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Yashica 35 – Yashima’s first 35mm camera!
Yashima Optical Industries Company, Limited (Yashima) released their first 35mm rangefinder camera in April 1958. The camera was in development for at least a year (no proof of that but it seems reasonable to assume that an established TLR camera maker didn’t just pull this camera out of thin air). It could have been developed totally in-house as there is only speculation that Yashima received outside assistance in its development.
Here’s my earliest example of this historic camera. Note that the lens is marked “Yasinon” vice “Yashinon”. Yashima released at least two months of cameras (April and May 1958) with those markings before changing to what we now know as Yashinon.
My recently acquired Yashica 35 with 60 or more years of dirt! Straight from an online seller in Japan. Note the unfamiliar “Yasinon” lens. These super early examples are rather hard to find since there were only two months of production.
The good news is that it appears the camera lived most of its life in its leather case so there’s no damage to the surfaces of the body and lens. The bad news about living in a leather case is that it tends to support the growth of mold and fungus on the glass elements of the lens and in the rangefinder.
The dirt is mostly made up of dust and fibers from the felt lining of the leather case and not soot and finger grime – which is a good thing. Sometimes this type of dirt actually keeps the surfaces protected from metal corrosion as long as it’s been stored in a dry environment.
What it looked like on the Japanese auction site.
After some initial cleaning of the exterior (see below) with a bunch of Q-tips and some Windex, the camera is looking a whole lot better.
I use Q-tips and a bit of Windex to gently clean the surfaces of the camera. The Windex leaves no residue and doesn’t harm the leatherette, metal or glass (I’ve safely used that for years). I use the super soft toothbrush to gently clean those hard to reach crevices and to polish the surfaces to a nice sheen.
Looking sharp but not perfect. If I want a totally clean and usable camera I’ll have to remove the top plate and clean the rangefinder and viewfinder elements. The rangefinder is accurate and focus is easy to obtain but it’s just a little dim inside. If you look closely at the center of the lens you will see the patch of fungus. Unfortunately, that is not cleanable.
The serial number, No. 843945, decodes to 8 = 1958, 4 = April, 3945 is the production sequence number 3,945 since production began in April.
This is one of the earliest examples of this fine camera having been built sometime in April 1958. Yashima used quality materials and production techniques as the fit and feel of the camera are of a much more expensive camera.
Earliest sales brochure for the Yashica 35. The serial number of the camera pictured is just a bit earlier than my new camera. Here it’s No. 843002 and mine is No. 843945.
Same brochure as pictured above. The f1.9 lens model is on the left. The serial number on the lens is No. 18275. Mine is No. 20254.
If you look closely, the lens is described as a Yashinon F1.9 even though the lens says Yasinon. Yashima was in the process of changing over or was it them catching a mistake?
BTW, 17,000 JPY was about $47 USD in April 1958
By the way, it’s generally believed that these two lenses were made for Yashima by Tomioka Optical. Yashima did have a relationship with Zunow Optical by there’s no proof that these lenses are from Zunow.
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.
Happy SUNday! – Charmander Attacks!
Ultra rare 1999 Topps Pokémon TV Animation Edition Series 1 Foil 3rd Printing collectible card with debossed teardrops and flames.
Due to a printing error, the “Topps” logo (bottom center) should be green vice black. All of these special foil cards should be green to match the rest of the 3rd printing in Series 1. Confused? To a collector (my kids) this is cool stuff so that means its cool stuff to me too! Of all the characters that my kids were followers of I personally enjoyed the Pokémon the most.
Have a beautiful 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 © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Earliest Known Yashima Guaranty Doc
An exciting find from Japan. This is the earliest known Yashima (Yashica) guaranty document. The “29” is the Showa year (1954). Other documents that were with this camera puts the date of sale as May 5, 1954, at a camera shop in Yokohama.
The translation of the writing on the lower left. “For cameras manufactured by us with this inspection knowledge attached, we will repair free of charge for spontaneous failures that occurred within 5 years after the acceptance of the user card. Attach the main unit when repairing.”
I believe that the pink paper is a receipt from the camera store that sold this Yashima Flex. It does show that a guarantee period begins on Showa 29.5.5 to 30.5.4 (1954 May 5 to 1955 May 4).
Back in 1954, the camera shop listed on this receipt says “Onuki Katsura Materials Store”, Yokohama, Noge-machi. Noge-machi is a very popular shopping street in Yokohama and features an exciting array of shops, restaurants, and bars.
This camera shop has been in business since 1934. It’s moved to a different location in Yokohama and is still going strong today. You can visit them here.
Part of the fun of collecting classic cameras like this Yashima Flex is discovering unexpected documents from when the camera was sold. Understanding the early history of Yashima (Yashica) is important to understand how a startup camera maker in a small village (Suwa) in Nagano Prefecture made its mark on the world by the end of the 1950s.
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.
Who IS this guy? Part 2
Yashica advertisement from 1959.
In a previous post, I had asked who this gentleman was since he appears in a few ads from this period and has appeared on the cover of a Yashica camera instruction booklet.
Same image as above except this time in color.
Now dressed as a “cowboy”. Same time period, late 1959. Sales brochure in German.
My first thought was that he was a television star or movie star of some note but no solid leads.
Apparently, the bowler hat, pipe, and wink are all part of his act.
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 – Rare Fuji Photo & More!
New in the shop this week at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Stop by my camera and photo gear shop hosted by Etsy for some really interesting items. I ship almost anywhere in the world quickly and securely. Give my shop a look! Thanks
If there’s something you don’t see that you have been looking for give me a shout – I may already have it in my collection or I know where to get it. Email me at ccphotographyai@gmail.com
Thanks, Chris
Yashima Flex Box – revisited
As a die-hard collector of Yashica cameras and photo gear, I can’t pass up the opportunity to share interesting bits that represent Yashica’s history. Of course, Yashica started off as Yashima and this represents the only camera that bore the Yashima name. Subsequent cameras quickly were named Yashica while the company name remained Yashima (until 1958).
So the Yashima Flex is pretty unique as it is a one-off. Here’s a pretty rare find – an original box for the Yashima Flex from 1953. The box structurally is sound and the graphics are clear and still appealing. There is some embedded soil that stained the paper on the top of the box but that’s to be expected as the top receives the most fallout from pollutants.
This is spot on to the actual color of the box (faded I’m sure after all these years).
These boxes are often called presentation boxes as they were inside of an outer cardboard shipping box. As best as I can tell, the boxes were never intended to be a place to store your camera when not in use so most were disposed of as soon as the camera was used. There’s no reason not to store your camera in its leather case in the box other than it wasn’t very convenient to do so. Finding an intact box for a camera made in Japan sixty-five years ago is pretty amazing especially considering that there weren’t many made.
Yashima was a startup just like hundreds of others in post-war Japan. How their boxes looked in a dealers display mattered so these early 1950s boxes often were made extremely well. To give an idea of its size here are its dimensions. About 7 inches tall, 5 inches wide and 4.25 inches deep ( 170 x 124 x 110mm).
Yashima’s pride and joy! Not quite as good a representation of the actual color of the box compared to pictures earlier in this post.
Thanks for stopping by! Chris
Do your homework!
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
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.
