Canon A-1 1980 Winter Olympics Edition

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Complete Canon Olympics Edition A-1 with 1968 Gold Medal winner Jean-Claude Killy pictured on the box (both sides). Killy also appeared in some print advertising for Canon in late 1979 and 1980.

The Winter Olympics were held in February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York so Canon needed someone of note to feature on the box for the A-1 that went into production in early 1979. Since there wasn’t a clear Olympic standout in skiing in the 1976 games, Canon turned to three-time Gold Medalist Killy from the 1968 games in Grenoble, France to feature on the box. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.

More Fun with Fuji! – FinePix S9900W

November 22, 2022November 22, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In my opinion, the Fujifilm FinePix S9900W is one of the finest bridge cameras made – period. It’s also the only one I’ve used so my opinion and general “love” of all things from Fujifilm cloud my judgment.

Shown here with a hard-to-find sales brochure.

I purchased this wonderful camera for general use in my home studio shooting pictures for this blog and for listings in my online camera shop.

A crazy long Fujinon 50x zoom lens with 5-axis image stabilization.

Pairing an expansive zoom lens with a versatile imaging system, the FinePix S9900W Digital Camera from Fujifilm features a 16.2 MP 1/2.3″ BSI-CMOS sensor along with a 50x optical zoom lens. The lens covers wide-angle to super-telephoto perspectives, and a 24-1200mm equivalent focal length range, and 5-axis image stabilization helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake for sharper, clearer imagery. With respect to the image sensor, both high-resolution still shooting and full HD video recording is supported, and a top sensitivity of ISO 12800 benefits working in difficult lighting situations. A continuous shooting rate of 10 fps is available, and the processing abilities of the S9900W also maintain quick handling performance throughout the camera system. Additionally, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity enables seamless sharing of imagery to mobile devices as well as wireless remote control over the camera using the Fujifilm Camera Remote app.

Covering wide-angle to super-telephoto perspectives, the Fujinon 50x optical zoom lens provides an equivalent focal length range of 24-1200mm to suit working in nearly any environment. Intelligent Digital Zoom can be used to effectively double this range to 100x, with minimal image quality degradation, to benefit working with very distant subjects. For working with very close subject matter, a Super Macro mode permits focusing as closely as 0.4″ away.

Five-axis image stabilization combines both two-axis optical (pitch and yaw) and three-axis digital (roll, vertical shift, and horizontal shift) image stabilization systems, and helps to compensate for camera shake across all pertinent axes. This helps to realize sharper, clear imagery when shooting stills at slower shutter speeds or just maintaining a steady frame when recording video on the move.

It’s such a versatile camera and I hate selling it but my camera collection needs to be thinned out a bit. It’s in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com if you’re interested. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Konica Super SR Film

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A recently discovered two pack of Konica color print film in its original retail packaging.

It’s expired but with a few adjustments while shooting could still produce interesting results.

And even a roll of out-of-date regular Kodak B&W film

Everything is on sale at 10% off – just in time for your Christmas gift shopping.

Expired 35mm film can be a joy to shoot or a frustrating experience. There are many photogs that absolutely love the look that vintage films can produce. I’ve added these to my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com if you’re interested. I had these on display with some of my classic cameras from that period. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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Happy SUNday! – Minolta Madness

November 6, 2022November 6, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Another beautiful Minolta has found its way into our collection and to be quite frank, we have more SLRs than we could ever possibly shoot with or even display. So, this lovely Minolta X-700 MPS is available in our camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Minolta X-700 MPS (Minolta Program System) with sharp Rokkor MD 50mm f/2 lens.

This Minolta can be shot on full automatic exposure, aperture priority, or fully manual where you set both the shutter and aperture.

The X-700 is super easy to use and to me is lightweight enough to carry around all day.

The full-color brochure (over 40 pages) is filled with charts, tables, lists, and features of every Minolta lens and accessory available. The brochure is rather har-to-find and it’s included with the camera.

The Minolta X-700 is truly the heart of a complete system (MPS) of data backs, motor drives, flash units, lenses, focusing screens, close-up and macro accessories, meters, and cases. It’s one of our favorite 35mm SLRs to use. If you’re interested, pop on over to our shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com which is hosted by Etsy. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris & Carol

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Rare Pentamatic ’35’ Brochure from Japan

May 12, 2022May 12, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Here is another great find – fresh in from a seller in Japan. I believe this may be one of the first dedicated sales brochures for Yashica’s new 35mm SLR film camera. I’m guessing this was released in the Spring of 1960. Unfortunately, Yashica didn’t hide a date code somewhere in the brochure.

This is a scan of the centerfold –

The lower left box translates as “A versatile camera that can be used for practical purposes and hobbies”.

I’ll post additional scans from this brochure soon. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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Rare Pentamatic II Brochure from Japan

May 12, 2022May 12, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I’m always, and I mean always, chasing anything to do with Yashica’s Pentamatic series of 35mm SLR cameras from the early 1960s. I was taken by its simple modern lines the first time I laid eyes on one.

Here is a wonderful Pentamatic II sales brochure (almost a catalog) from Japan that I’m guessing was published around the Summer of 1960 which was when the camera was introduced in Japan. I believe this is the first (and only) full-length brochure for this model.

The front cover introduces us to the Yashica Pentamatic II.

The lens was a new addition to this camera and was likely made for Yashica by Zunow Optical.

The back cover summarizes the features and specs of Yashica’s newest camera and lens set. The address (bottom) is listed as Yashica Co., Ltd., Nihonbashi Muromachi, Tokyo 1-8.

The ‘Yashica Girl’ started appearing on sales brochures around 1958 or so and continued here in this brochure. I don’t know her origins or purpose but she has two co-workers that often appear with her on other brochures. Here is a peek inside (it reads right to left) –

Unfortunately for Yashica, the Pentamatic II was not well received so it had a shortened production run of just over 5,300 units from August 1960 to January 1961 with breaks in production during that time. January 1961 is when Zunow Optical went bankrupt or was absorbed by Yashica (not well documented). Either way that put an end to this unique lens on a Yashica camera. It’s likely though that the lens design transferred over to Tomioka Optical (which was owned by Yashica) and Tomioka may have made this same lens for Mamiya in 1962.

One of my original Pentamatic II cameras with the Auto Yashinon f1.7 5.8cm lens.

One of the hardest cameras to chase down in Yashica’s entire lineup with just over 5,300 made with a vast majority only available in the Japanese domestic market.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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Early Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ Brochure

May 11, 2022May 12, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

The Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ was Yashica’s first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera – introduced in early 1960.

There’s a chance that this was the first brochure released in the U.S. Maybe March 1960.

Take note that besides the standard f1.8 5.5cm lens there were only two other lenses offered. (the brochure has them reversed)

Such a striking design – the first cameras were made in January 1960.

Thanks for stopping by! If you’re looking for an interesting camera to chase down, the Pentamatic is worth a go. – Chris

eBay is funny (but they don’t make you laugh)

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I’ve been on eBay since 2003 and a regular seller since 2008. During this time I’ve been a “Top Rated Seller” and in the old days, a “Power-Seller”. What’s the advantage of being a top-rated seller? Well, they place a little logo next to your seller ID, you get a reduction in some of your final value fees, and you get to be compared and judged against other sellers with higher sales figures and often higher negative feedback ratings. In order to qualify, you must maintain at least 100 sales during a twelve-month period with a minimum of at least $1,000 in transactions. So, if you have 99 transactions and $5,000 in sales and no negative feedbacks you wouldn’t qualify because negative feedback isn’t really that important to them in the long run. But let’s say you have 3,000 transactions, $20,000 in sales, and a bunch of negative feedbacks from your customers you could still be “Top Rated”. Here are a few recent messages I’ve received from eBay –

**This is crazy – why tell me that I had no cases and still need to improve?**

**How’s this for a roller coaster ride?**

To say the least this is a confusing mess. I was Top Rated and then I wasn’t with no defects and no negative feedback comments. I sold 99 items (over a 12-month period) with just under $5,000 in sales. eBay charges about 12 to 15% so they made a nice profit from me.

**These numbers only reflect feedback received – many buyers don’t take the time to leave feedback**

**Positive feedback is a good thing but not necessarily in eBay’s eyes.**

I’ve started to list fewer items for sale on eBay and as I have a majority of my cameras and lenses on Etsy (www.ccstudio2380.com) and on my Mercari site. BTW, Etsy charged only 5% but will start charging 6.5% in April. It’s still a deal compared to eBay’s 12-15%.

Here is how Etsy rewards sellers (below).

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

At least they caught their mistake.

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

This errata sheet was included with the Yashica brochure (pictured below) from 1974.

Yashica’s “Infallible” System needed to be corrected.

There aren’t too many of these sales brochures still floating around so I ended up buying one that is a bit rough condition-wise (but complete). It even has some prices written on the cover as a bonus.

The date code (lower right corner) is **E074** which I take to be July 1974. It’s one of the few brochures from this period that both the English and Japanese versions use the same images inside.

The sales brochures for the Yashica Electro AX and FFT cameras are pretty hard to find online here in the US on eBay and Etsy or through the Japanese auction sites. The owner’s manuals are even harder to find!

Here’s the back cover of the Japanese sales brochure. It uses the same date code ***074***.

Small stuff I know but I’m trying to document as much as I can on these last two models (AX & FFT) from Yashica in their M42 screw-in mount camera line (1972-1974). Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and, while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Canon and the Olympics – 1980 – fun stuff to collect

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

There’s plenty of Canon Olympic stuff out there – a rather hard one to chase down is the Canon F-1 1976 Montreal Olympic camera in mint (working) condition with its box and although they are easy to find the 1984 Canon New F-1 camera is still quite expensive in mint condition with its original box. There are lots of other Olympic collectibles to be found such as lens caps, bags, jackets, straps, and pins. Have fun with it!