1955/6 Yashicaflex C

Hi lumiworx ,

You make some fair points.  As for finding one in good condition and boxed, I have come to realise that the best chance to find such cameras is to go back to the source so I now spend a few hours each day searching Japanese websites and it's starting to bear fruit.

I also discovered that if you wish to start a conversation with strangers, do what I just did: take out a TLR and snap away.  During a lull in the rain, I popped out with the Yashicaflex and ran a roll of film through it; some of the fellow old-timers who were out-and-about were just pleased to see a TLR again but most of the younger people actually put down their phones (!!) to ask about this strange-looking, two-eyed box...  What had been planned as a quick 5 minutes to take a few snaps ended up taking two hours and an invitation for a coffee.  A nice way to start the weekend.

xkaes .. Yes, there indeed was a B model. In looking through Paul's pages on features for the series there's a progression of sorts through each one. It's not fair to say they occured in alphabetical order, since there were different alphabet models released in different years -but- one year's releases bettered the previous batch to some extent.. The A is the most basic, and fairly limited in some respects, with only a 1/300 shutter, no self timer, and only with Yashikor or Yashimar lenses, as an example. The A, A2 and C were the first in the series, and were released in the first wave of "Yashica" branded TLR's of 1956-57.

The B didn't show until 58', along with the D; then the E followed later in 1960. The E was the odd man out, and had the full-on electronics with its meter around the lens rim and a set speed of 1/60, and included a built-in flash (ala' the Flash-O-Set style). It was an 'Auto' camera for calculating exposures in much the same way as the Electro 35's did, and devoid of any manual override. It was the 1960's equivalent to a P&S camera.