You never know.

November 8, 2021November 8, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Collecting is a powerful motivator. When I first listed this wonderful collection of boxes for the Canon AE-1 Program I thought it would be a perfect fit for someone looking to round out their Canon collection. I know I try very hard to collect classic cameras with their original boxes as I like the look of a camera with its box. Silly I know but fun!

Whenever I buy large collections locally I’m always looking for orphaned boxes – boxes that their cameras are long ago sold or in some cases, stolen. I picked up this super clean box set and listed it in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com with the hope that it would find a new home. It did and what surprised me the most is that it was sold to a collector in France. Postage and VAT were incredible (nearly $75) on top of the sale price I had it listed for. Powerful motivation. But I’ve done the same purchasing nice boxes from Japan to add to my collection. Actually, when you think about it I’m just a worldwide recycler! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! – Chris

Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.

Awesome Yashica collectible!

October 27, 2021October 27, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I’ve just added a really hard-to-find Yashica collectible in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – pop on over and check it out.

It’s in very nice condition showing no signs of use. It’s from around 1966 or so when Yashica introduced the Electro 35 camera. A mat like this would be typically used by a camera dealer to place on a countertop to show and protect the camera he was showing to a customer. It’s about 16.25 by 10.50 inches. The raised gold letters look as bright and shiny as new.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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.

Just Arrived!

October 20, 2021October 20, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hello all! These really neat items have just been added in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

The green and tan Canon camera bag is a classic in design and function. Mine is still new in mint unused condition and has been in my Canon collection since new. As I continue to downsize my collections of stuff I’m making it available in my shop just in time for Christmas gift giving. I’ve also listed a few of my Disney collectible camera straps in a variety of styles and colors. All of these straps are also in mint unused condition. The purple and black Walt Disney World camera bag is from the late 1990s and it’s never been used. It’s actually got a tag that states it is a camcorder bag!

There are lots of eclectic things from my collections listed in my shop so if you’re interested pop on over to http://www.ccstudio2380.com and take a look. Have a great day!

Monday Picks – new cameras in my camera shop!

October 18, 2021October 18, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Happy Monday! I’ve added some new cameras and photo gear in my online camera shop hosted by Etsy at http://www.ccstudio2380.com over the weekend. Take advantage of these awesome finds at a 10% discount. I mail worldwide.

You’ll find an exciting array of cameras, collectibles, lenses, and photo gear in the shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Sigma Minolta 100-300mm Zoom

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I discovered this wonderful lens locally as it was for sale by the original owner. This one was mated to a Minolta Maxxum 7000i 35mm SLR film camera (1988).

Awesome auto-focus telephoto zoom lens with a Minolta mount.

It’s a large lens with a wide zoom range – not heavy so it’s a joy to use.

I have this lens in my online camera shop and I’ll be listing the Minolta Maxxum 7000i shortly.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Happy SUNday! – Camera straps, Disney, and Olympics!

September 19, 2021September 19, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Happy Sunday to all… I’ve got a few camera straps for sale in my Etsy Camera Shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

If you’re a fan of Disney then I’ve got you covered!

How’s this for a in your face Minnie Mouse camera strap? It’s actually one of the hardest Disney straps to get here in the US as it was only available for a short time in Japan. It’s brand new (unused) in its original retail package from the Disney Store, Japan.

This one I don’t have the original package but it’s still unused and in mint new condition.

Rare “plain” classic Canon camera strap. These straps are always in high demand by collectors but few have survived totally unused and still new like this one.

Includes the HTF leather strap protectors (body savers).

A genuine Canon fanny pack from the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. This one is still new, never used! Holds a large SLR or DSLR and at least two lenses.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!

Yashica 635 – Yashica’s dual format camera

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In my opinion, Yashica was the hands down leader in producing twin-lens reflex cameras starting in the early 1950s right up until the mid 1980s when the last TLR rolled off the assembly lines. In between there were some very important milestones achieved by Yashica. One of which is the Yashica 635. My good friend Paul Sokk has an excellent site dedicated to everything you’d ever want to know about Yashica so I’d invite you to visit his 635 pages at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage6.html#yashica635

Yashica 635 Instruction Booklet back cover.

One way to figure out when Yashica may have printed an instruction booklet is by the date code in this case printed on the lower left on the back cover. Not all instruction booklets released by Yashica had an obvious date code but in my experience quite a few did especially from the mid-1960s onward. In this example the 691 D 5Y 16 contains the date. I have high confidence that the 691 indicates the year and month 1969 January.

In this example, the serial number begins with 9 and the date code is ***691*** from the cover pictured above.

Here are a couple of additional examples (below).

In the example above, 673 is simply decodes to 1967 March which the hand written serial number 7041480 bears out. The first digit 7 is the year that camera was made. Typically cameras sat around in camera shops or distributer’s warehouses for a while before they were sold. This camera wasn’t sold until January 1969. TLRs were not as popular by the late 1960s as the rise in popularity of the 35mm SLR cut into sales in a big way. I’m sure this camera was heavily discounted by the time it sold.

So pull out your Yashica Instruction Booklets and have a go at “dating” your camera. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll learn. Feel free to contact me here for a go at your camera and instruction booklet. BTW, Canon was fantastic at printing easy to decode dates on their booklets and in their cameras, lenses, and accessories.

New items in my Camera Shop for September

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I’ve added some really unique and rare items in my online Camera Shop which is hosted by Etsy at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Lots more to see at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Sears Super 8 Movie Camera

September 6, 2021September 6, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Late 1970s technology, plastic wood trim and all!

Why would you put fake woodgrain on a camera? Too funny but so 70s.

Takes Super 8 silent movie film cartridges.

It has a pretty good lens and features automatic exposure control with its TTL reflex design.

Made in Japan by Bell & Howell (B&H Model 2146 XL).

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day (no better yet, awesome day!)

It’s just a box

August 7, 2021August 7, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Chasing boxes — sounds pretty lame and it is in the big picture of collecting classic and vintage cameras but a camera box from the early 1960s can be either a rat or a gem after all these years. They’re just colorful cardboard with some stickers here and there after all and cardboard doesn’t do well if stored improperly. Moisture, bugs, sunlight, heat, pollution and crushing are just a few of the nasty things that can degrade 40, 50, and 60 year-old cardboard.

So, knowing all of the things that are stacked against finding a collectible camera box I’m happy to say that this one is a pleasant surprise. It’s far from perfect but it’s still very nice (no not so funny smells either).

My best guess is that this box was made in late 1962 based on the serial number of the camera that’s written on the bottom of the box.

Originally the area that’s blacked out said 50mm f1.4 lens but a previous owner carelessly modified the box when the body was separated from the lens when sold.

Here’s the camera that came with the box (a nice bonus). The box is nice because the camera is in near mint condition and is fully functional. The Canon Model 7 accepts LTM screw-in lenses from Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Leica, and a bunch of others. The bayonet part around the opening was designed to accept Canon’s ‘dream lens’ the 50mm f/0.95 which you can discover more about it at https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/s43.html

So there you have it… another aspect to collecting classic film cameras, collecting the boxes that went with them. Most people dispose of the camera box right after they took their new camera out of the box (I’m guilty) and some left the original box at the camera shop when they took their camera home (not guilty).