farlymac
PF McFarland
I've been meaning to get these two examples of the last interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras made by Yashica. The process started with a YF I found in a Goodwill store with a Canon 50/1.8 attached. Unfortunately, that body and the lens were both constructive write-offs as the Canon had the dreaded fog, and the YF body was totally bunged up due to rough handling and "repairs" by the previous owner. But it was my second foray into LTM cameras (Zorki-1d was the first), and the bug really bit hard. Over the years I would eventually work my way into buying a Leica IIIf after several FSU models were accumulated. But I kept the YF replacement in mind as an excuse not to get an M mount camera. Well, that plan didn't work as eventually I acquired an M4-P, and so the Yashica LTM Project lingered again until recently.
Oh, I did manage to get a Nicca Type III-S along the way, but the shutter broke halfway through the second roll of film I put through it. And the second YF body (the one in the photo below) suffered the same fate before I even loaded it. I was getting ready for a day trip, and while dry firing the camera a shutter curtain detached itself from its drum (I already have a repair shop lined up). So, recently I had a plan to buy a Nikkor AF-S 200-500 zoom lens to use on the Z5. Nikon had dropped the price $300, and Robert's had a lovely used one for a couple hundred less. I couldn't make up my mind quick enough, and the Robert's lens got sold. Then I decided to use the money I'd budgeted for the Nikkor to fill in the final holes in my camera lines. I already had the YF body, and a Yashikor 50/2.8 that had come on another camera, so it was only a matter of getting the standard lens (Yashinon 50/1.8) for the YF, and a YE body to pair with the Yashikor.
You can read here about the Nicca line of cameras, and how Yashica bought them up to get their 35mm rangefinder expertise, which they wasted almost immediately after rebranding the Model 33 as the YE, and the Type 3L as the YF because they saw a bigger market in consumer style cameras. They did pretty good with that, but it would have been nice if they had kept at least one high-end interchangeable lens model in the line-up. I think their battles with Leica over design and naming issues kept them from pursuing the serious amateur/pro market that could have used such cameras.
End of the Line by P F McFarland, on Flickr
I'll be using the YE soon, and the YF when it comes back from the repair shop.
PF
Oh, I did manage to get a Nicca Type III-S along the way, but the shutter broke halfway through the second roll of film I put through it. And the second YF body (the one in the photo below) suffered the same fate before I even loaded it. I was getting ready for a day trip, and while dry firing the camera a shutter curtain detached itself from its drum (I already have a repair shop lined up). So, recently I had a plan to buy a Nikkor AF-S 200-500 zoom lens to use on the Z5. Nikon had dropped the price $300, and Robert's had a lovely used one for a couple hundred less. I couldn't make up my mind quick enough, and the Robert's lens got sold. Then I decided to use the money I'd budgeted for the Nikkor to fill in the final holes in my camera lines. I already had the YF body, and a Yashikor 50/2.8 that had come on another camera, so it was only a matter of getting the standard lens (Yashinon 50/1.8) for the YF, and a YE body to pair with the Yashikor.
You can read here about the Nicca line of cameras, and how Yashica bought them up to get their 35mm rangefinder expertise, which they wasted almost immediately after rebranding the Model 33 as the YE, and the Type 3L as the YF because they saw a bigger market in consumer style cameras. They did pretty good with that, but it would have been nice if they had kept at least one high-end interchangeable lens model in the line-up. I think their battles with Leica over design and naming issues kept them from pursuing the serious amateur/pro market that could have used such cameras.
End of the Line by P F McFarland, on Flickr
I'll be using the YE soon, and the YF when it comes back from the repair shop.
PF
johnf04
Well-known
Yashica used the knowledge gained from Nicca, of focal plane shutters, to develop the Pentamatic SLR range. This then morphed into an M42 lens mount line of cameras - the Pentamatic S and the Penta 35 J (M42) are almost identical, apart from the lens mount.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
People in the CCR podcast seem to be convinced that some of the lenses that came with the YF were Nikkors in disguise.
Dralowid
Michael
I had a YF when a student, I can remember nothing about its performance either good or bad though it was a nice package. Swapped it for a cloudy Summicron...
farlymac
PF McFarland
Probably because Nicca mainly used Nikkor lenses before Yashica took over, though they did have one of their own lens designs (the Nicca 50/2.8) produced for the Type 33 (which became the YE) by a different manufacturer. The lenses I have look more like what Canon made when they introduced the P.
PF