Rare Yashica Minister-700 Camera Leaflet

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

I purchased this gorgeous advertising leaflet from a collector in Japan that is as fresh as the day it was printed back in 1964 (best guess of the actual date).

Yashica Minister-700 35mm rangefinder film camera.

The lower portion of this leaflet talks about a test that Asahi Camera magazine published in December 1964 praising the sharpness and speed of the f1.7 Yashinon 4.5cm lens and the accuracy of the built-in CdS light meter.

Yashica Minister-700 “DeLuxe” model 35mm rangefinder camera. There’s no mention as to what makes this a DeLuxe model other than the cost of a premium leather case for an additional 1,800 JPY.

The Yashinon f1.7 4.5cm lens has 6 elements in 4 groups. A lens like this would not normally be on a “simple” rangefinder like this at this price point of 18,000 JPY in 1964.

This model is not as common as the other models in the Minister “family” and it would be an excellent find for any collection. 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

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.

Yashima Flex – 1954

February 5, 2022February 5, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Before they were known as Yashica they were Yashima and this is one of the first cameras to feature their original name. This is one of the nicest TLRs in my collection and I was thrilled to find it many years ago on an auction site in Japan. The original lenses were marked Tomioka Tri-Lausar and later just Yashinon. Tomioka Optical eventually became part of the Yashica Company.

This is an incredibly difficult camera to find for sale anywhere but a few do show up from time to time. Your best bet is to keep an eye out for one on Buyee (Yahoo Japan Auction) in Japan. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Sears Tower 35 made by Nicca

February 3, 2022February 3, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Catalog pages from a Sears Roebuck camera catalog from 1952.

The Nicca-Tower Type-3 is an excellent camera to add to any camera collection featuring early Japanese 35mm rangefinder cameras. They can be a bit on the higher price range but well worth your time chasing one down. If you’d like to discover more about Nicca cameras please visit my good friend Paul Sokk’s wonderful site at http://www.yashicatlr.com/Nicca.html#type3

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Fernandina Public School No. 1

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Public School No. 1 building, Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida. This grand building is home to the county office for the Nassau County School Board.

The image above was taken with my Canon EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera and Canon EF 16-35mm zoom lens late in the afternoon. In the image below taken about mid-day, I used my ca.1964 Yashica Mat EM twin-lens reflex film camera which shoots a 6x6cm square image on 120 roll film.

I enjoy photographing the many historic buildings in and around the Fernandina Beach Historic District using different cameras and formats. Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Dreaming of my Fuji…

January 29, 2022January 29, 2022Chris and Carol 2 Comments

The Fujica GW690 (large) medium-format film camera by Fuji. It’s the largest 120/220 roll film camera in my collection and let me tell you, it’s a beast! It boasts an EBC Fujinon f3.5 90mm fixed lens that goes far and above any other film camera I’ve ever used. Check out this unedited image below – the detail that can be captured on a 6x9cm frame of film is amazing.

I love the look of Neopan Acros 100 film and its ability to capture the finest details.

I love the statement – “Light Weight and Compact”. I’m not quite sure that 6x9cm is considered to be a large format camera but who am I to argue with the gang at Fuji Photo Film marketing.

If you’ve never heard about this camera I highly recommend you take a stroll through the various online selling sites and check out this wonderful camera. There are “millions” of them out there so it’s not a difficult camera to chase down. I don’t ever see myself selling this camera as I originally purchased it from Japan at a great price and I love using it (although it’s been a long time). Be sure to check out my previous posts about this camera in the links below. Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve encouraged you to take a peek at these online. – Chris

Friday Fotos!

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

Hyper-rare Yashica Pentamatic II – was only released in Japan for a very short time.

Yashica Model A still in its factory plastic.

Rare Yashica TL Electro X without the gothic ‘Y’ on the pentaprism (early first version).

As you may be able to tell, Yashica produced a wide range of cameras and there’s plenty of rare varieties worth chasing. I only discovered the TL Electro X without the gothic ‘Y’ about two years ago after convincing myself there was nothing new to collect from the Yashica line.

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

Yashica 8E Zoom 8mm Movie Camera

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica 8E Zoom movie camera brochure from November 1960. I like to collect these early Yashica brochures, especially the ones that have a printed date code. Whenever I’m doing research on Yashica’s history having a brochure with a date is invaluable.

The Cover

Closed the brochure is about 195 x 135mm. Yep, that’s one of the ‘Yashica Gals’ drawn on the lower right. There are three different ones and as best as I can tell they were never named by Yashica. They made their appearance around this time across several brochures.

Inside Features

Yashica’s big cine camera with an impressive Yashinon Penta Reflex f1.8 11.5mm to 33mm zoom lens.

Back Cover Pages

The date code is on the extreme lower right – *N11T35* – The 11 is for November and the 35 is the Showa Era in this case Showa 35 (add 25 to the Showa Era = 1960).

Yashica started producing 8mm movie cameras as early as 1956 and was all in by the date of the brochure. Projectors, editors, interchangeable lenses most notably made by Zunow for Yashica, and accessories such as the title pictured above left. Many more brochures to discover from this period.

Yashica macro photography gear in the 1960s

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica’s first pro-black 35mm SLR.

Yashica J-3 with Yashica extension tubes and right-angle finder (1962).

A few years later here’s a gorgeous Macro Yashinon f2.8 60mm Tomioka lens set (1964).

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

More Yashica – Yashica Flex S – 1954

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Also known as the Yashica Flex S. I’ve put together a nice complete set of this hard-to-find early TLR from Yashima-Yashica. As you can see on the box, at this point in time the company that would change its name in 1958 to Yashica was still Yashima Kogaku Seiki Company. The instruction book is in English as the camera was marketed by the Miura Trading Company and not directly marketed by Yashima. The Model S was the first TLR with a “built-in exposure meter”. The meter was simply a light meter made for Yashima by Sekonic and attached to the camera’s left side. The selenium cells for the meter are located under the nameplate which is a flap that swings upwards.

If you would like to know more about this landmark camera then I invite you to visit my good friend Paul Sokk’s Yashica TLR site at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage2.html

Paul’s work on the Yashica TLR family of cameras is second to none. He’s also included a wonderful addition to his pages with additional pages dedicated to Leica, Nicca, Leotax, Minolta, and others. Give his site a read and tell him Chris sent you!

Yashica’s J-Series of 35mm SLR Cameras from the 1960s

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Regular readers know that the main focus of my collection has been centered around cameras made by Yashica. I have collected quite a few examples going back to their 1953 origins. This particular series caught my fancy a few years back when I was lucky enough to find a pristine Yashica J-3 in a pro-black finish with a matching lens. When it comes to chasing classic cameras, the J-3 in black and in pristine condition is no easy task. Here are a few images of what I’ve put together so far.

Chasing these guys has been fun, to say the least. It’s not that any one of these is rare in the true sense of the word but finding pristine examples has been the tough part.

As best as I can tell, the J-7 wasn’t the last one produced in the series as the J-4 came out just a bit later.

The black J-3 was never mentioned in any brochure which was odd considering it was Yashica’s first all-black SLR and was produced in limited numbers.

Since the cameras from Yashica were never meant to be of interest to collectors very few survive to this day in mint and better condition. The little circle on the camera’s left side front is the CdS exposure meter. These cameras did not feature TTL (thru-the-lens metering).

If you decide to collect this series you’ll find a very nice assortment of lenses to choose from as Yashica produced thousands over the years. The body accepts m42 screw-in lenses which for a time was one of the most widespread lenses made.

Here is what a complete in-the-box set looks like for the silver J-3 from around 1962.

As always thanks for stopping by – I hope I’ve shed sufficient light on this often overlooked series from Yashica. Maybe a few of you would enjoy the chase in pursuit of these mid-1960s gems. – Chris

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