Tower Type-3 35mm Rangefinder – Made by Nicca for Sears

October 23, 2018October 23, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

One of the better made Leica type of 35mm rangefinder cameras from the early 1950s. This one dates back to the period during the occupation of Japan following WWII. The occupation formally ended in April 1952.

I believe the Nicca-Towers are extremely attractive in their design and some (like this gem) have aged very well (1951 on this one).

The Tower brand was made by Nicca Camera Company for Sears, Roebuck and Company for sale in the United States through their stores and in their catalogs.

Nippon Kogaku Nikkor – H.C f2 5cm lens from my Nicca s-3

These cameras accept all L39 screw-in (Leica type) lenses made by a ton of manufacturers – Canon, Nikkor, Leitz and more than I care to think about. Oh yeah, Nicca even made one with their own name and Yashica made a few too. Happy hunting!

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 YF – aka Fair-Way, 35 YF Nicca

October 23, 2018Chris and Carol 5 Comments

A bunch of ways to identify the same camera from Yashica. One of the few cameras that made it to the marketplace with both the Yashica and the Nicca names. Yashica had just acquired the Nicca Camera Company in 1958 and this was the last interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder camera from both.

This is a picture from my archives that was found on the web some time ago. The main reason for including it on the blog is that few (myself included) have ever seen the original presentation box before. This box is in wonderful condition and gives us a glimpse into Yashica’s marketing in 1959. The box has Yashica, YF and Nicca but not the “Fair-Way” name as it was sometimes referred to in Japan.

Nicca-Yashica YF Box 2

Nicca-Yashica YF Box

I hope to add a YF to my collection shortly and I’ll be sure to post about my impressions of it here.

Thanks for stopping by and of course my camera shop is always open at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – Chris

Yashica’s First 35mm Cameras – 1958-59

October 18, 2018October 18, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

From a rather hard to find (OK, kinda rare) sales brochure (above) from late 1960 or early 1961.

IMG_20181017_0009 logo

The Yashica 35 YK (identified here simply as the “K type”) is the least expensive of the cameras and was produced in large numbers starting in June 1959. The camera is marked with the “YK” on the front right of the body in gold while the top has Yashica engraved in it next to the serial number (pictured below).

Yashica 35 K type – aka the YK

The Yashica 35 (above) was the first 35mm rangefinder camera from Yashica. In this brochure, the marketing department has added an “S” as part of the description of the camera (f2.8 lens). It appears from my translation that the “S” may have to do with something about the lens – either a new coating or some other design feature(s) which makes it new. Of course, it may be simple marketing hype as the 35 was getting on in years by this time.

The Yashica 35 Fair-Way (YF) is the only one in this series that was given a name that I’m aware of. It’s also the only one marked Yashica and Nicca. It was a transition camera as Yashica had just acquired Nicca in 1958. It’s one of the most expensive in this series to acquire as sellers recognize the relative rarity of the model especially in mint or excellent condition.

Yashica’s first interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder camera – basically a Nicca in Yashica cladding.

The Yashica 35 E type (above) is also known as the Yashica YE which is engraved in the top plate. Here again, it’s a case of the marketing department manipulating the name of the camera – either to make it appear as a new model of it may be that the Japanese market tends to simplify the names of cameras. I believe that the unifying theme here is that Yashica wanted each of these cameras to feel connected to one another. By using the common name Yashica 35 “X” type the cameras couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a 35mm camera from a company known for TLRs and 8mm movie cameras.

My one and only Yashica YE

DSCF6186

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com for some classic collectible cameras and photo gear. – 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.

Time Capsule – 1960

October 12, 2018October 11, 2019Chris and Carol 1 Comment

The original Pentamatic.

A nice example of Yashica’s first 35mm SLR – the Pentamatic. Also known as the Pentamatic ’35’ in its earliest advertisements and sales brochures. This particular camera is from August 1960 – the same month that Yashica started production of the Pentamatic II – a model that was destined for the Japanese home market and not for world export. The Pentamatic II stayed in production only until January 1961 when it was replaced a few months later with the Pentamatic S. The original Pentamatic was first produced in December 1959 but widescale production didn’t begin until January 1960. As of this update (Oct 11, 2018), I still haven’t found evidence of an instruction booklet printed in Japanese – only English booklets so far. I would think that there must be booklets in Japanese and at least 2 or 3 other languages but none found. The Pentamatic II booklet is in Japanese and no English editions have been found.

As always, thanks for stopping by and please check out 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.

My First Pentamatic – the quest begins

October 12, 2018October 12, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

It was “love” at first sight! Well, kinda like love – more like a very strong attraction.

The starkness of the Pentamatic’s design caught my eye straight away. Here was a Yashica the likes of which I’d never seen before.

I thought I would share a very popular image of my first Yashica Pentamatic. I say popular because it’s been viewed more times than anything else I’ve ever posted on my Flickr page.

yashica p1 in blue

Designed in middle 1959, Yashica’s first 35mm single-lens reflex camera is a stunning beauty. It appears it was a collaborative effort between Yashica and Nicca with some “help” from the designers at Zunow. The first lenses for the Pentamatic were made by Tomioka and most carried the Yashinon name – a few, like this one, sported the Tominon branding along with Yashica’s Yashinon name. By the way, the serial number on this lens is fairly easy to “decode”. The first 2 digits indicate the focal length of the lens – in this instance, the lens is a 3.5cm wide angle so the first digits are “35”. The next 4 digits are a simple production number that I’m guessing started at “0001”. This lens would have been the 246th lens made (0246).

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this little tease is enough to cause you to explore my blog (and Flickr site) to learn more about the Pentamatic and its sister models – the Pentamatic II and the Pentamatic S. – 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.

Groundbreaking Cameras from Yashica

October 11, 2018October 12, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

yashica 20 years

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

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.

“This is a Toy” – Goofy Stuff from Yashica

September 29, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

20180928_162022

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

Fujica ST701 – Pretty, Simple

September 25, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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 Fujicaflex Automat- a monster TLR from Fuji Photo Film Company, Tokyo

September 24, 2018Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Fuji’s only attempt at a twin-lens reflex camera – 1954

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

Happy SUNday! – Vintage Cameras –

September 16, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Tag Made in Japan

Tower Type-3 35mm Rangefinder – Made by Nicca for Sears

Yashica YF – aka Fair-Way, 35 YF Nicca

Yashica’s First 35mm Cameras – 1958-59

Time Capsule – 1960

My First Pentamatic – the quest begins

It was “love” at first sight! Well, kinda like love – more like a very strong attraction.

The starkness of the Pentamatic’s design caught my eye straight away. Here was a Yashica the likes of which I’d never seen before.

Groundbreaking Cameras from Yashica

“This is a Toy” – Goofy Stuff from Yashica

Fujica ST701 – Pretty, Simple

The Fujicaflex Automat- a monster TLR from Fuji Photo Film Company, Tokyo

Fuji’s only attempt at a twin-lens reflex camera – 1954

Happy SUNday! – Vintage Cameras –