Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Sept 10, 2021 16:07:54 GMT
Posted: Sept 10, 2021 16:07:54 GMT
Harking back to the Yashica Samurai series of half-frame cameras, this is the Kyocera Samurai 2100DG - a digital model.  Samurai 2100DGThis diminutive camera, smaller than all the Yashica Samurai models, has a 2.14Mp sensor. The camera has a 4x zoom lens with an excellent macro capability and offers shutter speeds from 1/2s to 1/500s. It has a number of scene and custom modes and stores images on a CF card of up to 16Mb in capacity. It features both an optical viewfinder and a LCD Monitor screen. It measures a tiny 4" high, 5" in length and 2" in width (appx: 123x92x57mm). It's powered by a single BP-1600R 3.6v 1850mAh battery. |
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 770 (71 liked)
Join date: August 2016
Status:
|
|
on Sept 10, 2021 20:35:15 GMT
Posted: Sept 10, 2021 20:35:15 GMT
They made a few models. Great bridge concept, but there are a lot of reasons -- many unknown to me -- why it didn't "catch-on". But that was what happened with the earlier FILM Samurai cameras. GREAT concept & GREAT cameras, but.......
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Sept 11, 2021 8:56:54 GMT
Posted: Sept 11, 2021 8:56:54 GMT
They made a few models. Great bridge concept, but there are a lot of reasons -- many unknown to me -- why it didn't "catch-on". But that was what happened with the earlier FILM Samurai cameras. GREAT concept & GREAT cameras, but....... You are absolutely right. Unfortunately for Kyocera, the Samurai X4.0 and Z models were launched at the time when the global recession had struck and given their premium pricing, that would not have helped. The only piece of POS literature I have seen is a 1989 Samurai X3.0 brochure printed in Germany for the UK market. Unless you were a fairly experienced photographer, you would not immediately notice it was for a half-frame camera. At a time when getting extra 'bangs for your buck' would have been a big selling point, the notion of getting double the number of photos from every roll of film should have been front and centre. It was not even hinted at on the front cover! All to often it would seem, the guys at Yashica/Kyocera would come up with a good concept only to be let down by poor marketing. I have not yet been able to find a UK review of a Samurai camera although I'm sure its distributor would have submitted some. There are plenty of reviews in US media and they're generally positive although many find their handling a problem. Probably for people used to simple P&S or SLR cameras, they're unconventional but for me the controls fall easily to hand in the way that movie cameras do. The 2100DG may have been a casualty of the US reviews of its predecessor the 1300DG which praised its specifications but were disappointed by its image quality, especially when compared with other 1Mp cameras that were considerably cheaper. Unfortunately, I have not been able to source an instruction manual for the 2100DG so I'm not sure I'll be able to get the most out of it; it would be nice to find some POS for it too - a dealer display board, leaflet or a brochure. They're probably out there somewhere; I'll keep on looking... |
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 770 (71 liked)
Join date: August 2016
Status:
|
|
on Sept 11, 2021 12:30:14 GMT
Posted: Sept 11, 2021 12:30:14 GMT
That's ONE of the reasons I love my Samurai Z's. They fit in my right hand, it does all the work, and produces great results. OK, I can say the same thing about my Minolta MG-s, but the negatives are only half the size and I can only get 20 exposures on a roll. With the Samurai, I can get 75!!!!
As I recall, there was one digital Samurai that had a POD that the camera would attach to -- in order to transfer the images to a floppy disc. But my memory of that is as clear as mud.
I'm just glad that a large, local camera shop shut down years ago -- and had a TON of Yashica gear that they were UNLOADING at "give-away" prices. The $600 Samurais were being sold for $99, for example. I wish I had more cash-on-hand at the time -- but even if I did, I probably would have foolishly spent it on something else!!!
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 770 (71 liked)
Join date: August 2016
Status:
|
|
on Sept 11, 2021 19:13:20 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 11, 2021 19:14:14 GMT by xkaes
I forgot to mention:
(1988) When the Samurai X3.0 won the "Camera of the Year" award, Yashica decided to produce a commemorative version -- of sorts. It's the same thing as the original but it has a gold shutter release, a gold lens cap and the words "GRAND PRIX 88" in gold on the hang grip.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Sept 12, 2021 10:56:34 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 12, 2021 22:05:08 GMT by biggles3
That's ONE of the reasons I love my Samurai Z's. They fit in my right hand, it does all the work, and produces great results. OK, I can say the same thing about my Minolta MG-s, but the negatives are only half the size and I can only get 20 exposures on a roll. With the Samurai, I can get 75!!!! As I recall, there was one digital Samurai that had a POD that the camera would attach to -- in order to transfer the images to a floppy disc. But my memory of that is as clear as mud. I'm just glad that a large, local camera shop shut down years ago -- and had a TON of Yashica gear that they were UNLOADING at "give-away" prices. The $600 Samurais were being sold for $99, for example. I wish I had more cash-on-hand at the time -- but even if I did, I probably would have foolishly spent it on something else!!! The camera with the dock you recall was the Samurai Floppy V-70 which, as its name suggests, recorded images onto floppy discs that were inserted sideways through the back of the camera. The dock was required for downloading and charging the camera. When launched, the camera was $770 and the dock was sold separately for a further $220. There are some good images of this Samurai at: www.digitalkameramuseum.de/en/esvc/item/kyocera-v70Someone is trying to sell a broken one for over $900 on Ebay; I wish them good luck with that! Your later message refers to a special edition of the X3.0; thank you for that information as I had no knowledge of it. I have seen a 'United Colours of Benetton' inspired Z2 for sale (on Ebay right now for nearly $1100!) which looks ghastly and more like a child's toy than a serious camera. Its provenance is uncertain and at that price, it will probably remain unsold. Having taken a few test shots with the Samurai 2100DG, I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of some of them - colour balance in natural light is good and for an early 2Mp sensor, the overall image quality is pretty fair. Perhaps not surprisingly, AF struggles in poor light or low contrast situations; the flash is more powerful that I expected which is a bonus. I have yet to work out how to up-rate the IQ from standard resolution. If it's of interest, I can upload an image to this Forum. |
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 770 (71 liked)
Join date: August 2016
Status:
|
|
on Sept 12, 2021 15:47:18 GMT
Posted: Sept 12, 2021 15:47:18 GMT
I guess in the case of the Samurai, we should call it "the first SLOPPY camera!".
|
|
