Funny Flickr

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

You just never know which images will “take off” on Flickr. Sometimes you think that you’ve nailed a shot only to see it fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out that one of my pictures (below) was invited to be in Flickr’s “in explore” group. Cool beans!

It’s far from my best ever studio shots of my camera collection but I bet that the popularity of this image has something to do with the popularity of the camera.

“This camera is actually quite famous – back in its day it was considered a groundbreaker in the 35mm SLR autofocus “world”. This one has led a very gentle life – I’ve fully tested it with film and the thing that impressed me the most was how quickly the autofocus locked on to my subjects. The lens is a Minolta AF Zoom 35-70mm f4 and is sharp as a tack!
The camera, lens, and 4 (AAA) batteries weigh in at 847 grams (1 lb 14 oz)!”

My caption that accompanied the picture on Flickr.

Have a great day – thanks for stopping by!

Chris

Blondie – ‘Heart of Glass’ – 1979

May 25, 2018May 25, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Recently discovered within our older collection of “neat stuff” from Japan (Carol and I lived in Yokohama in the late 1970s) is this almost new Blondie 45rpm record that was purchased at a nearby record shop – Hama Gakki.

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Thanks for stopping by!

Be sure to visit our online store at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for bunches of stuff!

Chris and Carol

Minolta SR-T 101 from 1969

May 24, 2018Chris and Carol 3 Comments

We’ve got a wonderful vintage classic from Minolta – the venerable SR-T 101. Actually, quite a groundbreaking camera back in its day with many never before seen features and functions. This one was purchased by a young man serving in the U.S. Army in South Vietnam in 1969.

It was a combat camera having flown with him on several missions aboard a helicopter over the Mekong Delta region. He told me that he purchased it almost as soon as he arrived in country at a Post Exchange in Saigon. Despite its exciting beginnings, it’s made it to today with no dents and only a few bright spots in the satin chrome finish. It’s a fully mechanical camera – the shutter operates independently of a battery from Bulb to 1/1000 of a second. A battery is only needed to operate the TTL meter.

This good-looking Minolta has received a complete inspection and has been meticulously cleaned inside and out by me. I tested it with a fresh 1.5v alkaline battery and the light meter works just fine. It will be off by about 1/2 to 1 full stop but when shooting with negative film the wide exposure latitude of film usually makes any exposure differences unnoticeable.

That’s a “fresh” roll of expired Fujicolor film (from 2010) and the original soft body cap from Minolta. For more details and to see additional pictures of it, visit our online store at https://www.ccstudio.com

Or you can purchase it directly from here – I’ll ship nearly worldwide. Please drop me a line for a shipping quote to your country. In the USA, I will ship it USPS Priority Mail for only $6.00 Just click on the “Pay with PayPal” button below.

Many thanks for stopping by! Chris

Minolta SR-T 101 35mm Film Camera

Vintage (100% fully working) 35mm SLR from Minolta - the SR-T 101

$49.00

Yashica’s ‘Sailor Boy’ with his Electro 35 camera

May 22, 2018January 6, 2022Chris and Carol Leave a comment

We’re super lucky to have run across a rather hard to find Sailor Boy – this one came to our attention from a visitor to our blog – then through eBay by way of South Africa to Florida! Welcome, little guy!

This unique version of Sailor Boy – complete with his Yashica Electro 35 camera. He was introduced in 1966 to promote the new camera release. He’s based on the Scottish nursery rhyme ‘Wee Willie Winkie’.

Cousins, not brothers. The only thing missing on our little guy is his green decal which should be on the front of his hat.

Sailor Boy convention. The new guy cleaned up nicely. A little bit of warm soapy water and a soft brush and he’s good as new!

Made in Japan is about all we know at this point. We’re not even sure about when he was made.

Cool shoes – but are they really Wee Willie Winkie’s shoes? Yep as best as I can tell. Yashica didn’t leave a paper trail for history to discover his true identity.

More about the history and variations of Yashica’s advertising figurine soon. As always, feel free to share your Sailor Boys with us – we’re looking to add to our collection with new versions of this cute guy.

Thanks

Chris and Carol

Vintage Glass – Vivitar FD 300mm f5.5 Telephoto Lens

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Offered here is a very nice example of some early (1970s) Vivitar lens making.

This wonderful lens was made to some very high standards in Japan during the late 1970s. This manual focus telephoto is set up to mount to Canon (FD mount) film body cameras such as the AE-1, F-1, A-1 and the T Series of 35mm SLRs. This heavyweight lens (almost 2 pounds worth) of glass and brass was designed to compete with the best optics out there but at a reasonable price. This one owner lens is in mint new condition and functions like it too!

It’s easily adapted to most any digital camera body – this one is set to use on my Fujifilm X-A10. Of course, it’s able to use straight up on any Canon FD mount film body and most any vintage 35mm film cameras with an adapter.

It’s available for purchase from our online shop at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for a very reasonable price.

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.

Rare Yashica ‘Happi Coat’ from the 1960s

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Carol and I have decided to start cutting back on our extensive collection of mostly Yashica “stuff”. Some of the items we’ll be listing rarely come up for purchase and are in some cases, the only known examples in existence.

This item, the Yashica ‘Happi Coat’ was made in Japan around the mid-1960s to coincide with Yashica’s new line of electronic cameras. The advertising phrase, “Pioneer in Electronic Photography” became more widely known as Yashica included it in almost every advertisement and brochure. As we understand the origins of this coat, Yashica provided it to salespeople to wear while demonstrating Yashica cameras in US camera stores. I know of only one size – something of a large-medium-large that was designed to fit a majority of wearers. If you were larger than that the happi coat could be left open and worn without the belt. It’s made from a heavyweight high-quality cotton and is very vibrant. The silk screening is sharp and colorful too. Only a slight hint of some discolorations are noted on the fabric. More detailed pictures can be found in our Etsy Shops. By the way, our “model” is about 5′ 9″ tall as a point of reference.

It kinda looks like something Doc would have dressed Marty up in for the Back to the Future movies.

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This wonderful coat can be seen in more detail in our Etsy Shops.

It’s also available at https://www.ccstudio2380.com

Stay in touch as we endeavor to list most of our collection by the end of the summer (well by the end of fall at least).

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris and 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 Pentamatic S Sales Brochure

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

As was typical with Yashica sales material, this brochure is undated. Our best guess would put it around late 1961. It’s fairly complete with all of the major accessories and lenses that were available for the Pentamatic line of cameras – the original Pentamatic ’35’, the Pentamatic II, and the final camera the Pentamatic S.

The Pentamatic S was available in the US but received only limited press – few advertisements and only 3 different brochures in English are known to exist.

The Pentamatic S was made starting in August 1961. By that time, the Pentamatic family of cameras were starting to show their age and lack of sophistication and were already having trouble in the world marketplace.

The Pentamatic is a well-made camera but was lacking in some important basics that were addressed with the S. Adding a coupled exposure meter and a self-timer were but a few steps Yashica took to make the camera more competitive. The original lens for the Pentamatic ’35’ was made by Tomioka Optical and the S went back to using it. The middle camera (Pentamatic II) was only released in Japan and was equipped with a Zunow made 5.8cm f1.7 lens.

The first known advertisement for the new Pentamatic – Spring 1960. Take notice that the lens serial number 59100581 is very close to the serial number on the lens in this late 1961 brochure (59100521). The Yashica marketing team must have held onto some of the first lenses made for them by Tomioka.

Thanks for stopping by! If you want to add a truly unique camera to your collection take a look at the Yashica Pentamatic S – if you can find a nice, clean working model go for it!

Please check out our online shop at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for some neat vintage cameras and some brand new modern classics!

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.

Classic Canon EF from 1977 – Sold!

March 5, 2018March 6, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Our lovely Canon EF is no longer available – thanks for looking!

This is one of our all-time favorite Canon cameras to use – the Canon EF 35mm SLR film camera. This beauty has just the right amount of brassing to add to its charm. It’s been fully checked out by us and everything works just as it should. The meter is spot on and despite the brassing (missing paint on the top plate) and some scratches on the bottom plate, the factory black retains its original satin luster.

It’s available for purchase direct from our collection here on our blog or it’s available in our online shop at https://www.ccstudio2380.com

Canon EF 35mm Film Camera

Fully checked out classic Canon EF with (2) new Energizer 1.5v batteries, Canon FD 50mm f1.8 SC lens, an expired roll of Fujicolor film, the original Canon body cap, and the Canon rear lens cap. This camera is guaranteed to be in super clean, fully working condition right out of the box. Add it to your collection or start shooting 35mm film again. It's a one owner camera that's ready for your next assignment. Visit our store for additional pictures of this Canon. The $175 includes FREE SHIPPING to the USA with insurance and tracking.

$175.00

Showin’ Some Brass

March 1, 2018March 1, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Canon EF – 1977

Well used but well cared for – showin’ some brass and lookin’ good.

Classic Canon from the ’70s. In perfect operating condition. Canon cousin to the F-1.

Thanks for taking a peek!

C&C ^.^

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.

Quick Peek – Nikkormat FT3

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A new arrival in our already overstuffed camera bag – from 1977, Nikon’s Nikkormat FT3

More about this interesting camera soon.

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!

Tag Made in Japan

Funny Flickr

You just never know which images will “take off” on Flickr. Sometimes you think that you’ve nailed a shot only to see it fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out that one of my pictures (below) was invited to be in Flickr’s “in explore” group. Cool beans!

Blondie – ‘Heart of Glass’ – 1979

Recently discovered within our older collection of “neat stuff” from Japan (Carol and I lived in Yokohama in the late 1970s) is this almost new Blondie 45rpm record that was purchased at a nearby record shop – Hama Gakki.

Minolta SR-T 101 from 1969

We’ve got a wonderful vintage classic from Minolta – the venerable SR-T 101. Actually, quite a groundbreaking camera back in its day with many never before seen features and functions. This one was purchased by a young man serving in the U.S. Army in South Vietnam in 1969.

Yashica’s ‘Sailor Boy’ with his Electro 35 camera

We’re super lucky to have run across a rather hard to find Sailor Boy – this one came to our attention from a visitor to our blog – then through eBay by way of South Africa to Florida! Welcome, little guy!

Vintage Glass – Vivitar FD 300mm f5.5 Telephoto Lens

Offered here is a very nice example of some early (1970s) Vivitar lens making.

Rare Yashica ‘Happi Coat’ from the 1960s

Yashica Pentamatic S Sales Brochure

Classic Canon EF from 1977 – Sold!

Showin’ Some Brass

Quick Peek – Nikkormat FT3