Yashica 35 M

June 11, 2023July 11, 2023Chris and Carol Leave a comment

M for mysterious? Maybe not mysterious but missing. It’s not a camera that gets a lot of attention as it was dwarfed by the more popular Minister line. It was one of the first Yashica rangefinder cameras made with a built-in light meter (exposure meter) released at about the same time as the first Minister with the f/2.8 lens.

The exposure meter is located just behind the light gathering window (upper left). That’s what Yashica calls it in the instruction booklet. The meter is a selenium cell that is powered by light so no worries about needing a battery. BTW, the serial number on the booklet camera indicates it was made in January 1960. It’s been reported that the camera was released in June 1960. That’s a big gap even by Yashica’s standards.

The serial number on mine is M2101662 which decodes to October 1962.

The lens is what differentiates this model from the earlier Minister model. The Model M is fitted with a faster Yashinon f/1.9 4.5cm lens and a Copal SVL shutter with speeds from Bulb to 1/500.

In this image, the exposure meter indicates an ‘LVS’ setting of 14 at ASA 200. To set the proper exposure you’d simply turn the outer ring on the lens to match the LVS number and the camera would be properly set (see below).

LVS set to 12 would set the shutter to fire at 1/125 and the aperture at f/5.6.

It’s a fun camera to use as it’s about as old school as you can get. The lens is clean and clear, and the light meter works. It’s available in my camera shop CC Design Studios at http://www.ccstudio2380.com which is hosted by Etsy. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

Follow me on Instagram at @ccphotographyai

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.

Yashica’s Early 35mm SLRs

May 28, 2023June 4, 2023Chris and Carol 3 Comments

My good friend Paul Sokk from Australia (www.yashicatlr.com) has compiled a great database of almost all of Yashica’s cameras and by decoding serial numbers we’ve been able to come up with a list of manufacturing dates. So, by using these serial numbers here is a general list of when the following models were first and last made.

Penta J Aug 1961 to Aug 1965

Reflex 35 Mar 1962 to Jan 1964

J-3 Nov 1962 to Sep 1964

J-5 Mar 1964 to Jun 1965

J-P Aug 1964 to Sep 1966

J-4 Mar 1965 to Jun 1965

J-7 Nov 1966 to Dec 1967

Yashica’s little oddball model. I believe it was only manufactured to be sold by Montgomery Ward as the Wards SLR 500. For Wards, Yashica fitted it with a Tominon C 5cm f/2 lens vice the lens shown here. A true budget model for around $160 US.

The Pnnta J was the first modern style SLR from Yashica with the universal M42 screw mount for a wide variety of lenses. It was the first model after the Pentamatic S. The J-3 was the first model that had a coupled CdS light meter built into the camera’s left shoulder.

From the 1964 Wards catalog. It’s easy to see that the Wards slr 500 is mostly made from the Yashica J-P with the film advance lever used from the Penta J.

One final note. The serial numbers tell when the camera was produced, not when a camera was released for sale to the public. I believe this list represents the most accurate timeline of these early models from Yashica. Many thanks to Paul for his efforts to compile the most accurate data to date. There is no one better.

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A less expensive street camera – Konica Kanpai

November 25, 2022November 25, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Candid street photography can be super satisfying but it can also be stressful if you’re not an outgoing person or you’re in a less than favorable shooting location (busy street, lots of people). I’m basically very shy so approaching strangers is a challenge for me. There’s no one camera that’s best suited for taking candid pics but a few have earned a reputation as good street cams. One that comes to mind is the Yashica T3 (Kyocera T Scope).

The Konica Kanpa! (Kanpai). 35mm “Party Camera” with a voice-activated shutter.

I believe the “scope” on the Konica is a bit bigger.

Slide the microphone switch upwards to adjust the sensitivity of the built-in mic.

It features a sharp 34mm Konica 3element/3 group glass lens.

Designed to be used in a group setting for automatically tripping the electronic shutter when someone or everyone yells “Kanpai” (Cheers) or whatever you want to yell out – cheese works too. When used in a street setting the camera can conveniently sit in your lap or just hang around your neck and frame your shot with the top-mounted finder. I guess you could just yell “Hi!” at everyone without touching the shutter button and then capture their reaction (I’m not that brave).

As I continue to pass along interesting bits of my camera collection I’ve added this unique camera to my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. It might make the perfect Christmas gift for that hard to buy for person on your holiday shopping list. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

Follow me on Instagram at @ccphotographyai

Happy SUNday!

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

A little peek into my camera collection cabinet…

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Follow me on Instagram at @ccphotographyai

Happy SUNday! – cameras no longer in my collection

June 19, 2022June 19, 2022Chris and Carol 5 Comments

All of these were either sold or listed in my camera shop back in July 2018. Part of the fun of collecting is getting to pass along cameras that you’ve enjoyed owning.

Minolta Weathermatic Dual 35 from 1987. It’s waterproof to 5 meters.

Minox ‘Spy Camera’.

Canon II F

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Follow me on Instagram at @ccphotographyai

Happy SUNday!

April 10, 2022April 10, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hi all…

Two favorites – Fujica GW690 Professional 6×9 and my Fujifilm FinePix S9900W. Yes, that Fujica is that big!

Uses 120 or 220 roll film and takes an impressive 6x9cm image!

The FinePix has an impressive 50x zoom lens!

Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome day! – Chris

New items in my camera shop

March 29, 2022March 29, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hi all – I’ve added some very interesting items to my online camera shop hosted by Etsy at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Happy SUNday! – Yashica friends

March 13, 2022March 13, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Paul’s awesome Yashica site!

February 11, 2022Chris and Carol 2 Comments

My good friend Paul Sokk from Australia has an absolutely awesome Yashica site that covers pretty much everything Yashica has made since day one (1953). Check out this recently updated section about Yashica’s 35mm SLR cameras. http://www.yashicatlr.com/Pentamatic.html#pentaj

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to tell Paul hello! – Chris

almost wordless wednesday

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

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! – 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

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Tag Cameras

Yashica 35 M

Yashica’s Early 35mm SLRs

A less expensive street camera – Konica Kanpai

Happy SUNday!

Happy SUNday! – cameras no longer in my collection

Happy SUNday!

New items in my camera shop

Happy SUNday! – Yashica friends

Paul’s awesome Yashica site!

almost wordless wednesday