From the groundbreaking Yashica Flex S to the exciting TL Electro X ITS – over twenty years of development by Yashima-Yashica.
Playing around in the studio – thanks for stopping by! Chris
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Normally you’d expect to see “this is not a toy” on something not designed to be played with. Here we have a rather odd promotional item from Yashica.
My best translation – Color Camera Yashica Electro 35
Still looks good and holds air after 50 years!
A Yashica float. It’s about 6 feet in length and I’m guessing Yashica didn’t want you to use this at the beach or pool as anything but a toy.
Admittedly a pretty goofy item that we’ve added to our Yashica collection recently. I saw it on a Japanese auction site and well, I couldn’t resist. It was listed by a seller in Shiga Prefecture (which is just east of Kyoto). I paid a silly amount to ship it after paying less than $10 to purchase it. Collecting – jeez. On the bright side, I may have the only matching set of Yashica beach gear in the world!
We now have a matching set of beach gear from Yashica. The Sailor Boy logo was popular with Yashica in the early 1960s – here he makes another appearance to promote the Electro 35 camera.
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Early 1970s classic from Fuji Photo Film – Fujica ST701
Advertisement from late 1971
Sales brochure for the Fujica ST701
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit our online shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – Chris
The Fuji Photo Film Company of Tokyo has a long history of making some very desirable cameras – from simple point and shoot models to high-quality professional medium format film cameras covering most types of film formats (Fuji Photo, after all, is in the business of selling film). Along the way, there have been a few cameras that have stood out for their technical achievements and innovations and one of them is the Fujicaflex Automat (for much more about this model please check out Mr. Koyasu’s wonderful site).
We’ve wanted to add this camera to our collection for many years and the right combination of events led us to this one. It was for sale in Japan a short while back and we missed it – it became available again from a collector in Thailand so we went for it.
Of the many neat features that this camera has, one of the most useful is its close-up capabilities. Although we haven’t finished our first test roll of film we wanted to verify the reported 70cm close focusing feature. By pushing the little button above the thumbwheel you’ll be able to adjust the taking and viewing lenses for a closer focus (notice that the lens rings extend outwards about 4mm or so). The ability to bring the taking lens closer to the subject allows the camera to get closer to the subject without the use of cumbersome auxiliary lenses.
Here the lenses are retracted back to their “normal” positions.
Thanks for stopping by! We’ll cover more of the camera’s features in future posts and we will post images from our first test roll soon. – Chris
Yashicaflex Rookie 1956
All of our ‘Rookie Stuff’ together for this display. As a Japanese domestic market only camera, the Rookie is a rather unique find outside of Japan.
Wonderfully fun camera to use… always gets strange looks whenever it’s out and about.
1959 gray Yashica-A and 1956 Yashicaflex Rookie. Two wonderfully simple twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras from Yashima-Yashica. These two have held up very nicely over these many years.
Probably one of the oddest names for a camera from Yashica (and they’ve had a bunch). If we use our western definition of the word “rookie” it would appear that Yashica was naming a simple to use camera that first-time photographers would be comfortable with. The Rookie was not available outside of Japan.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to see what we’ve added to our online store at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Chris
Often overlooked and most likely an unknown 35mm rangefinder from Yashica. This example is an early version from June 1959. Very similar to Yashica’s first 35mm camera the Yashica 35 but with fewer features. It listed for $39.95 and the leather case could be had for an additional $7.95
Handsome camera from Yashica. It features a bright viewfinder, easy to operate controls and a high-quality Yashinon f/2.8 lens.
A view from above – simple layout and big easy to use controls. Note the distance scale is only in feet (typical of the time period) and the Copal-SV shutter ranged from “B” to 1/300
An ASA/DIN reminder dial, the eyepiece and the company name grace the back of the camera.
Side-by-side comparison with the Yashica 35 “F” (left). Yashica didn’t deviate much from the basic foundation of the 35 model which was first built in April 1958. The Yashica 35 pictured here is actually from December 1960 which puts this YK a full year and a half earlier than the 35.
If you’re interested in trying out an early Japanese rangefinder then the Yashica YK is certainly a worthy camera to go after (whenever you can find one). We were lucky to find this wonderful example recently as it makes a nice addition to our collection.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Two heavyweights from the Yashica Company, Limited.
Yashica 35 (left) & Pentamatic (right)
The Yashica 35 was a 35mm rangefinder camera first introduced in early 1958. The Pentamatic was Yashica’s first 35mm single-lens reflex camera first released in early 1960.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop by our online shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Chris
The Yashica 35 was produced starting in April 1958. This camera (above) is one of the last of the series to roll off the assembly line at Yashica’s factory in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan in December 1960. Little changed from its original design – minor tweaks here and there but never anything major.
The lens was made by Tomioka Optical and was produced in two models – the f/1.9 and f/2.8, 4.5cm fixed lens.
Close-up of the front group removed.
Very similar to other Tomioka made lenses of the period.
With the front lens group removed we can see the Copal shutter assembly – here a mix of parts produced a hybrid. Is it an MXV or SV shutter? It would appear that Yashica was cleaning out its parts bins when this late model was built. Notice that the focus scale is in feet.
10 blade aperture.
Original early sales brochure – the sharp-eyed will notice that the name on the lenses is “Yasinon” vice “Yashinon”. Changes were made even as the brochure went to press.
About $47.00 USD for the f/1.9 and $32.00 for the f/2.8 – add another $2.77 for the leather case.
The 35 “F” variant. Not a new model just a changeover to a different style of serial numbers. The serial number decodes as follows: 6 = 1960, 12 = Dec, and 1150 = sequence number for that month’s production.
From this point of view, it looks just like it did in April 1958.
A beauty in black & white.
Yashica 35 & Yashica Pentamatic 35 – Yashica’s first rangefinder and first SLR.
The Yashica 35 is certainly a worthy addition to any early 35mm rangefinder collection. If you like to collect “firsts” then may I recommend that you check out the Yashima Pigeonflex, Yashimaflex, the Yashica 35 and the Yashica Pentamatic 35 – each of these wonderful cameras was a major milestone in the development of the Yashica Company.
So there you have it, a brief visual tour of the Yashica 35. If you would like to know more, much more, cruise on over to my good friend Paul’s website.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
At one point in our collecting, we’ve owned every one of these fine Canon cameras. We’re down to just a nice A-1 and an AE-1 Program. Here’s a couple of ads from around 1982 or so.
Which one is your favorite in the “A” Series? I like the original AE-1 and the A-1 with the next favorite being the AE-1 Program.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Here the flash handle is attached to the leather camera case via the left side metal bracket on the case. It does put a bit of a strain on the case so probably not the best way to tote it around.
Nice textured vinyl bag for the set.
The case has held up nicely over the years. I’m missing the connector cord and of course the 22.5v Type 015 battery (they are still available). The cord will be difficult to find but that’s half the fun!
If you happen to have the connector cord please let me know – I’m a buyer!
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 