Tag Made in Japan

Was this beautiful lens, which was made exclusively for the Pentamatic II designed by Zunow Optical?

Chris and Carol 13 Comments

Simple Answer – Yes

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Yashica Auto Yashinon f/ 1.7 5.8cm lens designed exclusively for Yashica’s Pentamatic II. It appears for the first time in August 1960 and disappears from use by Yashica in January 1961. There’s no documentation about the lens and no hard evidence that Zunow made the lens. Hard evidence would be sales brochures or advertisements that specifically link Yashica and Zunow. Co-branding on the lens ring would have been nice but never happened. Unfortunately our claim that it was made by Zunow is, at this point in time, circumstantial and coincidental. Much more digging around needs to be done on our part.

The lens features the unique Pentamatic bayonet mount that couldn’t be used on any other SLR of the time without an adapter. That in and of itself could have been a major reason for the quick demise of the Pentamatic series of cameras.

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Two “clues” that link this lens to Zunow – the serial number style with its unique “No xxxxxx” vice the more typical serial number style that Tomioka used “No. xxxxxxxx” at the time (as did most lens makers). Another clue, the style of the lowercase “a” in Japan. Most Zunow lenses used a fat “a” vice the keyboard style lowercase “a”. We know, these are hardly the type of clues needed to link the two but they’re good ones for now.

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Close-up of a Zunow made f/ 1.8 4.5cm lens for the Yashica Lynx-1000 (1960). Note the fat “a” and distinctive serial number style.

Could the f/ 1.7 5.8cm lens have been made by Tomioka Optical? Of course, Tomioka was the almost exclusive lens supplier to Yashica since the beginnings of Yashica in 1953. We feel that Tomioka had their hands full making nearly 1,500 lenses per month for Yashica’s first Pentamatic model (which was still very much in production at the time), and then taking on this lens at about 1,000 lenses per month for the Pentamatic II may have been a bit much for Tomioka.

This lens is so radically different in design and function of other Tomioka made SLR lenses of the time (Tomioka only started making lenses for an SLR in September 1959 with no known examples found before that).

Here’s a peek inside of this lens –

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It features quality construction throughout and what we feel is another Zunow cue, 10 aperture blades. The Tomioka f/ 1.8 5.5cm lens for the original Pentamatic has only 6 blades. We’ve yet to take one apart (soon).

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Pictured above is the f/ 1.7 5.8 Pentamatic II lens with its 10 aperture blades. Below, the front lens group removed from the lens barrel.

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Original sales brochure (below) dated February 1961 featuring the Pentamatic II and its very unique lens.

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Is All of This Enough to Prove a Connection to Zunow?

No of course not. Our claim is a merely a starting point for further discussions and discoveries. We hope to disassemble the Tomioka f/ 1.8 5.5cm lens that was made for the first Pentamatic and compare it to this f/ 1.7 5.8cm lens for the Pentamatic II. By the way, the Pentamatic II was only available for sale in the domestic markets in Japan. There’s no evidence that it was ever exported. We do know that Zunow Optical and Yashica did have a working relationship by the mid 1950s with Zunow supplying high quality D mount cine lenses for Yashica’s 8mm movie cameras (see below).

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Thanks for your visit! Comments are always welcome and your input is important to us. This post is designed to stimulate discussion as to the validity of our assertions. Heck, we may have missed significant clues along the way that would either prove or disprove our claim.

By the way. A special shout out to my good friend and fellow Yashicaphile, Paul Sokk! Our frequent correspondence on this subject first planted the seed that this lens could have been made by Zunow. Paul rightly reminded me that the bankruptcy of Zunow in January 1961 coincided with Yashica stopping production of the Pentamatic II. Yashica is thought to have acquired Zunow after that and one would assume all of Zunow’s assets and debts.

Chris

Be sure to stop by our online store CC’s Studio Twenty-3 Eighty at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for some neat items of photographic interest! Thanks, C&C

Fujifilm GF670 Professional

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Fujifilm GF670 Sales Brochure

Super hard to find sales brochure from Fujifilm for the popular and desirable GF670 Professional 6x6 / 6x7 medium format film camera. Full color large format about 21x30 cm. All specs, features and accessories. In mint new condition with only the slightest bend on the lower right cover. Add this beautiful brochure to your photographic collection. Mails to the USA for free! International buyers please request a quote for shipping.

$25.00

One of Fujifilm’s most popular (and expensive) modern film cameras. This rare brochure will enhance any photographic library and make a nice addition to your Fujifilm GF670 collection.

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We have a rather large collection of photographic sales brochures. Let us know if there’s one we can find for you.

Thanks,

Chris

“Is that a Zunow on your Lynx?” Connections: Yashica and Zunow – do you have one?

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The web is a wonderful place as we all know – But like anything in life, it can also be crawling with nonsense and ripe with inaccuracies. Digging through mounds of data requires tons of luck to weed out what’s important and what’s not.

Every now and then something really neat happens!

While surfing through some photography blogs from Japan, I stumbled upon a seemingly casual and offhand comment about the Yashica Lynx. I read that there are some bloggers (from Japan) who have speculated that Yashica’s super popular Lynx 35 (released around May 1960) may have had two lens suppliers during its first half-year or so of production and that there may be a way to tell if your Lynx has a lens supplied by Zunow Optical or a lens made by Tomioka Optical. These Japanese bloggers (roughly 4 or 5) plus one eBay seller from Japan, claim to have read something somewhere online that a Lynx with a body serial number that begins with “NO. xxxxxx” has one type of lens and that cameras whose body serial number begins with a Lxxxxxxx” have a different lens. They’re not talking about the lens serial numbers, just the body numbers. Naturally I was intrigued by this so I wrote my Japanese eBay colleague and asked if he could provide some hard evidence to support his claim and to give me some insight as to why they would think that. What I got were links to what appears to be multiple bloggers copying one another – No references and no additional links. Still I pressed on. I scanned hundreds of images of Zunow and Tomioka lenses and poured over the details of dozens of Yashica Lynx cameras for sale on various auction sites. I even looked at every picture of the Lynx that are posted on Flickr. My conclusion? There’s something to this!

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This Yashica Lynx was made in August of 1960 and it was the 723rd off the assembly line. This is our Lynx-1000 with the Zunow lens.

Why is any of this important? If it’s true that some of the Yashica Lynx cameras were delivered with a Zunow made f/1.8 4.5cm lens vice the more common Tomioka made f/1.8 4.5cm lens then that would make the Zunow-Yashica Lynx more valuable to collectors. Why? Rarity could be one factor. The biggest reason is because Zunow lenses (across the board) enjoy a cult-like following from collectors and those in the know. It doesn’t make sense because although Zunow made some groundbreaking lenses (f/1.1 fast!) and some very expensive lenses (LTM) they also made simple and inexpensive lenses for 8mm movie cameras and 35mm fixed lens rangefinder and viewfinder cameras too.

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Zunow lens on our Lynx-1000. Many unique features – Fully grooved focus ring without a focus lever. Simple “F / M” for feet and meters. Scale begins with 20 feet vice a typical 30 feet.

Could a Yashica Lynx with a Zunow lens outperform its Tomioka equipped cousin? Should it be worth more?

I can’t answer the first question as I’m not a techie when it comes to lens performance and the final image that a lens produces is subject to an individual’s taste and preferences. The second part I can offer something of an answer. It should be worth more as it appears that Zunow equipped Lynx cameras are few and far between compared to the much more common Tomioka versions.

 Making the Case For Zunow

So how can you tell if you have a Zunow lens on your Lynx? Number one and the single most important thing is your Lynx must have a body serial number that begins with “NO. 6xxxx or x” AND have a lens serial number that begins with “No3xxxxx”. You must have both. The biggest clue to it being a Zunow made lens is the lens serial number. Zunow throughout its short history almost always used the “No” to begin its numbers. It didn’t matter who the lens was made for or if it was a Zunow branded lens – The “No” is the clue. If your lens has this type of serial number then you have a Zunow.

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A Zunow lens on the left and a Tomioka lens on the right. Note the simple differences in the two serial numbers.

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Close-up of the Zunow lens. The serial number will always begin with “No” and then 6 or 7 digits beginning with “3”. Also note the style of the “a”.

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Close-up of the Tomioka lens showing a typical Tomioka (and Yashica) style serial number. Note the style of the “a’.

Examples of other Zunow Lenses

Here’s an example of a Zunow lens (below) for the Miranda T. – Same Zunow style serial number.

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This is a 1956 Miranda T. Notice the fancy “f” in “f=5cm”. That was typical for Zunow in the first half of the 1950s. Sharp eyed readers will notice a small wrinkle in my theory. Look at the way “Japan” is written on this Zunow Miranda T lens and then compare it to the way “Japan” is written on the Tomioka Lynx lens above. Pretty darn close… But, both “a’s” in “Japan” are slightly different. Whew!

Here’s another example (below) of a Zunow lens on a Neoca-SV from around 1959 or so.

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This is essentially the same lens as the Lynx lens. Note the style of the “a”.

How to Tell Internally Between Zunow and Tomioka

The lens of the left in the image below is the Zunow – on the right is the Tomioka. It’s fairly obvious that there’s significant differences between the two lens designs and some very similar design cues too. We admit that up to this point, these are the only two Lynx lenses that we’ve taken the front lens group out of the lens barrel. ***We don’t intend to keep purchasing additional Lynx cameras with the two different style lens rings to see if they’re all like this. We would encourage our readers to do so with their Lynx and to be so kind as to share their results with us.

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The Zunow lens (left below) is about 3mm taller than the Tomioka lens on the right.

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A close-up of the Zunow pictured below reveals a very distinct lens design. For lack of better terms, it is taller and more angular.

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Tomioka lens close-up (below). For lack of better terms it’s obvious that the lens is shorter and more rounded.

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A close-up of the Zunow front lens ring (below) shows a consistent height to the numbers. A typical Zunow feature and common to others as well.

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A close-up of the Tomioka lens (below) shows a definite “high-low” style in the numbers. Small “8” and “5”. That same style is seen on some of Tomioka’s other lenses and it maintains this same style on this lens long after Zunow closed in early 1961.

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Here’s our other Yashica Lynx (below). This one was made in July 1962 and it was the 1,184th made that month. Yashica reset the serial number sequence at the start of each month during this period. Many thanks to my friend Paul Sokk for that decode! 

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L = Lynx and “2071184” decodes to: 2 = 1962, 07 = July, 1184 = 1,184th made that month.

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So in Summary

The easiest way to know if your Yashica Lynx-1000 has a lens made by Zunow is to check the lens serial number found on the front lens ring. If the serial number looks like this one below then you have a lens made by Zunow Optical for Yashica.

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If the serial number looks like the lens ring below, then your lens was made by Tomioka Optical for Yashica. Tomioka was at this time Yashica’s number one supplier of lenses going back to Yashica’s earliest days.

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This is a bold statement on our part and a pretty exciting discovery too. We never want to mislead anyone and certainly we wouldn’t post this if we weren’t sure of our conclusions.

If you find that our post doesn’t hold water, let us know and share your input and support for your theory. We’re always looking to discover something new and exciting.

Many thanks!

Chris and Carol

 

 

Fujifilm Klasse

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Fujifilm Klasse Sales Brochure

Beautiful all original sales brochure from Fujifilm (dated April 2012). This large brochure (about 21 x 30cm) is in full color and opens to a large centerfold. Packed with tons of information and features the specs direct from Fujifilm. It’s in mint new condition. Perfect for your reference collection. Mails worldwide. Ask for a shipping quote. Mails to the USA for $6.75 via USPS Priority Mail.

$20.00

 

A beautiful “wish we had” camera from Fujifilm. 

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Thanks for looking!

Chris

More Lynx – 1961

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Sharing a bit of our original Yashica Lynx sales brochure which is dated February 1961.

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This is one of our first sales brochures related to the Lynx which made its debut in mid 1960. The lens featured is a late 1960 version of the f/1.8 4.5cm Tomioka-Yashinon. This lens also appears in what looks to be the second version of the Lynx instruction booklet.

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The second part of the brochure shows the body serial number (NO. 650048) which would indicate that this camera was made in May 1960. This camera appears in other brochures and flyers throughout the camera’s run.

We believe there were two versions of the Lynx instruction booklet. The first would have been included with the release of the Lynx around May 1960. In the second version of the Yashica instruction booklet, the body serial number is obscured but the lens serial number shows clearly and it’s the same serial number as the one in this brochure. The lens SN would put it as made between September and November 1960. Thanks Paul!

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Front cover of the Yashica 35mm sales brochure dated February 1961. Note the use of the “Yashica Girl” in the lower right corner. She and two similar friends appear now and then on brochures during this period.

By the way, the listed selling price of the Lynx ( ¥22,000 ) equalled $62 USD in May of 1960.

Thanks for stopping by! Comments always welcome!

C & C

Yashica Lynx – the ‘Wildcat’ in Yashica’s den!

Chris and Carol 6 Comments

We haven’t paid much attention to rangefinder cameras here on the “Fanatic” – it’s not that we don’t find them interesting – quite the opposite, many rangefinder cameras associated with Yashica are groundbreaking and historically significant and are worthy of further research.

The Yashica Lynx – aka the Lynx-1000. It was the first in a long line of successful fixed-lens rangefinder cameras from Yashica in the early 1960s. The first Lynx was made in May 1960 based on the serial number of the camera in an early sales brochure (in English below).

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We find early sales brochures extremely helpful when attempting to place a date of production of a camera. In this case, the serial number NO. 650048 would indicate that the Lynx was first produced in May 1960 (6 = 1960, 5 = May, 0048 = number 48th made).

This early box (below) confirms that Yashica referred to the camera as just the Lynx vice Lynx-1000 when it was first released. The success of the Lynx paved the way for the subsequent versions of the camera.

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Yashica Lynx Box 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to get a Lynx mainly because of the reputation of its fast Yashinon f/1.8 4.5cm lens. The Lynx we received (below) has a working shutter and super clean glass. The camera’s exposure meter does not work which is typical for these nearly 60-year-old cameras.

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An overall clean example but missing an important piece – the rangefinder window is obviously missing with some damage visible to the internal pieces of the finder (top center above the lens).

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Our camera was produced in August 1960 and was the 723rd made.

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This lens (our camera) features a unique serial number (only 6 digits long) and is in a font that’s not consistent with earlier versions or versions that came later. We feel that this type of lens was made by Zunow Optical vice Tomioka Optical.

The lens on the Yashica Lynx has earned high praise and its reputation amongst photographers is top-notch. For the time period having a fast f/1.8 aperture combined with a leaf shutter (Copal-SV) with a top speed of 1/1000 second was a nice feature in a low-cost rangefinder.

***There is some chatter on more than a few Japanese blogs that some of the earliest lenses for the Lynx were made by the Zunow Optical Company. The majority of the lenses were made by Yashica’s normal lens maker, Tomioka Optical of Tokyo. No verifiable references or links are given in these Japanese blogs as to the source(s) of this claim – it would appear that at this time it may be a case of one blogger makes the claim and others simply followed suite. We’re not disputing these claims, in fact, we’re intrigued by them and have set out to either prove or disprove them. Zunow has an interesting place in the Japanese camera industry of the 1950s. In early 1958, Zunow made one of Japan’s first modern 35mm SLR cameras with a semi-automatic lens and instant return mirror. Interestingly the Zunow 35 and the Yashica Pentamatic 35 (Yashica’s first 35mm SLR –  1959) share a related look and design style that goes beyond coincidence. More on this in another post.

Back to Zunow Optical and the possible connection to the Lynx. Below is an example of a very similar looking f/1.8 4.5cm lens from Zunow made in about 1959 and was fixed to the Neoca-SV.

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Zunow f/1.8 4.5cm lens on the Neoca-SV. Compare the lens ring font with the font on the Yashinon lens pictured earlier in this post. To us, these were made by the same manufacturer.

One of the biggest clues for us that some of the Japanese bloggers claim that Zunow and Tomioka made the lenses for the Lynx are the similarities of the serial number fonts. The lens with the serial number No 40450 (Zunow pictured above) is in the same style as the serial number on our Yashinon lens (No359708). We have another Lynx headed our way with what we feel is a Tomioka version of the lens. We’ll take both lenses apart to see if there are differences in the design.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have additional information about anything we’ve blogged about please feel free to contact us. We’re never too old to learn something new!

Chris and Carol ^.^

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Zunow lens on the Neoca-SV

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Zunow? lens of the Yashica Lynx.

 

Yashica Pentamatic I & II – 1960

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The original Pentamatic ’35’ and the Pentamatic II. The original Pentamatic made its debut in March 1960 and was first available for sale in  April 1960 (production started in December 1959). The Pentamatic II was rushed into production in August 1960 and was only for sale in Japan. The only change between the two cameras… was the lens!

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The P1 (left) came with the Auto Yashinon f/1.8 5.5cm lens. The P2 (right) came with the Auto Yashinon f/1.7 5.8cm lens. The goal of Yashica was to improve on the semi-automatic operation of the lens over the standard lens on the P1.

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Serial numbers. The SN on the top camera is on the original Pentamatic camera body. The number, NO. 126013189 contains a date code and production sequence number. This camera was made in December 1960 and was the 13,189th camera made. The bottom camera’s serial number (Pentamatic II), NO. 126004171 decodes to: December 1960 and it was the 4,171st made since August 1960 (the start of production on the P2). 

So both of the cameras were in production at the same time in the same factory. We’re highly confident in our analysis of the serial numbers. We have enough examples in our database and enough experience in decoding Yashica serial numbers to say that we are 100% correct.

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The whole process of releasing the Pentamatic II was rushed – the top plates were only slightly modified to accommodate squeezing in the “II”. The engraving was moved about 1 mm to the left so as to have room to engrave the “II”. On the back of the camera it only took a change in the serial number engraving to reflect the P2.

The Pentamatic II didn’t get any upgrades to the body… no self-timer and no hot shoe. The lens is a totally different lens and we’ll cover those differences in our next post.

Thanks for your visit!

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W

Chris

First Look… Yashica Pentamatic II – Finally!!!

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

After years of searching, we’ve finally acquired our first Pentamatic II. A rather rare camera that was only released in Japan and only for a short time. It’s estimated (by us) that less than 6,000 bodies were made. How many of those survived to the present day is of course unknown.

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Much more detail about this Pentamatic coming soon.

Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9000W

Chris

Newest Pentamatic – another fine Yashica joins the family.

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A recently acquired Yashica Pentamatic for our collection. This one came to us from a fellow collector here in the southeast US.

This one includes the Auto Yashinon 5.5c f/1.8 lens that puts the lens as a very late production model (maybe mid 1961). Here’s a chance to check out our Pentamatic from many angles.

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The angled shutter release button is in a perfect position for maintaining a solid grip on this heavy body while releasing the shutter.

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The lens serial number, No. 60521000 is unique in the fact that it’s a whole number (21000).

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The cold shoe is mounted on the camera’s left side top plate. Actually a very good spot for it.

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This unique lever controls the rewind knob which pops up from under the cold shoe (it moves from the “A” position).

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The body serial number, NO. 126013189 decodes to: 12 = December, 60 = 1960, 13189 = 13,189th made since December of 1959.

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The lever is now in the “O” position which allows the back to be unlocked.

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Pulling up the rewind knob completes the opening.

Our love affair with this fine camera continues. We just can’t get over the clean lines and excellent design.

If you want to acquire a nice Pentamatic for your own collection, they come up occasionally on US online auction sites and infrequently on auction sites in Japan. Nice examples can be had for under $50. Super nice examples will go closer to $100 with some guarantee of functionality from the seller.