Beautiful Yashica A III Set – 1959

I’ve decided to part with my rather rare Yashica A III camera set. The A III was the last model ‘A’ that Yashica produced in that line and this one was only made between April 1959 to August 1960 with release mostly in Japan and later in Europe in very limited numbers.

This camera was made in November 1959 and features light dove gray leatherette over dark gray metal and it came with a light gray leather case. Everything about this camera is unique, especially the instruction booklet (English gent in the bowler). The booklet is over 80 pages in length and it goes way beyond giving instruction in the operation of the model A III. It includes (in English) a brief history of the beginnings of the company and the founder. I’ve never seen another copy of this booklet in all of my years of collecting Yashica products.

Yashica A III – looks almost unused.
Gray on gray. The gray leatherette is clean and stain and discoloration free.

The camera operates as it should and the optics are clean, clear, and sharp. I believe that the camera has been on display in a collection for a long time before I acquired it. The original box is in outstanding condition and unlike most boxes from that period, it is super clean and still solid. That in itself is a rare find. The gray leather case is also a rare find as it is also still in excellent condition. All of the stitching is in place and the leather is subtle and clean.

The original leather case has done an excellent job of protecting this wonderful camera.

If you are interested in purchasing my camera set I have it in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com or we can make arrangements to purchase it through this blog and PayPal. As always, 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

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Yashica L AF vs. Kyocera T Scope

In case you missed this post the first time around here’s another look at these two exceptional cameras by Yashica-Kyocera.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Round 1 – The Introduction

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.

kyocera t scope

DSCF7805 logo N.A. Scope = “New Angle Scope”

The scope is just like a waist-level finder – pretty cool actually.

DSCF7813 logo

ky and laf logo 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.

DSCF7808 logo Not often seen…

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