Stop by and see for yourself at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my studio shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com for more details and pics on these items and to see what else is on sale. – Chris
Kyocera Corporation which was previously the Kyoto Ceramic Company was not a camera maker – the founder and president Mr. Kazuo Inamori was a brilliant engineer but again, not a camera manufacturer. In early 1975, Yashica made a desperate attempt to reach out directly to the market in the US.
Mr. Shiro Kaneko was installed as the president of the Yashica Company (formerly of the trading company Nissho-Iwai) and decided to market Yashica products directly to camera dealers across the United States. He put Mr. Kenji Sakuma in charge of the US endeavor.
Reading this page you realize how much clout these two companies had in Japan and you can guess that they had a ton of money invested in Yashica.
Yashica had been on a building spree in Japan opening a new, ultra-modern factory in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture in 1972 and building a new 6-story headquarters office complex in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo and moving in by the summer of 1974. Money was flowing out of Yashica like water through a cracked dam by this point.
The new factory in Okaya in the summer of 1974. By the way, this location is still in operation and owned by Kyocera.
Yashica’s new headquarters located at 6-27-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo as it looked in mid-1974. Check out the modern furniture (colorful too) and those displays with the new Contax line and a nice display rack loaded with brochures of the day.
The picture above is taken from a recently discovered booklet published by Yashica in early 1975. I don’t see Yashica’s name anywhere on the building (they did crop the picture quite a bit) but I see Honda’s name and logo on one of the doors.
Below is the Yashica building as it appears today (2018). It’s known as the Kyocera Harajuku Building and is located in Shibuya-ku on Meiji-dori Avenue in Tokyo.
Current view of the original Yashica HQ building. Kyocera still has a presence in the building with mixed use shops occupying the ground floor. (Google Map Image)
Although Yashica continued to make cameras throughout the remainder of the decade they failed to truly innovate new designs and missed the boat on so many fronts while others (Canon, Nikon) forged ahead with large investments in exciting new cameras (Canon F-1, Canon AE-1, A-1) and new technologies. In my opinion, the build quality also suffered during this period and I personally do not collect the SLRs from this period.
The end is near. By October 1983, Yashica was fully merged with Kyocera. The once proud and independent company founded by Mr. Yoshimasa Ushiyama and his brother in 1949 was gone. I’m not 100% sure if this picture (below) is from April 1983 or from October 1983. It’s either the formal announcement by Yashica and Kyocera of the future merger or the actual merger “ceremony”.
Mr. Ryozo Endo (left) president of Yashica and the president and founder of Kyocera Mr. Kazuo Inamori. A dark day but inevitable.
Yashica-Kyocera managed to occasionally market a few hits during the late 1980s and 1990s but by the mid-2000s Kyocera stopped making cameras and soon thereafter sold the name Yashica.
Kyocera has done quite well for itself under Mr. Inamori and today they still operate out of many of the former Yashica properties. The Yashica you hear about today is not associated with the original company and the recent Yashica DigiFilm camera was an interesting attempt to do something with the Yashica name.
Thanks so much for stopping by and if you made it to this point of the post give yourself a big pat on the back! – 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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
This is the only detailed color photograph of the factory that I’ve seen. For my previous post about the factory and to see the original view from 1972 click here.
Another related post can be found at https://wordpress.com/post/yashicasailorboy.com/8052
Additionally here’s the text about the factory taken directly from the Yashica publication ‘A New Horizon’ that contained the color image of the factory pictured above.
The introduction page from the 14-page booklet ‘Yashica A New Horizon’.
Of interest, Kyocera still operates from this same location today. For the most part, it looks only slightly changed from 1972. Yashica was purchased by Kyocera in 1983 and was gone by the mid-2000s. A great company and a great name wiped out by Kyocera shortly after what would have been Yashica’s Golden Anniversary.
I’ll be posting more from this very interesting and informative booklet from Yashica soon.
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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
In case you missed this post the first time around here’s another look at these two exceptional cameras by Yashica-Kyocera.
The Yashica-Kyocera L AF from 1986 and the Kyocera T Scope (Japanese name, T3 elsewhere). The L AF was assembled in Hong Kong with parts made in Japan and the T Scope was made in Japan.
Key feature – waterproof (more like weatherproof) – not a dive camera.
N.A. Scope = “New Angle Scope”
The scope is just like a waist-level finder – pretty cool actually.
Cousins
I’ll be doing a side by side field test of these two cameras shortly. Is the T3 really worth the extra money over the Yashica? The T Scope features a Carl Zeiss T* Series Tessar f/2.8 35mm lens against the Yashica (Tomioka?) f/3.5 32mm lens. I have a hunch that the Yashica’s lens was also made by Zeiss at the Tomioka factory in Tokyo. We’ll see if the vaunted T* coating makes a noticeable difference.
Not often seen…
View original post 19 more words
Camera: Kodak EK4 Instant
Scanner: CanoScan 9000F Mark II
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by my camera studio at http://www.ccstudio2380.com for some great cameras! – 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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Beautiful Canon New FD 70-150mm Zoom Lens with original Canon caps. Fully tested on my Fujifilm X-A10 mirrorless digital camera. Flawless operation from this sharp compact Canon zoom. Easily adapts to a wide variety of digital bodies as well as the primary lens for such classics as the Canon F-1, AE-1, A-1, T70 and any FD mount body. Priced right!
Ikelite Aquashot waterproof 35mm disposable film camera case for Fujifilm and Kodak cameras. Includes all of the original boxes, instruction booklets and electronic strobe!
Complete Ikelite dive system camera equipment.
New in an open box is this hard to find Fujifilm Instax Mini 50S in Piano Black. This popular Fuji still sells for big bucks new and used but I’ve got mine priced very fairly – two brand new Panasonic CR-2 batteries included as well as the original unopened strap and unopened close-up lens attachment. Check it out!
SOLD – Thank You! SeaLife Reefmaster RC automatic exposure 35mm film camera and armored underwater housing good to 164 feet! Like new, super clean, and in mint condition. Includes the 3X Macro Lens and Color Compensating Filter, and a roll of Fujicolor. It takes (2) AA batteries. Works great above and below the water.
Very nice (and rugged) Atan nylon lens case. It’s been used but not abused. Padded inside with a drawstring closure it’s the perfect case for people on the go. Includes a super long shoulder strap. About 6.5 inches tall so it will hold a short telephoto and smaller lens.
Plus everything in the studio shop is on sale at 10% off my already low prices. I ship worldwide but if I’ve missed your country just contact me for a quote.
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Studio Camera: Fujifilm X-A10
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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Yashica’s first two TLRs – 1953 1954
Twenty years of Yashica development – 1950s 1970s
Studio Cameras: (Top) Samsung Galaxy S4 (Bottom) Sony DSC W-170
Thanks for stopping by! – Chris
BTW, my camera shop is always open at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – lots of specials!
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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
In my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – it’s on sale for $31.27 + shipping
Vintage from the 1950s
Nicca camera made one of the better 35 mm rangefinder cameras in the 1950s. The style of camera is typically referred to as a Leica copy or Leica clone which is an unfair label to attach to the cameras of this design. One could argue that all cameras are copies of some previous camera – someone had to be first.
Here’s one of my favorite cameras in my collection – the Nicca 3-S rangefinder from about 1955.
Seldom seen outside of Japan, here’s a nice lens hood with Nicca branding. It was distributed by Hinomaruya Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. The hood (or lens shade) was designed to be used with the Nikkor 50 mm f/2 lens and had a mount size of 40.5 mm.
The attention to even the smallest details is what makes collecting these vintage bits of photo gear interesting and fun. The Yashica branded lens shades from this period look exactly the same so I will assume that the same manufacturer made them all. Could it have been Hinomaruya? No proof that they actually “made” things.
The back of the leather case carries the Hinomaruya (in Japanese it’s ひのまるや) logo in a similar font as the Nicca logo (or at least close to it).
Side view of the box – the translation is “Nicca Lens Hood”.
There’s very little about the company Hinomaruya available on the web. It’s last known address was Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi 4-3 (which was just around the corner from Yashica). The company was the exclusive distributor of Nicca up until 1958 when Yashica acquired Nicca. They also distributed the rather cool Melcon 35 mm rangefinder camera and the Nikkor lenses used on both the Melcon and Nicca.
Hiromaruya in hiragana is ひのまるや
Here’s a bag that has Nicca and Hinomaruya on it. Another direct link between the two of them.
I’m not sure if they made this slide projector or if they distributed it but this item is from about 1959 – interesting because it’s a year after the Yashica acquisition of Nicca.
There are a few (very few) advertisements floating around on the web from Hinomaruya and I haven’t seen that name anywhere on paperwork from Nicca associated with the camera. It’s unknown if they handled warranty registrations and related paperwork for Nicca or Nikkor.
Thanks for stopping by and BTW, if you have additional information about Hinomaruya or Nicca please feel free to share it with me! Thanks – Chris
Studio Camera: Fujifilm X-A10
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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Have a beautiful day y’all – thanks for stopping by! – Chris
Studio Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9900W
I’ve added some new items in my camera shop this week at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Stop by and take a look as you may find that unique item that you’ve been searching for!
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.
Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 