Happy SUNday! – bluejeans and cameras

April 26, 2020April 26, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Happy Sunday everyone – I hope y’all are safe, happy, and with your families.

Yashica PS on jeans

This was taken in early 2015 shortly after a walkabout with my Yashica Pentamatic S and Yashica 135mm lens. There’s nothing quite like an outing with a favorite camera (c. 1961) and an old pair of comfortable jeans (c. 1999).

Shot with my then Samsung Galaxy S4 in natural light. This pic was recently favored on my Flickr photostream by a visitor to my site. It reminds me that we leave a long electronic trail on the internet (so be careful what you post).

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by my camera shop 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.

1951 Classics – Contax & Tower (Nicca)

April 18, 2020April 18, 2020Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa and Tower (Nicca) Type-3

Two extremely different cameras that accomplish the same thing – recording an image on 135 film. The Contax is a much bigger camera and for the most part, it is an original design by Zeiss Ikon of Stuttgart. The Tower was made by Nicca Camera for the Sears, Roebuck Company for sale in the US and Canada. The Nicca was inspired by an original design by Leica and it’s often considered to be one of the better Leica “copies”.

Both cameras feature interchangeable lenses and both are rangefinders. The Contax has an attached exposure meter (non-coupled) and with the Tower, you would use a separate meter for determining proper exposures.

The Contax is a slightly larger camera and it’s a tad bit heavier due to the additional weight of the exposure meter. The Contax weighs 773 grams and the Tower weighs 591 grams.

The standard lens on the Contax is a Carl Zeiss Sonnar f/ 1.5 50mm and the Tower has a Nikkor H.C f/ 2 5cm.

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What’s interesting is that back in 1951 these cameras were considered to be “miniature” 35mm cameras per their advertising of the time.

contax iia clip 1

contax IIIa and IIa

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my camera shop 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.

Contax / Yashica Brochure

April 11, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From around 1975 or so when Yashica first rolled out the Contax RTS.

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Eye candy to be sure! Yashica along with Contax and then later Kyocera continued the RTS well into the 1990s.

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

http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Rare Nicca lens cap – 1958

March 27, 2020March 27, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Nicca’s one-off lens cap for their last 35mm rangefinder camera mid-1958. The cap fits the Nikkor-H 5cm f/2 lens that was pretty much the standard lens for Nicca. The Nicca in the background with the traditional cap is my 3-S.

BTW, the black cap is made from brass and weighs 12 grams whereas the silver cap is aluminum and weighs 10 grams.

The distinctive all caps block lettering style of this black cap was a major departure from Nicca’s traditional silver script style which was presented in the spirit of Leica. You can see in the ad below that it matches the style of the name on the top plate of the camera.

III-L(large) 1

This ad (above) is from Mikio Awano’s article in the September 1978 edition of Japanese magazine, Camera Collectors’ News. The magazine’s text at the bottom translates as “Nicca III L, 1958 September, Asahi Camera”. For more about this interesting camera, please visit my good friend Paul Sokk’s excellent site on Nicca.

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The Nicca III-L was the last camera made by Nicca before their acquisition by Yashica in early 1958. Below is an example of the style of the last box.

nicca III-L box set

Carol and I do not have an example of the Nicca III-L in our collection. They are super hard to find, extremely rare actually so very few show up on auction sites. If you know of someone who has one please have them contact us as we would be interested in obtaining one.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit our camera shop 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.

Yashica 635 – shoot 6×6 cm and 35 mm all in one TLR

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

Back in 1958 (May-June) Yashica released or introduced the inventive model 635 twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera to the export markets. It would be a short while before the camera would make its debut in Japan.

The only film it couldn’t shoot was movie film!

This one is from one of the first batches of cameras made in June 1958. Its serial number puts it at the 231st made. It was purchased new by the original owner at the RAF Changi base in Singapore.

Close-up view of the 35 mm conversion kit that originally came with the camera.

A general idea of how to install the 35 mm film cartridge and kit.

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A gem from 1958.

As Carol and I continue to downsize our camera collection we’ve made this camera and kit available in our online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

If you’re looking to get into medium-format film photography and still want to use 35 mm film to make color transparencies (slides) this is a perfect combo camera to invest in.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to hit us with an offer if you’re so inclined. Chris & Carol

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’s Electronic Marvel

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020Chris and Carol 2 Comments

The Yashica TL Electro X was one of Yashica’s most successful 35mm SLR out of a line-up that included many winners but also plenty of losers. The TL Electro X made its debut in the fall of 1968 (October) and was produced until early 1974. Many thousands were made over that span and although we have many examples in our collection, this is the only one that still has its original box.

This one is from May 1969.

The dealer display card states “World’s First SLR With IC Computer”. This example is fully functioning including the built-in electronic TTL exposure meter (TTL – Thru The Lens). I imagine that the ‘TL’ in the name relates to where the meter is located.

The Yashica TL Electro X is a fun camera to use and the metering system is easy to master. They’re readily available through online auction sites and clean, working examples can be found at comfortable prices. Caution is needed if the seller says they’re not sure if it works as the alkaline 6v battery (A544) is available for under $5 so there’s no reason not to test the camera and meter before listing it.

The Auto Yashinon-DX f/1.7 50mm lens that’s standard with most TL Electro X’s is plenty fast enough with medium speed film and I’ve always found it to be sharp enough at all apertures. The body takes M42 screw mount lenses of which there are still plenty to go around.

If you’re looking for a great camera to get into film photography than we highly recommend this model.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit our camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Chris & Carol

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.

Fujica GW690 – A big shot from Fuji Photo Film Company

March 8, 2020March 8, 2020Chris and Carol Leave a comment

The Fujica GW690 6×9 Professional camera by Fuji Photo Film Company. Mine was made around 1978 and it’s still going strong today. It’s one of the most affordable (and plentiful) larger medium-format film cameras available.

The Fujica is a fixed-lens rangefinder that takes (6) D cell batteries – it could take 6 batteries as it’s big enough but there’s no built-in light meter and the shutter is mechanical so no need for batteries.

3 lbs 2 oz (1,1414 grams) without film.

This is a big, no crazy large camera with a super sharp EBC Fujinon 90mm f/3.5 lens. The lens is made up of 5 elements in 5 groups. The leaf-shutter is a Seiko #0 with B, 1-1/500.

Yashica TL Electro X ITS with a huge Tomioka 55mm f/1.2 and the ‘Beast’.

My TL Electro X ITS with its super-fast Tomioka 55mm f/1.2 lens is big and heavy but not Fujica heavy. The Yashica weighs in at 1,019 grams which is heavy enough. Size and weight do not make a camera great – the size of the negative and the quality of the optics are the foundation of true greatness and this camera delivers

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Direct scan of the 6x9cm negative. No post-production.

Direct scan of the 6x9cm negative. No post-production.

I’m very pleased with the camera and lens and I’m equally pleased with the Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros black and white film. If you’re looking to get into the 6×9 format then I recommend you give the Fuji a try.

Thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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.

Saturday Snaps – Canon F-1

March 7, 2020March 7, 2020Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Canon was the official 35mm camera of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles.

Canon New F-1. A complete redesign of the original F-1 from 1971.

Beautiful camera.

A well used Canon F-1 on the left (just the right amount of brassing). The camera on the left has the eye-level finder and the one on the right has the AE finder.

And here’s another limited edition F-1 from 1978. Only about 2000 were made in this distinctive olive drab color with this super cool box, special strap and matching OD camera case. Also known as the Canon ODF-1. It appears that this version of the F-1 was only available for sale in Japan.

Image kindly borrowed from the web.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! – Chris

http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Happy SUNday! – Minolta Six

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Minolta’s first 6×6 medium-format camera. The body is made almost entirely from Bakelite. 1936

Minolta Six side

Minolta Six top

Minolta six ad

It’s kinda hard to find a pre-war Minolta especially one that has a working shutter. What a lovely picture machine from another era. It’s available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Have a beautiful day and as always, thanks 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.

Vintage 35mm Film

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

It’s always fun to have some variety in your collection and collecting vintage film boxes (with the film still unopened inside) is a nice way to add some spice to your camera collection. These film boxes make a great addition to your displays.

High Speed (SS) ASA 100 film from Konishiroku Photo.

Expired March 1972

Kodak’s versatile color print film of the 1970s.

Expired January 1978

One of my favorite films of the 1970s.

Expired December 1977

The Kodak Kodachrome has been in one of my camera bags since new. Over the past decade or two, I’ve had it on display with my Canon F-1. I also have some Kodachrome 25 from the same time period. Awesome color slide film with super crisp resolution and colors.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. I have these three films available in my shop if you’re interested. – 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.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

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Happy SUNday! – bluejeans and cameras

1951 Classics – Contax & Tower (Nicca)

Contax / Yashica Brochure

From around 1975 or so when Yashica first rolled out the Contax RTS.

Rare Nicca lens cap – 1958

Nicca’s one-off lens cap for their last 35mm rangefinder camera mid-1958. The cap fits the Nikkor-H 5cm f/2 lens that was pretty much the standard lens for Nicca. The Nicca in the background with the traditional cap is my 3-S.

Yashica 635 – shoot 6×6 cm and 35 mm all in one TLR

Back in 1958 (May-June) Yashica released or introduced the inventive model 635 twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera to the export markets. It would be a short while before the camera would make its debut in Japan.

Yashica’s Electronic Marvel

Fujica GW690 – A big shot from Fuji Photo Film Company

The Fujica GW690 6×9 Professional camera by Fuji Photo Film Company. Mine was made around 1978 and it’s still going strong today. It’s one of the most affordable (and plentiful) larger medium-format film cameras available.

Saturday Snaps – Canon F-1

Canon was the official 35mm camera of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles.

Happy SUNday! – Minolta Six

Minolta’s first 6×6 medium-format camera. The body is made almost entirely from Bakelite. 1936

Vintage 35mm Film

It’s always fun to have some variety in your collection and collecting vintage film boxes (with the film still unopened inside) is a nice way to add some spice to your camera collection. These film boxes make a great addition to your displays.