was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and film editing equipment active from 1949 until 2005 when its then-owner,

Kyocera is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power genera ...

, ceased production. It acquired the lens manufacturer Tomioka (Tomioka Optical Co., Ltd). In 2008, the Yashica name reappeared on cameras produced by the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

–based MF Jebsen Group. In 2015, trademark rights were transferred to Yashica International Company Limited and appointed 100 Enterprises International Group Co. Limited as Yashica Global Sole Agent.

History

The company began in December 1949 in Nagano, Japan, when the Yashima Seiki Company was founded with an initial investment of $566.Heiberg, Milton, ''The Yashica Guide, A Modern Camera Guide Series Book'', New York: Amphoto Press, , p. 10 Its eight employees originally manufactured components for electric clocks.Heiberg, p. 10 Later, they began making camera components, and by June 1953 had introduced their first complete camera, the Yashimaflex, a

twin-lens reflex A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" (the lens that takes the picture), while the other is used for the viewfinde ...

(TLR) medium-format camera designed for 6x6 cm medium format film. While the Yashimaflex used lenses labeled ''Tri-Lausar'', successive models used ''Yashikor'' and ''Yashinon'' lenses. All of these lenses were manufactured for Yashica by the

Tomioka Optical Works Tomioka may refer to: * Tomioka, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture ** Tomioka Station, a railway station *Tomioka, Gunma, a city in Gunma Prefecture **Tomioka silk mill * Tomioka Castle * (born 1964), professional shogi player A profess ...

, beginning a relationship that lasted for many years. Late in 1953, Yashima Seiki Company became Yashima Optical Industry Company, Ltd. In 1957, Yashima founded Yashica, Inc., a subsidiary arm in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to manage marketing efforts in the United States. 1957 also marked the introduction of a popular new TLR camera series, the Yashica Mat line., as well as an 8mm cine movie camera. Yashima continued to grow, with 1,982 employees by 1958 when it changed its name to Yashica Company, Ltd, on acquiring the Nicca Camera Company, Ltd. The Nicca acquisition was fortunate, as the designs acquired assisted Yashica in expanding its product line into advanced 35 mm rangefinder cameras. The

Yashica Pentamatic was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and film editing equipment active from 1949 until 2005 when its then-owner, Kyocera, ceased production. It acquired the lens manufacturer Tomioka (Tomioka Optical Co., Ltd). In 2008, the Yashica ...

, an advanced, modern 35 mm

Single Lens Reflex In photography, a single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a mirror and prism system to allow photographers to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. SLRs became the dominant design for professional a ...

(SLR) camera with a proprietary bayonet-mount, automatic diaphragm (offered only with the ''Auto Yashinon'' 50mm/1.8 lens), and interchangeable lenses, was introduced in 1959. As before, Yashica continued to source its lenses from the Tomioka Optical factory. Around 1959–1960, Yashica acquired the assets of the bankrupt Zunow Optical Industry Co. Ltd. Though a small company, Zunow had become known for limited production of a very advanced 35 mm SLR camera, along with several high-quality, fast 35 mm camera and 8mm cine (movie) lens designs and a proprietary bayonet-mount lens system similar to that of Yashica Pentamatic. With the assistance of Tomioka Optical Works, Yashica adapted Zunow lens designs into its own 8mm turret cine (movie) cameras. Yashica frII

Like Zunow, Yashica found it difficult to gain market acceptance with its proprietary SLR lens mount, and redesigned its SLR camera line in 1962 to accept the

Contax Contax (stylised as CONTAX in the Yashica/Kyocera era) began as a German camera model in the Zeiss Ikon line in 1932, and later became a brand name. The early cameras were among the finest in the world, typically featuring high quality Carl Zeis ...

/Praktica

M42 lens mount The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread ...

.Reynolds, Clyde, ''The Contax RTS and Yashica SLR Bayonet and Screw Mount Book'', New York: Focal Press (1978), , pp. 10, 24 The new SLR camera was introduced as the Penta J. In December 1965, Yashica introduced the world's first commercially successful electronically controlled 35 mm camera, the

Yashica Electro 35 The Electro 35 is a rangefinder camera made by Japanese company Yashica from the mid-1960s with a coupled and fixed 1:1.7 45 mm lens. It was the first electronically controlled camera, operating mainly in an aperture priority 'auto' mode. The ...

, a popular

rangefinder camera A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder, typically a split-image rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. Most v ...

that in various model subvariants eventually sold 8 million units. The company continued to expand its international markets, and in August 1968, Yashica acquired its lens manufacturer, the Tomioka Optical and Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (later renamed the Tomioka Optical Co. Ltd.). By this time, Tomioka was one of the largest and most reputable lens manufacturers in Japan. Sales of 35 mm SLRs continued to grow steadily, and Yashica was quickly acquiring a reputation for both electronic camera expertise and high-quality optics. 1968 also marked the year of Yashica's last major TLR camera design, the Yashica Mat-124, a popular model which combined some of the best features of Yashica's earlier TLR cameras. In 1968, Yashica introduced the TL Electro-X 35 mm

single lens reflex In photography, a single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a mirror and prism system to allow photographers to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. SLRs became the dominant design for professional a ...

(SLR) camera and produced it until 1974. It had a

screw thread A screw thread is a helical structure used to convert between rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a ''straight'' thread and t ...

lens mount A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the System camera, body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder ...

, the

, for its interchangeable lenses. It also had an all-electronic

through-the-lens In photography, through-the-lens metering (TTL metering) refers to a feature of cameras whereby the intensity of light reflected from the scene is measured through the photographic lens, lens; as opposed to using a separate metering window or exter ...

exposure meter in the viewfinder using lighted arrows (not true LEDs, which were first introduced with the Fujica ST801). The

Copal Copal is a tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree '' Protium copal'' ( Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includ ...

Square SE shutter, a vertically-travelling metal blade focal plane shutter made by Copal Corporation, used in the camera, was electronically controlled. In 1970, Yashica introduced their final TLR camera, the Yashica Mat-124G, perhaps the most evolved of the TLR variants.
Brooklyn Film Camera: Yashicamat 124G
', retrieved 14 May 2022 Like several of the earlier versions it featured a built in light meter. Settings to the shutter speed and aperture had to be made manually but it allowed the camera to be used without an additional handheld meter. The 124G allowed conversion from 120 roll film to 220 roll film. Another improvement was the film advance lever, which now controlled both shutter and film advance. In 1972, Yashica introduced the TL Electro 35 mm SLR camera which was similar to the

Pentax Spotmatic The Pentax Spotmatic refers to a family of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras manufactured by the Asahi Optical Co. Ltd., later known as Pentax Corporation, between 1964 and 1976. All Pentax Spotmatics used the M42 screw-thread lens mount which ...

camera made by the Asahi Optical Company (

Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...

). The TL Electro also used a lighted exposure meter display similar to that in the TL Electro-X, as well as the M42 screw threaded

for its interchangeable lenses.

Collaboration with Carl Zeiss and Contax

In 1973, Yashica the company began ''Top Secret Project 130'', a collaboration with Carl Zeiss that produced the RTS (for "real time system"), a new, professional 35 mm SLR with an electronically controlled shutter bearing the

brand. A new prestige line of Yashica/Contax lenses designed by Carl Zeiss was introduced for the camera, with a common C/Y bayonet mount allowing lens interchange between all 35 mm Contax and Yashica SLR camera models. The F. Alexander Porsche Group was hired to complete an ergonomic and styling study of the new camera. The new Contax RTS appeared at

photokina Photokina is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and since 1966 it has been held biennially in Septemb ...

in 1974, and became a commercial success. Yashica soon introduced several new 35 mm SLR cameras beginning with the FX-1 (1975) and FX-2 (1976). Also in that year, in response to the success of the Contax RTS, Yashica developed the upscale Yashica FR using some of the features of the RTS, including its electromagnetic shutter release. The FR was capable of using the entire range of Carl Zeiss T* lenses. In contemporaneous tests, the FR was described as being tougher in some ways than the more expensive Contax RTS, including better sealing against dust and contaminants. This practice of "pairing" similar Contax models with more affordable, less full-featured, but still high-quality Yashica models would continue for the next ten years. The FR was quickly followed in April 1977 by the FR-I and FR-II. The FR-I was a 35 mm SLR offering even more features of the RTS, including an electronic shutter with both manual and aperture priority modes, and marked the high point for the Yashica brand in competing with Nikon, Canon, and Minolta for the semi-professional SLR camera market. FX3S2000

In 1979, Yashica introduced a new inexpensive 35 mm consumer SLR, the FX-3, intended for entry-level buyers.''Yashica's FX-3: Basic, Black, And Beautiful'', Modern Photography, January 1980, pp. 116-120 Designed and manufactured to Yashica specifications by

Cosina is a manufacturer of high-end Optics, optical glass, optical precision equipment, cameras, video and electronic related equipment, based in Nakano, Nagano, Nakano, Nagano prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. History Cosina is the successor ...

, the affordable FX-3 still incorporated the C/Y lens mount that would also accept Carl Zeiss T* lenses.McKeown, James M., ''McKeown's Price Guide To Antique & Classic Cameras 2005-2006'', Grantsburg, WI: Centennial Photo Service (2004), This simple, lightweight manual-exposure SLR camera sold well, and with minor revisions, stayed in production until 2002.

Kyocera era

In October 1983, Yashica Company Ltd. was acquired by ceramics giant

(Kyoto Ceramics). Initially, the merger resulted in few outward changes. The manual-focus (MF) FX-103 Program, introduced in 1985, continued the "pairing" tradition of high-end Yashica SLR models with Contax (Contax 159 mm), and was the first Yashica SLR with TTL flash and full programmed exposure capabilities. After 1983, all Yashica brand cameras were marketed by Kyocera, which also made newer Contax cameras. By 1985, the company was facing intense market competition from other manufacturers, especially

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated ...

, which had introduced a competitively priced and advanced autofocus 35 mm SLR camera. Yashica eventually introduced its own autofocus 35 mm SLR camera line that was overpriced and poorly marketed in comparison to its competition. In response, Kyocera gradually repositioned the brand as a budget-priced

point-and-shoot camera A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera (either film or digital) designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic syste ...

line, moving production from Japan to Hong Kong, and discontinued high-end SLR camera production. In 2005, Kyocera halted production on all Contax, Yashica, and other Kyocera-branded film and digital cameras.Djudjic, Dunja,
Yashica Teases A New Product Four Years After Y35 Digifilm Fiasco
', 3 January 2022, retrieved 14 May 2022

The New Yashica Corporation

In 2008, Kyocera sold the trademark rights of Yashica Inc. to Hong Kong-based MF Jebsen Group, and is under its

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

JNC Datum Tech International, Limited. In late 2017, Yashica announced a digital camera, the Y35 DigiFilm camera, which raised $1.28 million on Kickstarter. The Y35, styled to resemble the old Yashica Electro 35 film camera, incorporated 'digifilm' – interchangeable faux 35 film canisters that set a precise combination of ISO and size aspect ratios. However, many owners reported multiple issues with design and functionality. Yashica's products from JNC Datum Tech International have included digital cameras, digital camcoders,

digital photo frame A digital photo frame (also called a digital media frame) is a picture frame that displays digital photos without the need of a computer or printer. The introduction of digital photo frames predates tablet computers, which can serve the same p ...

s, portable DVD players, digital audio players, digital voice recorders,

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

, mobile phones,

SD card Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of portable consumer electronics, including dig ...

s, and 35mm films.

Camera models 1949–2005

TLRs

*Pigeonflex (1953) *Yashimaflex (1953) *YashicaFlex (1953) *MolfoReflex (1953) *Yashicaflex A, AS I & II (1954) *Yashica C (1955) *Yashicaflex Rookie (1956) *Yashica B (1957) *Yashica LM (1957) *Yashica-Mat (1957) *Yashica A (1958), D (1958) *Yashica 44 (1958) *Yashica-D (1958) *Yashica 635 (1958) *Yashica Auto (1959) *Yashica Mat LM (1959) *Yashica 44LM (1959) *Yashica 44A (1960) *Yashica Mat EM (1964) *Yashica E (1964) *Yashica 24 (1965) *Yashica 12 (1967) *Yashica-Mat 124 (1968) *Yashica-Mat 124 G (1970) *Yashica-Mat 124 B (1975) (Brazil-only export variant of 124G, no exposure meter)

35 mm rangefinder

* Electro 35 *Electro 35 FC *Electro 35 CC *Electro 35 MC *Electro 35 CCN *Electro 35 GL *Electro 35 GS *Electro 35 GSN *Electro 35 GT *Electro 35 GTN *Electro 35 GX *Yashica 35 *Yashica 35-f *Yashica Minister II *Yashica Minister III *Yashica 35J *Yashica EE * Yashica Lynx *Yashica MG-1 *Yashica Minimatic C *Yashica Minimatic S *Yashica Minimatic EL *Yashica Minister 700 *Yashica Minister D *Yashica Campus

35 mm SLR cameras

Fixed lens

*Dental Eye I *Dental Eye II *Dental Eye III/Medical Eye (Only Japan)

Yashica proprietary bayonet mount

*Yashica Pentamatic *Yashica J-3 *Yashica TL Electro-X *Yashica 300 AF *Yashica Pentamatic *Yashica Pentamatic II *Yashica Pentamatic S

M42 screw thread mount

*Yashica Penta J *Yashica J-3 *Yashica J-4 *Yashica J-5 *Yashica J-P *Yashica J-7 *Yashica Electro-AX *Yashica TL *Yashica TL-E *Yashica TL Electro *Yashica TL Electro-X *Yashica TL Electro-X ITS *Yashica TL Super *Yashica FFT

Contax/Yashica (C/Y) bayonet mount

*FR *FR-I *FR-II *FX-1 *FX-2 *FX-3 *FX-3 Super *FX-3 Super 2000 *FX-7 *FX-7 Supe
Yashica FX-7 Super
*FX-8 (Only China) *FX-70 *FX-80 (Only China) *FX-103 *FX-800 Super (Only China) *FX-A (less than 1400 pieces Only US & Europe) Yashica FX-A Winder 1

*FX-D *FX-D SE *107MP/TR-7000/Revue AC-7/DAEWOO 107MP *108MP/Revue AC-8/YODOBASHI CAMERA (Japan Only) *109MP

Autofocus SLR (Kyocera/Yashica mount)

*200AF *210AF (Kyocera Brand Only) *230AF *270AF/230 Super *300AF

Compact 35 mm

*Yashica AF-J *Yashica AF-J 2 *Yashica AF-J 3 *Yashica auto focus *Yashica auto focus motor *Yashica auto focus motor D *Yashica Auto Focus Motor II *Yashica LAF *Yashica Lynx *Yashica MF-2 *Yashica MF-2 super *Yashica MF-3 *Yashica MF-3 super *Yashica 35-ME *Yashica 35-MF *Yashica 35-MC *Yashica MG-2 AutoFlash *Yashica Motor J *Yashica Partner *Yashica Partner AF *Yashica T *Yashica T-Zoom / T4 Zoom / Kyocera T-Zoom *Yashica T2 / Kyocera T *Yashica T3 / Kyocera T Scope *Yashica T3 Super / Kyocera T Scope2 *Yashica T4 / T4 (Safari Edition) *Yashica T4D / Kyocera Slim T / Slim T (Safari Edition) *Yashica T4 Super / T5 *Yashica T4 Super D / T5D / Kyocera T *Yashica Kyocera EZ Junior

Compact Digital

*Kyocera DA-1 (1996) *Yashica KC-350(1997) *Yashica KC-600(1997) *Kyocera VP-110 CMOS Camera(1997) *Yashica Samurai 1300DG (1998) *Yashica Samurai 2100DG (1999)

Super 8mm movie camera

* Yashica Super YXL-1,1 * Yashica Super YXL-100 * Yashica Super-40k * Yashica Super-50 * Yashica U-Matic Super 8 * Yashica Nicca Super 30 Electronic * Yashica Super 8 10 * Yashica Super-800 Electro

', retrieved 14 May 2022

Other products

Yashica sold various electronic devices including 8 mm film editing equipment, radios, and tape recorders.

Post-2005 camera models

*MF-1 *MF-2 *Yashica Y35 *Yashica DigiMate *Yashica DigiPix 100 *Yashica DZ-100 *Yashica Vision Night Vision Goggles *Yashica Explorer Night Vision Goggles

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
Media in Category : Yashica FX-7 Super

Yashica Electro 35 & Classic Rangefinder site

Yashica Rangefinder Camera Resource site

Yashica Cameras Price Guide
– completed auction prices.
Yashica TLR Site

Yashica Unveils Three Cameras and Two New Negative Rolls
{{Authority control Defunct manufacturing companies of Japan Defunct defense companies of Japan Photography equipment manufacturers of Japan Japanese brands 1949 establishments in Japan 1983 mergers and acquisitions