Yashica Auto Focus Motor – Friday Fotos!

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Also known as the Yashica 5-Star Auto Focus Motor – 1981. It featured a sharp 38mm f/ 2.8 lens that was more than likely made by Tomioka.

Yashica Auto Focus Motor

A nice sales brochure (above) from October 1981. The cameras featured in this brochure are the Diary, Flasher, Snap, and the Auto Focus Motor.

Yashica Auto Focus Brochure

Yashica Auto Focus, Auto Focus Motor, and Motor-D. These were technological breakthrough cameras for Yashica in the early 1980s. Of course, at this same time, Canon had the A-1, AE-1, AE-1 Program, and of course the Canon F-1. These cameras from Canon were all SLRs so not a fair comparison but Canon made similar compact rangefinder cameras. It was a tough go for Yashica at this time and a takeover was on the horizon.

Promotional playing cards featuring the Yashica Sailor Boy and the new Auto Focus Motor.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful (and safe) day! – Chris

BTW, I’ve added some new items in my Etsy shop – check it out 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.

Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa – 1954

June 4, 2020June 11, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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Zeiss Ikon Contax brochure from 1954.

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35mm rangefinder camera with interchangeable lenses. Considered by many to be better than a Leica from the same time period.

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The Contax IIa and IIIa from the early 1950s. If you run across one in your travels definitely pick it up – you’ll be very pleased. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my camera shop hosted by Etsy at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – 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.

Vintage Japanese Leather Camera Cases

May 30, 2020May 30, 2020Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Here’s a small sample of some pretty rare (or at least super hard to find) leather cases from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.

Coolest camera logo ever! Pluto 7

From Konishiroku (later became Konica) Semi-Pearl 4.5x6cm folding medium format 120 roll film camera – ca. 1938

The Semi-Pearl was the first camera made in late 1938. As I understand, there were other models made during the war, and after that became somewhat popular. Still, finding a leather case from the thirties is super rare as most have fallen apart.

Konishiroku Konilette (later became Konica) 35mm compact film camera – ca. 1953

This Konilette used a 35mm film without sprocket holes so the image was just a tad larger than a traditional 35mm image size.

Shichiyo Kogaku of Tokyo Pluto Six P medium format folding 120 roll film camera – ca. 1955

As I understand it, there were only two camera models made by Shichiyo – the Pluto Six P and the Pluto Six L. The cameras are super rare so finding an intact leather case after all these years is hyper rare. The “Pluto 7” logo derives from the Japanese word for seven – shichi which is part of the company name and is considered good luck.

These are currently available in my online (Etsy) camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

If you have one (or all) of these cameras then you’ll appreciate just how rare it is to find the cases in excellent condition. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! – 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.

New In the Shop – neat stuff!

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hi all! Here’s some new and interesting items in our Etsy Shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Take advantage of my Memorial Day sale with 15% off.

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Lots more can be found in our shop at http://www.ccstudio.2380.com

Thanks – 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.

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

May 20, 2020December 25, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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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.

Kyocera (Yashica) T from 1986

May 17, 2020May 17, 2020Chris 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.

Yashica in Hong Kong

May 16, 2020May 22, 2020Chris 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.

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.

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.

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.

In the Shop – New Arrivals for May

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020Chris 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.

Friday Fotos! – Classic Rangefinders

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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.

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.

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

Paul’s beautiful Leica IIIc

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.

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.

COVID Scissorhands

April 26, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

COVID Scissorhands

covid 1

“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

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Tag Film

Yashica Auto Focus Motor – Friday Fotos!

Also known as the Yashica 5-Star Auto Focus Motor – 1981. It featured a sharp 38mm f/ 2.8 lens that was more than likely made by Tomioka.

Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa – 1954

Vintage Japanese Leather Camera Cases

Here’s a small sample of some pretty rare (or at least super hard to find) leather cases from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.

New In the Shop – neat stuff!

Hi all! Here’s some new and interesting items in our Etsy Shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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

Kyocera (Yashica) T from 1986

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.

Yashica in Hong Kong

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.

In the Shop – New Arrivals for May

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

Friday Fotos! – Classic Rangefinders

COVID Scissorhands

COVID Scissorhands