Yashica Heavyweights – 1960s glass & brass

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is a fun visual comparison between three early Yashica cameras.

Yashica’s first 35mm SLR released in early 1960. The Pentamatic 35 with its fast f/1.8 lens was a neck breaker to be sure.

Yashica’s first modern 35mm SLR released shortly after the end of the Pentamatic series in 1962.

First released in 1964, the Yashica Mat EM (Exposure Meter) was and still is a very popular TLR (twin-lens reflex) 120 roll film camera. It features a built-in exposure meter powered by selenium cells. The meter on mine is still working and is accurate when shooting negative films.

What’s the heaviest camera in your collection? Not pictured here I’d say my fully decked out Canon F-1 with a motor drive and big f/1.2 lens is crazy heavy. I’ll have to dig it out and post the results here soon.

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, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.

Inside a 1960s transistor radio from Japan

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

With the back cover removed full 1960s hi-tech is on display. The western looking “Y” was Yashica’s logo during this period. I believe it’s stamped on the back of the speaker.

Yashica Model YT-300 Transistor Radio

Yashica even put their name on the battery connector cap.

Inside the back cover. In addition to making great cameras, Yashica also made some electronic devices such as movie projectors and editors, radios, tape recorders, and even a record player!

The radio with it’s original goodies still intact. It’s a gorgeous piece of electronics that does not power up. I would love to get it fixed if it is even fixable.

The Best of Yashica – 1972

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From the Yashica book The Creative System of Photography. Some of the lenses pictured here are nearly impossible to find today in mint or near mint condition. I do know some intrepid Yashica collectors that have come very close to owning all of this.

To chase down all of this is a pretty monumental task so I’d give it a Chase Factor of a solid 10 (CF-10). Good luck chasers!

HTF Yashica Lens

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

This image was scanned from a Yashica TL ELECTRO-X book from 1972 titled *The Creative System of Photography*.

Taken with a Yashica TL Electro-X and Yashinon-DX 21mm f/3.3 lens at f/5.6 at 1/60 second. Image by acclaimed professional photographer Takeji Iwamiya. Titled “Solarization”.

A scan from the Yashica Yashinon Lenses & Accessories booklet dated December 1973.

As you can see in the above scan, as late as late 1973 Yashica was still marketing their 21mm lens alongside the newer and certainly more modern 20mm ultra-wide lens. The 21mm is a retrofocus lens meaning that the mirror on a 35mm SLR would have to be in the up position as the rear element of the lens was just millimeters away from the film plane. A separate matching viewfinder would need to be mounted on the accessory shoe in order to frame your image. Fortunately an ultra-wide lens usually has such a wide view that parallax error would only be a factor at extreme close-up imaging.

Do to the relative scarcity of the 21mm lens, prices are much higher than one would expect to pay for a ultra-wide lens of a more modern design. If you find the lens in excellent physical and optical condition with its matching viewfinder and original lens case, expect to see asking prices generally north of $500 USD. If you’re lucky, you may get a good one with no issues at around half that price. I give this lens set a Chase Factor of 8 (CF-8) for the reasons stated above. I certainly don’t need it in my collection but it would be a nice to have.

Rear view of the Yashica 21mm DX lens with its matching 21mm viewfinder.

Yashica’s last TLR – Chasing a True Classic!

May 27, 2021May 27, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Yashica’s (Kyocera by this point) last TLR model. This one was part of the last run of the model before production shut down in 1986. Yashica (originally named Yashima) started off in 1953 with the obscure Pigeonflex TLR followed by the Yashima Flex and then continued to build TLRs way longer than the market could bear (or need). The good news is that the 124G can be found today in great quantities and cameras as “young” as 35 years-old.
It’s a very affordable way to get into medium format photography and in the case of this model, be able to use both 120 and 220 roll film giving you either 12 or 24 exposures.

After about 33 years of making TLRs, this was Yashica’s best.

A beauty – here’s what a modern TLR looked like back in 1985.

The design of the last box that held the 124G (1985-1986).

This gorgeous camera was the first to carry the company name – Yashica Flex made in 1954.

For contrast, compare the Yashima Flex to the Yashica Mat 124G. Their excellent build quality remained throughout the decades. If you’re chasing one of these for your collection you’re in luck because Yashica made a bunch of 124Gs and there’s a bunch still out there. Expect to pay a premium for mint examples but be careful, they’re still older cameras and a host of bad things can happen to them from lack of use and improper storage. Ask lots of questions of the seller if you’re buying online and look for sellers with excellent reputations for selling quality classic and vintage cameras. BTW, not too many of the original Yashima Flex cameras will look like my example pictured above. I was so very lucky to buy mine from the original owner in Japan who obviously kept it in pristine condition both physically and mechanically.

A tale of two boxes from Yashica.

May 26, 2021May 26, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From 1973, a box for the TL Electro-X ITS (Integrated Technology System). The box reflects the efforts of Yashica’s marketing division to create a more sophisticated looking box consistent with the new look to the TL Electro-X.

The original Yashica TL Electro-X box. This one is from mid-1970.

If you’re looking to add the correct box for your Yashica TL Electro-X be sure to match the proper box to the two different cameras. BTW, except for some external appearance differences, the ITS and the original Electro-X cameras are the same. The ITS was only available in an all black body whereas the original was available in both a satin chrome and black body.

If you look closely you’ll see that this box uses green for the “TL” and “35” logo where the true original uses a red “35” logo and a white “TL”. Oddly this variation of the box is from May 1970 which is right in the middle of the other boxes with the red logo. I haven’t decoded if it means anything changed in relationship to the camera or was it just a marketing exercise to see which looked better.

Timeless Tuesday – My 1982 Toyota Pickup

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

Back in 1982 it was known as just a Toyota Pickup Truck – no longer a Hilux and not yet a Tacoma and this beauty was as basic as they came. The famous 22R 4-cylinder engine, 4-speed (I think) manual transmission, painted bumpers, steel wheels, and vinyl everything inside. Bench seat, radio (I think) and I opted for AC to deal with the relentless Florida heat and humidity.

In 1982 the truck was the third generation (N30) still with no name other than Pickup. “I drove through the desert in a truck with no name, it felt good…”

I choose a beige model to match the dirt road I lived on. I think Toyota called it “tan”. Unloaded the rear end was prone to skidding around 180 degrees or more on slightly wet roads if you hit the brakes too hard. I once did a complete 360 at a traffic light to my shock and the surprise of bystanders.

2.4 L (2,366 cc) 22R SOHC I4, 98 PS; 97 hp (72 kW) at 4,800 rpm.

Photographed with a Canon F-1.

My original owner’s manual. Yes, I still have it but not the truck.

Who keeps a nearly 40-year-old owner’s manual for a vehicle you no longer own?

Monday’s Camera – Asahi Pentax 6×7 – Beauty IS the Beast!

May 17, 2021May 17, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A beautiful monster. That’s how I described this camera to a friend. A beautiful heavy monster is what it felt like in your hands and no way was I going to use the neck strap. It’s also a camera that I wish I still owned because I really didn’t get to shoot with it as much as I’d liked to.

The true beauty of this camera was the 6×7 cm negatives or color slides that it produced. It was advertised as an SLR albeit a giant SLR with through the lens metering, easy and quick focusing, interchangeable lenses, backs, viewfinders, and more but I couldn’t get over its bulkiness and weight. So it was passed on to another collector and to this day I wish I still owned it.

Chase Factor. CF7 considering that there’s a bunch of them out there online but it’s a hard camera to find that checks all of the necessary boxes – condition, appearance, functionality, and price. In my case I was lucky to find mine still in it’s original box and in nearly mint condition (and fully working) but I was afraid to take it in the field or on a photoshoot because the collector in me was worried it would get scratched or damaged and eventually hurt its resale or collector value. It’s hard to have a collector grade camera also be your shooter.

believe me, that large wooden handle was worth its weight in gold. It provided a solid grip on the beast.

Like a Leica, or better? Nicca

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My good friend Paul Sokk has authored one of the most comprehensive sites dedicated to all things (I mean all things) related to and about Yashica twin-lens reflex cameras you’ll ever see. As if cracking Yashica’s history wasn’t enough, Paul then went on to research pretty much everything there is to know about Nicca and the cameras they made and their contribution to Yashica and their development of the Yashica Pentamatic.

All decked-out with its 28mm W-Nikkor lens and matching viewfinder.

I could go on and on about Paul’s site or just give you the link – it will be well worth a visit and your time. http://www.yashicatlr.com/Nicca.html

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chasingacoffee

The Unremarkable Yashica FFT

May 12, 2021May 12, 2021Chris and Carol 1 Comment

The rather hard to chase down Yashica FFT – the last of its kind. I give this bugger a high chase factor of CF 9 not because it’s a sophisticated 35mm SLR with tons of features, it earns a CF 9 because Yashica just didn’t make a bunch of these things and when they were for sale I believe most of them stayed in Japan.

The serial number on this one is 41001738 (1974, October, and number 1,738 for that month up to that point).

HTF instruction booklet for a HTF camera.

No auto exposure or auto focus, no built-in power winder, and little to no style.

So what’s this gem’s claim to fame? It was the last m42 screw mount lens body in the Yashica family. Big deal. Something’s got to be last and this guy was it.

Yashica m42 lens mount bodies began in the Spring of 1961 and ended (maybe with this one) in the Autumn of 1974. Along the way such classics as the TL Electro X was made which was one of the first SLR’s with an IC “brain”.

I’ll test and review this camera soon (I know, you’ve heard that before!). BTW, I have no earthly idea what ‘FFT’ stands for if anything. Any ideas?