Tag Film

The Pippi Longstocking House – Amelia Island, Florida

Chris and Carol 17 Comments

Located in what is known as Old Town (Fernandina Beach) overlooking the Amelia River on the northwest side of Amelia Island. Originally built around 1870 for a harbor pilot Captain Bell and the second owner was also a river captain in 1901. Located on a high bluff at 212 Estrada Street, it overlooks the former Spanish fort San Carlos (c1811).

It’s a lovely house that’s been restored and maintained throughout the decades. It stood in as Pippi Longstocking’s house in the late 1980s movie “The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking”… “The house was altered and remodeled through the years. When movie producers came calling in 1987, it was its original weathered white with hunter green shutters. The house stood in for Villa Villekulla, the fictional home of Pippi, a character in a series of books written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The young girl lives alone in a small Swedish village sharing the house with her monkey and horse. She befriends the two children living next door, Tommy and Annika Settergren, and they have many adventures together.”

Today it is a private residence and is not open for tours. It’s a very easy to photograph house because of the large open area in front of the house (actually Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park).

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The “Pippi Longstocking House” on Amelia Island. Built c1870

If you find yourself near Amelia Island it is well worth the visit (don’t miss the 40 block Historic District of Fernandina Beach while you’re at it).

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Pippi says “hi”! Actress Tami Erin

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out my camera and photography shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Chris

Yashica Half 17 – by Camera Go Camera

Chris and Carol 4 Comments

Always interesting camera and equipment reviews with excellent photography to boot!

Peggy's avatarCamera Go Camera

When I saw this camera, I thought…REALLY??? A Yashica half frame? I hate half-frames, but I love Yashicas. Should I buy it? It isn’t cheap for a junk bin chance, but it is clean and a Yashica…OK, I will do it.

According to this reviewer it was produced in 1964. As you can see it has a selenium cell light meter and a f1.7 lens. It has zone focusing with an image scale inside the viewfinder that has the regular mountain, people, person symbols. On the right side of the view finder is a needle scale that tells you the speed. So you can choose the aperture and check what speed will be selected by the camera. Or everything can be automatic. When you press the shutter button half way, the needle moves…and this one did, which let me know the selenium cell was working 🙂 A good sign. Here…

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St. Augustine Florida Lighthouse

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The day I choose to visit the lighthouse was terrible – Florida wise. Mid September, crazy hot, oppressively humid and not a hint of a seabreeze. Oh and the sun was obscured by clouds all day. So with that said, it wasn’t a great photo opportunity for shooting with film. The few usable images came via my cameraphone and Sony Cyber-shot.

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Looking east towards the Atlantic Ocean.

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Optimistic that I would be able to get some good shots with my Canon A-1.

Overall the lighthouse is worth your time to visit, just pick a perfect weather day to go. The lighthouse has been fully restored and is kept very well maintained and the view from the top is exceptional – a bit toe curling if you and heights have an uneasy relationship – that red railing looks pretty thin at the top!

Thanks for your visit!

Cameras: Sony Cyber-shot W-170, Canon A-1 with FD 17mm lens, Samsung Galaxy S4

Chris

 

Early Yashica Pentamatic Brochure – US

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Very early if not the earliest printed in the US sales brochure for the new Pentamatic.

We’re thinking the summer of 1960…

We haven’t found an earlier brochure that features the Pentamatic then this one – “Printed in the U.S.A.” on the back cover using the 234 Fifth Avenue, New York 1, N.Y. address. The cover is amazing in that other than Yashica’s name and an image of the camera, there’s no other writing. No “Pentamatic” – just an image of the camera. That was a first for Yashica as best as we can tell.

The first magazine advertisement was June 1960 in the US so we don’t believe this brochure was out before that. The only problem with our thinking is that most of the other cameras featured inside this brochure are 1959 model cameras and in some cases late 1958. There could even be a few that came out in early 1960. The two pages we’ve scanned (see below) contain an interesting wealth of info on the features and accessories for the Pentamatic. Of note, the lens serial number (No. 59100036) puts that lens to be one of the first lenses Tomioka made for Yashica with the new Pentamatic exclusive bayonet mount – 59 = 1959, 10 = October, 0036 = the 36th made in the production run.

We know from our research that the October 1959 date for the lens is 2 full months early from the first Pentamatic bodies (December 1960). Our best guess is that Tomioka Optical (the maker of the lens) needed to start production of the standard lens early in order to meet the demand for the camera body itself. No proof exists yet but it’s the best decoding of the lens serial number we can come up.

Page 1 provides a wealth of info for Yashica's first 35mm SLR.

Page 1 provides a wealth of info for Yashica’s first 35mm SLR.

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Page 2 shows (with prices) a nice selection of accessories for the Pentamatic. It appears that at the time of this brochure that there were 5 lenses available in the Pentamatic bayonet mount.

 

 

 

 

 

Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ vs. Pentamatic II

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Why did Yashica bring out the Pentamatic II less than a year after releasing the original model?

The only difference we can tell between the original Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ and the Pentamatic II (which came out around September 1960), is the standard lens that was mated with the camera body. The original Pentamatic came with the Auto-Yashinon, f/ 1.8, 5.5cm fully automatic 6 element lens. Of course it has the unique Pentamatic bayonet mount and not the M42 screw mount. The Pentamatic II came with the Auto-Yashinon, f/ 1.7, 5.8cm lens (pictured below). Both lenses were made for Yashica by Tomioka Optical of Tokyo. We imagine the 58mm, f/ 1.7 lens was a bit faster than the f/ 1.8… but we don’t see why Yashica changed from the model I to the model II and why they changed the lens… we may never discover the reason either.

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The standard lens for the Pentamatic II – 5.8cm, f/ 1.7

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Gorgeous lens for the Pentamatic II.

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The first sighting of the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure for the Japanese home market.

We’ve yet to find an advertisement for the Pentamatic II in English and along those same lines, have yet to find the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure in English. The Pentamatic S replaced the model II less than a year after its release. The model S went back to using the original 5.5cm, f/ 1.8 lens that was on the original Pentamatic.

That makes the Auto-Yashinon 5.8cm, f/ 1.7 lenses one of the rarest of the early Pentamatic bayonet mount lenses.

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Happy hunting!

Chris

Fuji Photo Film – Fuji Pet 35

Chris and Carol 9 Comments

From 1959, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. follow-up to their widely popular Fujipet 120 film camera. The Pet 35 took advantage of the growing popularity of 35mm photography – plus it’s a great way to sell more film!

The Pet 35 was way more sophisticated than the Fujipet – but retained the funky charm and quirkiness of the original. Since the Pet 35 is not a common camera, we’ve presented a visual tour of our almost mint condition Pet 35.

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Original set as found. We have the leather case too.

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The lens is a Fujinar-K 3 element glass lens – 45mm with a maximum aperture of f/3.5 with closest focussing to 0.5 meters.

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The lever to the right of the lens cocks the shutter and the left lever trips the Copal B leaf shutter.

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The Copal shutter features speeds of B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 of a second.

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In keeping with the funky design – two oversized knobs that left no doubt on how to operate them.

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The body is dark gray on this Pet 35.

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Outer ring is the focus adjustment, next is the shutter speed selector and finally the aperture settings.

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The original Pet 35 lens cap.

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Nicely detailed and finished.

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Early 1960s Fuji Film Neopan SS – ASA 100. How about film for only ¥190!

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Original selling price was ¥3,400 – the leather case sold for ¥700 and a soft case was available for ¥350

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Original sales brochure specs.

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The viewfinder is bright and clear – and big for such a small camera.

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ASA reminder scale and film back release.

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The Pet 35 is far from being a ‘toy camera’ as its build quality is quite high. No foam or yarn light seals to fail – the metal film door fit tightly into the body to seal out light.

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Gotta love the Fuji Film stickers inside!

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Thanks so much for your visit – we hope that you enjoyed our tour of this fantastic Fuji!

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris & Carol ^.^

Cool Signs

Chris and Carol 1 Comment

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As seen on an abandoned souvenir shop along a Florida highway. At first glance I thought that they sold film and what not as they were the first stop in extreme Northeast Florida for southbound tourists. Cold drinks, smokes, candy, stuffed gators and Florida junk like that. But I got to thinking that it might have meant films as in movie films. This building was left to rot many decades ago and right next door is a closed motel on the same property. Some locals say that the souvenier shop showed movies from time to time for the guests at the motel and some of the bored to death locals. Makes sense as it was in the middle of nowhere and back in the 1960s or earlier that would be a draw.

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Anyway, cool old faded signage regardless of what went on. ^.^

Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W, Samsung Galaxy S4

Chris

Yashica Pentamatic Refreshed –

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

20160326_164016_richtonehdrThe beautiful, simple and clean lines of Yashica’s first SLR.

If you’re new to the Yashica Pentamatic then you’re in luck as this is the best place to be for the most accurate information about the mysterious Pentamatic. First envisioned when Yashica acquired the Nicca Camera Company in the summer of 1958. Yashica needed the technology and manufacturing know-how that Nicca had – focal plane shutters and the ability to build small complicated 35mm SLRs.

The timeline as best as we can tell looks like this – Yashica “invents” the Pentamatic in the summer of 1959. Yashica files for the trademark ‘Pentamatic’ in Japan September 18, 1959. The first Pentamatic bayonet mount lenses are made by Tomioka Optical for Yashica in October 1959. The first Pentamatic bodies roll off Yashica’s line by December 1959.

Yashica files for a patent/trademark in the US on February 12, 1960. The Pentamatic ’35’ is revealed at the ’36th Master Photo Dealers & Finishers Association Trade Show’ (St. Louis) in late March 1960. The lens shown on that Pentamatic is an Auto Yashinon 5.5cm f1.8 lens (SN 59100035). By April-May 1960, the first pictures appear in photography magazines in the US from the St. Louis show. The first Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ advertisements appear in both ‘Popular Photography’ and ‘Modern Photography’ magazines in their June 1960 issues. Ads within those publications have dealers in New York selling Pentamatics for $159.95.

JN Pentamatic SN 16000375Decoding serial numbers… Yashica has never been upfront with the dating of their cameras, lenses or printed materials. Instruction booklets and sales brochures are only occasionally dated and those were mostly in the 1950s and then again in the 1970s. Camera bodies and lenses (and accessories) remained a mystery until now. We believe we’ve finally decoded the serial numbers of Yashica’s first 35mm SLR, the Pentamatic. Look closely at this camera’s serial number… 16000375… knowing a little bit about when this camera was “invented” helped us decode the number. The trademark “Pentamatic” was filed by Yashica in September 1959 in Japan. The first lenses were built in October 1959 with the first bodies produced by December 1959. This camera (above) dates… 1 = January / 60 = 1960 / 00375 = 375th unit made since December 1959. The latest camera in our database has a serial number of 16115756. This decodes to… January 1961 and was the 15,756th unit produced since December of 1959.

16233739912_d43f6fb30f_oThis Pentamatic body (above) decodes to… 3 = March / 60 = 1960 / 01500 = 1,500th made up to that point.

Bold bright colors...

Clean simple lines. Show the customers that this camera was a SLR! Not your dad’s TLR.

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Inspiration and the technical know-how came from the Nicca Camera Company. Pictured on the left is an early Nicca 3-F.

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By May 1960, number 3,354 had been made.

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Earliest lens serial number (in our collection) decodes to – October 1959, the 92nd made. The ad behind it is a much higher serial number and appeared in a June 1960 ‘Popular Photography’ magazine ad.

The original Pentamatic ’35’ is a fun and challenging camera to collect. Knowing a little something about the serial numbers may add to your enjoyment of the chase. There was a short lived Pentamatic II (well less than 10K made) and another short run of the Pentamatic S which was the last model before Yashica ditched the Pentamatic bayonet mount in favor of the universal M42 mount.

Happy hunting! Questions? We’ve got answers.

Chris & Carol

 

Earliest Pentamatic Lenses Found… Yeah!

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Nerd heaven! After years of speculation and almost constant searching, we’ve been able to confirm that Tomioka Optical began making lenses for Yashica’s new Pentamatic 35mm SLR camera in the latter part of 1959. The two lenses pictured below confirm (via serial numbers) of an October 1959 start of production. Yashica had filed for a trademark of the name ‘Pentamatic’ in September 1959 (in Japan). Since their new camera used an exclusive mount for its lenses, Yashica designers had to have shared their design with Tomioka as early as the summer (August ?) of 1959.

Using the rule of twos, these lenses are the earliest in our collection.

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By serial number the left lens was built in October 1959 and it was the 92nd lens made. The right lens was built in December 1959 and by then Tomioka had built 1,630 lenses for Yashica.

No.  59 = 1959   10 = October  0092 = 92nd made

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No.  59 = 1959  12 = December  1630 = 1,630th made  

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Here’s our lens matched up to an advertisement in ‘Popular Photography’ magazine from the June 1960 issue. The lens in the ad is No. 59100581 which decodes to – October 1959, lens number 581 in the sequential production run. So in October, Tomioka had made nearly 600 lenses and by December they were up to 1,630 made. Certainly possible that they were averaging nearly 600 lenses per month in late 1959.

It’s a good find for us as the early serial numbers were just a guess on our part as to how they decoded. Having two lenses made before 1960 helped firm up our speculation. Lenses made in 1960 drop the month code in favor of a model number or code. A typical 1960 lens would have a serial number of:  No. 605xxxxx which would be 60 = 1960  5 = model code  xxxxx = production sequence number.

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Serial number No. 60515001 decodes to 60 = 1960  5 = model code  15001 = 15,001 made since production began in October 1959.

If you’re a collector of Pentamatics or are just interested in Yashica cameras in general, this is important info. We know, total nerd stuff!

Thanks for your visit.

Chris