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Post: 1,925 (524 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on May 2, 2021 12:29:38 GMT
Posted: May 2, 2021 12:29:38 GMT
This is one of Yashica's popular triple-turret 8mm cameras - the Yashica 8C. It improves on earlier models which used clockwork motors through the provision of an electric drive which was powered by 4 AA cells.  Yashica 8CMetering was via a selenium cell mounted above the turret. This was something of a budget model as instead of using three D-Mount Yashinon lenses, it used f1.8 Yashinon converter lenses for its 6.5, 10 and 25mm settings. These all had matching viewfinders. It had only a single filming speed of 16 fps. In 1962 in the UK, it sold for £37 5s 6d making it a mid-range model from Yashica's broad stable of move-cameras. |
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on May 2, 2021 23:04:24 GMT
Last Edit: May 2, 2021 23:10:15 GMT by lumiworx
There's a couple of oddities on this one. The brochure (and maybe the box) has "Yashica 8C", but the label on the camera just has "Yashica-C". There's also the battery issue on this one that doesn't affect it's sibling, the 8-E III, (w/ clock drive). I don't have any manual to know exactly what battery setup is used, but it's an odd size compartment with 2 very large contact terminals. Then again, it may have a secondary battery box that's gone missing.  |
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Group: Moderator
Post: 1,925 (524 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on May 3, 2021 11:29:11 GMT
Posted: May 3, 2021 11:29:11 GMT
Hi lumiworx, Your camera is missing the battery holder which contains the 4 AA cells and has two terminals on the top which contact the two you can see in the battery compartment. Although I don't believe the battery box was listed as an accessory, I know that quite a few people bought spare ones from their respective distributors to minimise downtime when batteries started failing; so much quicker to have loaded the cells into a holder in advance of filming and simply switch the old one out rather than having to remove it, take out the batteries and then load new ones. I had an uncle who was a keen amateur and enjoyed flying to Africa to film wildlife; he used to take 5 battery holders and about 40 AA batteries when he was packing his luggage along with a few dozen rolls of film. He eventually graduated from Yashica 8mm gear to shooting 16mm; sadly only two of his 8mm reels which were filmed back in the mid-sixties have survived but in one of them there's footage, shot presumably by his guide, of him running for his life towards the vehicle as he was being charged by a rhino. I never knew Uncle Bob could run that fast... |
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Group: Administrator
Post: 1,289 (283 liked)
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Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
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on May 3, 2021 12:09:37 GMT
Posted: May 3, 2021 12:09:37 GMT
Thanks biggles3 ... It occurred to me as I was typing it out that there might logically be something missing, so it's nice to know there wasn't a rather abrupt change from (or, to) some proprietary block battery that's gone the way of the Mercury types. The camera has a good capstan roller, but lacking power there's no way to know if it's still working. The top-mounted meter still seems to be reacting to light just fine, but I've yet to check it for accuracy. I might try to rig something up as a temporary power source to give it a quick test. At least I'll know if it's worth searching out another holder. The 8-E III's capstan might as well be made of peanut brittle, so it's unlikely to ever get put back in service. I haven't even tried to wind it and tempt fate that it would still run, so it's relegated to being a photo model or maybe a parts or lens donor at some point after I do a family photo. Sounds like Uncle Bob might have been weighted down too much with batteries and film to chance outrunning a rhino. |
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