A unique FX-3 Super 2000 - I think...
Oct 11, 2021 11:19:52 GMT
on Oct 11, 2021 11:19:52 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 11, 2021 14:24:08 GMT by biggles3
This very interesting version of the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 arrived today - one fitted with an Instant Film back.
FX-3 Super 2000 Instant Film Back
I have never seen one like this before. It has been professionally modified; the self-timer has been removed along with any access to the battery compartment, so metering is not possible. The aluminium base support has been superbly constructed to allow the camera to be free-standing although a milled block has been inserted in that base to accommodate its tripod socket. Perhaps the most striking modification is the highly unusual placement of the X-sync socket on the top plate next to the rewind crank. There is a cut out on the top of the film back to allow unobstructed viewing through the eye-piece.
The back of the camera has a metal plate with TAC on it; there was a Japanese animation company of that name that no longer exists so it may have been produced for them. I bought this from a Japanese seller so I expect that the TAC company was either a photographic engineering company or an end user located in that country.
It's in mint condition and all the shutter speeds appear spot on. I have a few boxes of out-of-date Fuji instant film that have been in the refrigerator since purchase so I may take one out and take some piccies. The secret is not to pull the film tab all the way out after the initial exposure but just part of the way, leaving enough room for a speedy second shot before pulling it all the way out for the processing to start. Inevitably, there is a lot of wastage shooting only one or a maximum of two 24x36mm images on a film designed for medium format cameras. This was a trick I was shown in the early 1980s with the Contax Preview which was also put to good use with the NPC Forscher Backs for the Contax RTS, RTSII and RTSIII, among others.
FX-3 Super 2000 Instant Film Back
I have never seen one like this before. It has been professionally modified; the self-timer has been removed along with any access to the battery compartment, so metering is not possible. The aluminium base support has been superbly constructed to allow the camera to be free-standing although a milled block has been inserted in that base to accommodate its tripod socket. Perhaps the most striking modification is the highly unusual placement of the X-sync socket on the top plate next to the rewind crank. There is a cut out on the top of the film back to allow unobstructed viewing through the eye-piece.
The back of the camera has a metal plate with TAC on it; there was a Japanese animation company of that name that no longer exists so it may have been produced for them. I bought this from a Japanese seller so I expect that the TAC company was either a photographic engineering company or an end user located in that country.
It's in mint condition and all the shutter speeds appear spot on. I have a few boxes of out-of-date Fuji instant film that have been in the refrigerator since purchase so I may take one out and take some piccies. The secret is not to pull the film tab all the way out after the initial exposure but just part of the way, leaving enough room for a speedy second shot before pulling it all the way out for the processing to start. Inevitably, there is a lot of wastage shooting only one or a maximum of two 24x36mm images on a film designed for medium format cameras. This was a trick I was shown in the early 1980s with the Contax Preview which was also put to good use with the NPC Forscher Backs for the Contax RTS, RTSII and RTSIII, among others.
