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on Feb 16, 2022 15:38:42 GMT
Posted: Feb 16, 2022 15:38:42 GMT
This is a strange one: the Yashica GD-258 A digital camera, offering an alleged 24Mp resolution.  Yashica GD-258AIt arrived without a manual or a charger which has been a might irritating. I can find no manual on the internet and its menu does not follow the same format as other models, so it's going to be a guessing game as to how to set up even its most basic features. Annoyingly, a mini-CD is in the box but it only contains a series of drivers; there is more than enough capacity to have included a pdf for the manual. Cheapskates.... Thankfully it did at least have a battery and SD card inside; I discovered that the included BP-6M battery was used in some early Nokia phones so after buying a damaged Nokia with its charger it's been possible to charge the battery and take a rudimentary snap or two. The 3x zoom uses internal focusing which is great with such a slim model - no unwieldy extending lens that can get easily knocked. One interesting thing to note is that the camera differs from the image on the box behind it; the flash is more central and there is an AF illuminator on the actual camera. Also the Yashica Europe logo is absent, with the model's provenance being exclusively identified on the lens surround. It looks probable that the 24Mp offered is achieved by using interpolation; I think that actual pixel count on the CMOS sensor is around 5-6Mp. There is no information as to the origin of the GD-285 A on the packaging or the camera. If the box is to be believed, it dates from 2011. |
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on Feb 16, 2022 19:53:12 GMT
Posted: Feb 16, 2022 19:53:12 GMT
That's a great find -- even if there were other versions.
And given the date of 2011 and the nature of the camera, the 24Mp has to be through interpolation.
That's a good find regarding the battery. But watch out for those SD cards. I've seen lots of instances -- I have one myself -- where the "locking clip" malfunctions and the card won't snap in place!
Does it have any other connections? What's on the back. What MODES does it have? Strictly automatic?
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on Feb 16, 2022 19:53:26 GMT
Posted: Feb 16, 2022 19:53:26 GMT
There doesn't seem to be a lot of info online, and I suspect that whatever there might have been has disappeared once Yashica and Kyocera shut down their respective photographic related websites. I found only one reference about the camera, where a user was searching for additional instructions in July of 2011... " Purchased a yashica gd 258a camera and instructions are very vague could anyone shed any light on how to use it as a video and also the charger only comes with a 2 prong connection". Even the usually fruitful Google image search was a total blank, so that alone suggests that this might not have been a sought after model - or it might have been released into a really limited market in very low numbers. There might be another possibility, but it's probably a very slim one. The fact that there's an obvious difference in the box image and the actual camera could suggest that whomever produced the camera screwed up the transition from design to prototype to product so badly, that someone decided to pull the plug, release whatever the first production run was to recoup whatever costs they could, and offered zero promotional help and massive price discounts to kill it off as quickly as possible. There was a glut of these things pouring into the market at the time, and I can't help but think that competition for top-tier products were pretty fierce, and many 'me-too' products quickly disappeared with little or no explanation. |
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on Feb 17, 2022 10:46:36 GMT
Posted: Feb 17, 2022 10:46:36 GMT
That's a great find -- even if there were other versions. And given the date of 2011 and the nature of the camera, the 24Mp has to be through interpolation. That's a good find regarding the battery. But watch out for those SD cards. I've seen lots of instances -- I have one myself -- where the "locking clip" malfunctions and the card won't snap in place! Does it have any other connections? What's on the back. What MODES does it have? Strictly automatic? Hi. It has a paucity of connections; just two data transfer sockets in fact: a mini-USB and a standard AV Out. The picture below shows the camera's back...  Yashica GD-285 A backThe image on the screen is actually a lot better than this piccie suggests, with natural colours and clarity evident. To discover how to access its modes may take some time as they're not obvious in the MENU settings; there may well be some strange pressing of two buttons simultaneously to reveal them. The box art refers to various flash, timer, capture and special effects functions so unless the firmware was altered, like the appearance of the camera itself, they're in there somewhere! I'll keep trying. On the Yashica EZF-827 there is a specific MODE button which brings up around a dozen different mode settings but, as you can see, not with this cam. I'll have a look at some other 5-6Mp digicams from around 2011 to see if one of a similar layout appears; if so, it may be possible to download a manual as I suspect this is merely a re-badged model. This is the first time I recall seeing that 'Memories are forever!!' strap-line for Yashica Europe. |
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on Feb 17, 2022 13:11:17 GMT
Posted: Feb 17, 2022 13:11:17 GMT
I was thinking the same thing -- that this camera, or one very similar -- might have appeared under a different name.
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on Feb 18, 2022 11:06:55 GMT
Posted: Feb 18, 2022 11:06:55 GMT
Very strange indeed! Given the last "real" Yashicas had stopped being marketed before 2007, when the name was sold off to MF Jebsen Group, was there a Yashica Europe that had any connection to Kyocera in 2007? Kyocera Yashica UK shut down quickly after the 2005 announcement by HQ that they were stopping all camera production, so who are "Yashica Europe"? By 2011 MF Jebsen had "produced" (badged?) many digital cameras under the Yashica name so did they invent the Yashica Europe name?
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on Feb 18, 2022 13:00:03 GMT
Posted: Feb 18, 2022 13:00:03 GMT
Very strange indeed! Given the last "real" Yashicas had stopped being marketed before 2007, when the name was sold off to MF Jebsen Group, was there a Yashica Europe that had any connection to Kyocera in 2007? Kyocera Yashica UK shut down quickly after the 2005 announcement by HQ that they were stopping all camera production, so who are "Yashica Europe"? By 2011 MF Jebsen had "produced" (badged?) many digital cameras under the Yashica name so did they invent the Yashica Europe name? It is a confusing picture... Jebsen used the ' Yashica innovate digital' brand for its 'Yashica' digital cameras and also other items such as the Yashica FS-501 film scanner range. Packaging always appears to have printed on it: JNC Datum Tech, International Ltd. mfJebsen Yashica Europe products carry no information on their provenance: no corporate information - just the Yashica Europe brand. This applied to cameras, memory cards and premium filters (these are the only items I have under their brand - there may be other products). I do have a country of origin for my Yashica Europe CPL 58mm filter - Japan. |
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on Feb 18, 2022 18:18:16 GMT
Last Edit: Feb 18, 2022 18:20:48 GMT by lenslover
Sadly, these cheapskate cameras have nothing with the real Yashica in common, than the name. It's just the brand name sellout, sad but true. Not being created by Kyocera. Kyocera stopped all CONTAX and Yashica activity.
I remember that day very well...it felt like a death in the family...sad, but true.
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