Tag Film

Early (very early) Canon F-1 Brochure – 1970

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This is the earliest brochure to feature the complete Canon F-1 system at the time. The back of the brochure has Bell & Howell as the distributor in the US and Canada.

The brochure is in near-full-mint new condition, except for a small dealer date stamp on the lower back cover. There is a very slight bend on the lower left of
the cover that is barely noticeable. The binding (staples) are tight, and there is
no writing, no missing pages, and no folded or dog-eared pages. It’s clean
and bright with no musty smells.

Perfect for your collection and a great way to enhance your Canon F-1.
The brochure is an in-depth introduction to the camera, including its features, technology, and applications. There are illustrations of the camera
and its accessories, tables of specifications, an exploded diagram of the camera,
and detailed guides to the use of the camera and accessories. There are also numerous color photos taken by the camera and its associated FD & FL lenses.

It’s a large 8 x 11 format and has 18 pages. The actual publication date is November 1970 – English Edition printed in Japan.

It’s available in my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.

Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Kyocera (Yashica) T from 1986

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Another ‘Modern Classic’ as we like to call them. For Kyocera, this was the first fully branded Kyocera camera in the famous T* Series of point and shoot autofocus 35mm film cameras. The Yashica T which was made by Kyocera in 1985 was technically the first.

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For the domestic market in Japan, this was what you got for your ¥50,700 ($301 USD) plus an extra 2,000 JPY for the case. No zoom lens and no true user inputs except for the flash. What you did get was a sophisticated Carl Zeiss Tessar f/ 3.5 35mm lens with the famous T* coated optics. This is a true point and shoot camera designed to take the highest quality images just short of owning an SLR.

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The T-D (date) model weighs about 356 grams without film but with the heavy 2CR5 lithium 6v battery installed. The date function is powered by a CR2025 battery but at this point, I haven’t installed one as the date function only goes to 2019. The camera automatically sets the ISO for DX coded films from 50 to 1,600. There’s a cover over the lens that opens when the shutter is pressed and then slowly closes over the lens again. It looks to be semi-transparent from what I can tell. Not sure how you would keep the cover open to clean the lens.

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Not much in the way of user input except to kill the flash. There’s an analog film indicator, simple on-off slide switch and a self-timer switch. No LCD screen to fail over time (which is a good thing).

I’m pretty excited to give the camera a go on a walkabout and to eventually compare its performance to my Yashica L AF with similar features. See my review and test of the Yashica L AF here.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out my camera shop on Etsy at http://www.ccstudio2380.com and on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/str/auntfotosphotography

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 © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Yashica in Hong Kong

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

It’s known that Yashica had a presence in Hong Kong very early on but the establishment of an actual factory in Hong Kong didn’t happen until around 1968. A friend of mine on Flickr has spotted a rather unique marking on the back of his Yashica Minister III which was released early 1966.

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Just to the right of the viewfinder, this Yashica Minister III has a seldom seen marking indicating that the camera was in some way processed in Hong Kong. Image courtesy of Graham Buxton-Smith.

BTW, the serial number decodes to 8 = 1968, 3 = March, 1816 = number 1,816 made that month. The “H” does not necessarily indicate Hong Kong.

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Minister III from the mid-1960s. Image courtesy of Graham Buxton-Smith. The camera on the left has the Hong Kong markings.

Apparently, before Yashica operated a full-scale factory in Hong Kong it appears that they may have sent partially completed cameras there for final assembly. Usually, it would have “Assembled in Hong Kong” or simply “Hong Kong” on the camera. I’ve seen “assembled in Hong Kong from parts made in Japan” before but not engraved anywhere on the camera body. My best guess is that Yashica was attempting to save on labor costs or import fees by doing so. By the way, the “H” before the serial number in this example may not indicate Hong Kong. It’s been reported that some cameras have been spotted with the “H” but engraved Japan. More investigation is needed.

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Courtesy of Paul Sokk at http://www.yashicatlr.com

By 1986 Yashica stopped making the Yashica Mat 124G. Notice that at the top of this address list it says Kyocera Corporation vice Yashica. Yashica was acquired by Kyocera in 1983.

So, not a significant discovery but an interesting one to a Yashicaphile. Has anyone else spotted a Yashica with “Processed in Hong Kong” before? If you’ve had please share that info with me here or at ccphotographyai@gmail.com – Thanks, Chris

Our camera shop can be found at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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 © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

In the Shop – New Arrivals for May

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hi all! I hope you are doing well and staying safe. Here are some items that I’ve listed in my camera shop recently which can be visited by popping over to http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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Lots more in the shop and a big thank you all 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 © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

Friday Fotos! – Classic Rangefinders

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Image courtesy of Paul Sokk www.yashicatlr.com

Recently my good friend Paul Sokk added this wonderful Leica IIIc to his collection of 35mm rangefinder cameras from the late 1940s and 1950s. The Leica is an original design made in Germany and the Nicca and Leotax are considered copies or clones made in Japan.

The Leica IIIc (front) is from 1946-47, the Nicca 3-F (middle) is from 1956, and the Leotax K is from 1955-58. These cameras use what is known as L39 (LTM) screw mount lenses of which literally thousands were made and thousands are still available today in a wide range of focal lengths.

If you’re looking to get into film photography with a totally manual camera then these should be on your list to take a closer look at.

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On the left, the Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa and on the right the Nicca built Tower Type-3.

Pictured above are a couple of contenders from 1951. The Contax is an original design from the 1930s and was manufactured in Germany. The Tower branded camera was made by Nicca in Japan and features a Nippon Kogaku Nikkor f/ 2 5cm lens. The Contax sports a Carl Zeiss Sonnar f/ 1.5 50mm lens. The Contax also has an attached selenium cell exposure meter that can be useful for setting the correct aperture and shutter speed. A word of caution about these 70-year-old meters, if they are working (responding to light) then assume that it’s not accurate until you can check it against a modern meter. Most of these types of meters have long since failed.

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Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa with selenium meter (top center) flap opened.

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Paul’s beautiful Leica IIIc

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Paul’s gorgeous Leotax F with Topcor f/ 3.5 5cm lens.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope my post stirs some interest in these wonderful cameras. I do have a Tower (Nicca) set available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com if you care to take a look at it, pop on over.

NiccaTower T3 Logo

Take care and stay safe! – 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 © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.

COVID Scissorhands

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

COVID Scissorhands

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“Work in an Atlanta-area hair salon? Channel your inner Johnny Depp.”

— Tommy Siegel

(for Atlanta Magazine Instagram)

25 April 2020. On 24 April 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp allowed gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians, and massage therapists, among others to re-open, with theaters and dine-in restaurants to follow on 27 April. In March, Kemp had closed or curtailed operations of ‘nonessential’ business in Georgia for coronavirus concerns. Now, he has re-opened them even as deaths in Georgia from the disease have passed 900 and continue to rise.

AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Used for non-commercial purposes by permission.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

 

Contax IIIa – 1951

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa is a 35mm rangefinder camera that was first introduced in March 1951. What differentiates the IIIa from the IIa is the addition of an exposure meter.

Here’s my Contax.

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By the serial number of the body, this camera appears like it was made in the early part of 1951. It features the black dial and non-synced flash connection typical of the first models. This one works perfectly and the only cosmetic issue is a slight dent on the lens filter ring. Just above the Contax name is the selenium cells for the exposure meter shown with the flap open.

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The camera features interchangeable lenses in a simple but sturdy bayonet mount. Exposure meter flap in the closed position.

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The lens is a Carl Zeiss Sonnar f/1.5 50mm.

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A camera shop provided cleaning cloth featuring the Contax IIIa.

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It may be a bit hard to tell from this scan but here’s a view of the camera from the instruction manual. The camera’s serial number is T 36017 and mine is T 36625. Pretty close so I’m thinking that mine is an early production model.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll have much more about this camera soon. – Chris

http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Camera Manuals & Brochures – excellent reference sources

Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hi all! Carol and I enjoy collecting classic camera instruction books and sales brochures as it’s a great way to connect with photo gear that has captured our interest over the years. We especially enjoy collecting booklets that are still in mint and like-new condition… but we find ourselves with enough books to open a library so we’ll be offering some of these in our camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com over the next few days (and weeks). If you’re looking to add one of these hard to find items (in new condition) for your collection, now’s the time.

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Thanks for stopping by! These books and brochures are available in our camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. If they’re something you need and you don’t see it be sure to ask us – we might have just have it! – Chris & Carol