Yashica 44 – Yashica’s first mini-TLR

They never called them that back in the day, they were just smaller than a regular TLR. A full-sized TLR shot 6×6 cm images on 120 or 220 roll films. This Yashica shot 4×4 cm images on 127 roll films.

Complete set from 1958. My set even includes a roll of exposed 127 film from the 1960s!
Dove gray leatherette on gray metal. 1958 saw the birth of the Yashica name as the company name. Prior to that, they were known as Yashima.
Tomioka made Yashikor 60mm f/3.5 taking and viewing lenses.

We continue to dive deep into our Yashica collection and are offering this gem for sale in our camera shop CC Design Studios at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. You won’t find a better fully working model of this camera anywhere. Yes, 127 film is available through many online camera and film dealers so here is an opportunity to shoot with this classic.

Includes a very rare sales brochure for this exact model. How neat is that!

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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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.

Copyright © 2015-2023 Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris (Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic), Chris Whelan
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The Yashica 44 – A ‘Tiny’ TLR

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The 44 uses 127 roll film

Yashica-44

The easier to handle Yashica 44 TLR (4×4 cm negatives and slides vice 6×6 cm) from early 1959 or so. The leatherette is “dove gray” while the metalwork is “machinery gray”. Yashica made these in about 8 different colors if you count black as a color. From the look of this sales brochure, the 44 was designed with women in mind as an alternative to the bulky and unstylish 66 models that were in use. Many of the Japanese ads from that period feature stylish modern women posing with their new cameras.

This camera has managed to travel to the present in a rather nice condition and the original light gray leather case is intact as is the original box. Many thanks to the good people at the factory in Shimosuwa for their good design and quality construction.

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A sales brochure from 1959

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The 44’s colorful original box hints at the wide variety of colors available (although not quite these colors).

Yashica also made the 44 LM which featured a built-in exposure meter (light meter) which you can read about here.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit 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.

Copyright © 2015-2019 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.