano Prefecture) while conducting some research. The first image below is a scan from a sales brochure that I have from 1958.
Yashica’s main office building located on the factory campus in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 1958.
The same building as seen this April (2019). The company that currently operates from the building (Mutoh) has no ties to either Yashica or Kyocera. Photo courtesy of Paul Sokk.
Notice in the current picture that the building has had an addition added to its near side (enclosing a previous carport) and received a rather mundane paint job especially compared to what I’m sure was a very colorful design originally.
By the way, the current occupant, Mutoh Industries, Ltd., makes large format printing machines. More can be found here.
Aerial view of the Yashica factory campus with the office building (viewed from behind) in the center.
The Yashica gym and auditorium as seen today. Look at the aerial view in the image above this one to see the gym as it appeared in the late 1950s. Photo courtesy of Paul Sokk.
Many thanks to Paul Sokk and his wife Kathy for sharing photos from their most recent trip to Japan. Paul is the creator of THE site for anything about Yashica TLRs and early Yashica history the site can be found at www.yashicatlr.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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Canon – World Cup 1986
Not often seen, a Canon 1986 World Cup T50 35mm SLR.
The Canon T50 is an underrated camera (as is the T70). Built-in power drive and programmed automation made it a super simple 35mm SLR that used all of Canon’s FD lenses. If you wanted simple, fast and accurate the T50 and the T70 are great values in the used market.
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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Leotax Merite TV2 – 1958
While doing some research on late 1950s Japanese 35mm rangefinder cameras, I came across the Leotax brand. Their cameras are highly regarded by collectors and photographers alike. They have a reputation of being one of the better built Leica inspired models, especially during the early 1950s. I personally believe that Nicca built the best versions as I own several different models and I occasionally shoot with a Nicca 3-S.
My good friend Paul Sokk pointed out that a Leotax camera box in my collection has the name of the model spelled differently than the accepted norm – ‘Merite vs. Merit’. Intrigued we both started looking for proof as to the camera’s “real” name. The camera was also known as the model TV2.
My recently acquired Leotax Merite camera box (from Japan). Mérite in French.
“Excellent mechanism with the best technology”… Leotax Merite
Paul spotted this sales flyer from Leotax. The name ‘Merite’ is clearly spelled out. Notice that the camera itself does not have a name on it.
Here’s a Merite camera (not verified) with a box that’s marked ‘TV2’ which was another name that the Merite was known by.
It’s interesting to note that the next camera in the Leotax line was called ‘Elite’. Another French word that would fit nicely with Merite. Is any of this definitive? No, but the fact that the flyer and the box match I would imagine that was and is the intended name.
For more about the Leotax Camera Company please visit here. The Merite is referred to by its improper name at the moment.
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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Yashica TL Electro-X
As I continue to downsize my collection, I’m offering this beautiful Yashica TL Electro-X for purchase. It’s also available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Yashica TL Electro-X 35mm SLR Film Camera with an Auto Yashinon 50mm f1.4 DS-M Lens from Tomioka Optical
This is a museum-worthy camera set from my personal collection of exceptional Yashicas. It's been inspected, fully tested and is ready to pass on to the next collector. For additional images of the set and a more detailed description of the camera please visit my camera shop and studio at http://www.ccstudio2380.com I mail practically worldwide (there are a few exceptions) and if it's purchased directly from this post I'll mail it for free, fully insured and tracked to your home or business.
$220.00
The camera was assembled in September 1973 at Yashica’s newest factory (at that time) which was located in Hong Kong – its bottom plate is stamped “HONG KONG” which is rarely seen today. The 50mm lens is an extremely fast f/ 1.4 designed and built by the famous Tomioka Optical Company (which was fully part of Yashica by this time).
This set will come to you with a fresh battery, the original Yashica 57mm lens cap, the proper instruction booklet (dated 09/73) and the Yashica booklet ‘Yashinon Lenses & Accessories’ (dated 08/73).
This is a great opportunity to acquire an important camera in not only Yashica’s history but in the history of 35mm SLR development.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck! – 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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Single Shot Focus on the Yashica TL Electro-X
The Yashica TL Electro-X. It would not be an overstatement to say that this camera was Yashica’s most successful 35mm SLR – ever! I’m not sure what the total sales record is for this camera but success is measured beyond just the number of cameras sold. It was the first SLR with full electronic control of the shutter and it used an innovative LED display in the viewfinder to help adjust the camera for the proper exposure.
From Yashica: Electronically operated metal focal plane shutter with speeds from about 2 seconds to 1/1000 with in-between shutter speed settings possible, and B. Thru-the-Lens (TTL) light measuring system with IC computer and electronic exposure readout. It had a “brain”.
This gorgeous example is from my personal collection and it’s available for purchase in my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
It includes the famous Tomioka Optical designed and built Auto Yashinon 50mm f1.4 DS-M lens. The camera and lens are in collector quality condition – full mint condition and the camera works as new. The lens is perfect and the glass is crystal clear. Adding to the uniqueness of this set is that the camera was built at Yashica’s new factory in Hong Kong in September 1973. The baseplate is appropriately marked “Hong Kong”.
Assembled in Hong Kong with parts made in Japan.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check it out in my shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
There’s plenty of awesome cameras available in the shop with more being added from my collection almost daily.
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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 