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on Aug 25, 2021 0:47:17 GMT
Posted: Aug 25, 2021 0:47:17 GMT
I assume it does, but then... greener grass, other pastures. [Michael Corleone] : "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
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on Aug 25, 2021 16:07:59 GMT
Posted: Aug 25, 2021 16:07:59 GMT
While trying to update the Yashica Half-frame list, I keep running into a "Yashica Half 17 Deluxe". The only user manuals I can find -- including Butkus -- only have a manual for the Yashica Half 17 DeLuxe, and not the Yashica Half 17. I can't see a difference in the user manual, and I can't find a picture of a camera marked "Yashica Half 17 DeLuxe". Is this just another example of the camera manual or camera box having a different designation than the camera itself? Is the Yashica Half 17 DeLuxe really just a Yashica Half 17 -- or should the Yashica Half 17 really be called the Yashica Half 17 DeLuxe?
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on Aug 25, 2021 17:27:18 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2021 17:34:27 GMT by lumiworx
Here's what I have in my lists. I don't have any of them or their manuals, so I can't offer much in the way of verifying them visually or physically.
Yashica Electro Half : 1965
Yashica Half 17 : 1965
Yashica Half 17 EE Rapid : 1965
Yashica Half 17 Rapid : 1965
Yashica Half 14 : ????
Yashica Rapide : 1961
Yashica Sequelle : 1962
Those with dates originally came from what I'd call my 'distributor's response' letter that came from Yashica corporate, but no ending production dates were included. The Half 14 entry was from another copied list of a dealer's notebook page, with no dates at all - not even for the notebook as a whole.
My gut is telling me that a "Deluxe" might mean it was like a 'gift kit' camera, with a flash and/or case, and may not be along the lines of an FX-Dse versus the FX-D. (I'd hardly say that little spinning X on the film door would qualify the 'se' as a completely different camera, but somebody did I guess).
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on Aug 25, 2021 17:45:45 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2021 17:56:49 GMT by lumiworx
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on Aug 25, 2021 18:07:11 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2021 18:16:51 GMT by xkaes
This is very interesting as the Half 17 EE Rapid and the Half 17 Rapid were both sold at the same time. That seems odd, but stranger things have happened. I've got 1966 as the date for the Yashica Half 14, according to "The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras' -- which does not include the Half 17 (just the EE Rapid) or the Electro Half! Like I said, stranger things have happened.
And then there are the Electro Half models marked on the top plate "6 TRANSISTOR" -- but otherwise appear to be the same.
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on Aug 25, 2021 19:01:58 GMT
Posted: Aug 25, 2021 19:01:58 GMT
A series of photos of a Deluxe - or at least the poster's title and the visible manual cover page call it one... www.flickr.com/photos/olympusrf/6057667096/in/photostream/Interesting double fold-over case shown there too. Could that be the "Deluxe" part of the name, or did the other models all share the same case design?
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on Aug 28, 2021 13:17:06 GMT
Posted: Aug 28, 2021 13:17:06 GMT
At last, a fully working Samurai X3.0. Yashica Samurai x3.0These strange-looking Samurai cameras have really grown on me. I hope to compare the performance of this model in the next week or two with the X4.0 and Z-L models previously acquired.
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on Aug 28, 2021 13:49:25 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 28, 2021 13:58:39 GMT by xkaes
A series of photos of a Deluxe - or at least the poster's title and the visible manual cover page call it one... www.flickr.com/photos/olympusrf/6057667096/in/photostream/Interesting double fold-over case shown there too. Could that be the "Deluxe" part of the name, or did the other models all share the same case design?
The Half 17 that I briefly owned had that same case. It was quite a contraption, but very nice once you got used to it. It basically was a frame built into the case and attached to the shoulder strap -- as opposed to the shoulder strap being attached to the camera, and the case attached to the tripod socket.
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on Aug 28, 2021 13:56:25 GMT
Posted: Aug 28, 2021 13:56:25 GMT
A series of photos of a Deluxe - or at least the poster's title and the visible manual cover page call it one... www.flickr.com/photos/olympusrf/6057667096/in/photostream/Interesting double fold-over case shown there too. Could that be the "Deluxe" part of the name, or did the other models all share the same case design?
The Half 17 that I briefly owned had that same case. It was quite a contraption, but very nice once you got used to it. It basically was a frame built into the case and attached to the shoulder strap -- as opposed to the shoulder strap being attached to the camera.
The only Samurai I have used is the Z. I prefer it mainly because it is smaller and feels more comfortable -- but it has more features that the X3 or X4. The quality of the results is top-notch -- every bit as good as those from the amazing Ricoh 25mm f2.8 Auto Half lens. Happy shooting!
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on Apr 11, 2022 20:01:09 GMT
Posted: Apr 11, 2022 20:01:09 GMT
Having shown the Half-14 elsewhere in the Forum, what was missing was the Half 17 EE Rapid; well, no longer, or is it...? Half 17 Rapid - EEThis half-frame viewfinder camera dates from the mid-1960s and is very similar to the original Half 17 in having programmed exposure but designed for use with the Agfa Rapid film cassette, hence no rewind crank. But there is a bit of a mystery... Most of the models carry the logo: Half 17 EE Rapid whereas this one is Half 17 Rapid - EE, so it begs the question as to whether there are 2 different cameras? I am bemused - can someone here clarify this anomaly?
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on Apr 12, 2022 18:43:18 GMT
Last Edit: Apr 12, 2022 18:45:59 GMT by xkaes
Nice looking camera -- but now you'll have to get another -- maybe this is the answer.
Yashica Half 17 RAPID
In 1965, Yashica modified the original Half 17 and created a model called the YASHICA HALF 17 RAPID since it uses Agfa Rapid cassettes. It is nearly identical to the Half 17 with the same lens and most camera features, but the body is about a quarter of an inch longer to accomodate the RAPID cassettes. The camera does not have the film speed dial of the original since it does not need it -- the tab on the RAPID cassette sets the film speed. The camera no longer sets the exposure automatically, for some unknown reason -- sort of defeating the purpose of a "rapid" camera. The camera has the same selenium meter as the original, but in this model it is a match-needle meter. The shutter speed is no longer displayed in the viewfinder -- just a match needle system. To operate, you turn the EV ring around the lens until the needle in the viewfinder matches the notch on the scale. The EV ring manually changes the f-stop and shutter speed in combination -- from f1.7 at 1/30 to f16 at 1/800. The EV ring actually has two scales. In match-needle mode, the scale is marked in EV numbers which is also useable with many hand-held meters. For flash purposes, the aperture can be set manually -- on the other end of the scale -- and the shutter fixed at 1/30. "B" can also be selected on the EV scale (that's right), which fixes the aperture at f1.7 -- just like in the original. The viewfinder also shows distance and parallax information. Camera included cold shoe with PC contact, self-timer; tripod socket and cable release connection. At least this model kept the "upside down", thumb-operated film-advance system.
Yashica Half 17 EE RAPID
On the original Yashica Half 17 RAPID, Yashica replaced the totally automatic exposure system of the original Yashica Half 17 with a match-needle system. It was easy enough to use, but they quickly figured out that when people bought a "RAPID" camera, they meant they wanted a "RAPID" camera. So Yashica produced an updated version of the Yashica Half 17 Rapid -- it's really the same camera but with the automatic exposure system of the original Yashica Half 17 added. They had to call it something, so they named it the Yashica Half 17 EE RAPID. It's ALMOST identical to the original, but has "EE" added to the name on the top.
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on Apr 13, 2022 9:08:37 GMT
Posted: Apr 13, 2022 9:08:37 GMT
Great explanation of the difference between the Half 17 Rapid and the Half 17 Rapid EE. However, the mystery remains about any possible difference between Biggles3's Half 17 Rapid - EE and the more common Half 17 EE Rapid as shown here ....
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on Apr 13, 2022 12:22:43 GMT
Last Edit: Apr 13, 2022 20:18:11 GMT by xkaes
I'll bet they are the same -- but if anyone finds out differently, please let us all know.
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on Aug 16, 2022 9:18:55 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 23, 2022 13:21:51 GMT by biggles3
Received yesterday was another Yashica Sequelle, but with a slight difference... No, sadly not the Police version which I have yet to see available anywhere. The new arrival is on the right of this pairing and is the original version from 1962. Sequelle variantsThe sharp-eyed among you will have spotted the main difference between the original model and all subsequent cameras - the first version does not have the sliding shutter-lock you can see just below the lens. It was in response to complaints about the ease of tripping the shutter accidentally (a wasteful business when you have an electrical motor-drive that will have used at least a dozen frames before you can shut it down) that Yashica rushed out the revised model, although there was no change to the model's name to reflect the upgrade. The original model also carries something so rare I could not believe my eyes when I saw it: Yashica's bespoke lens hood for the Sequelle which I had only seen mentioned once in a Japanese magazine. It is unusual in that it completely obscures the bezel/dress ring of the Yashinon lens. The front element is set quite deep anyway as you can see but the engineers must have deemed it necessary to provide a little more protection from stray or extreme light. The hood for the Sequelle was never on my radar so this was a delightful surprise. I wonder if lumiworx can cast any light on something I'd failed to notice for decades: in an ad from 1962 for the Sequelle, it refers to 'Academy Size' photos - I don't recall seeing this term applied to half-frame images. I thought it might have been something to do with the 1.375:1 Academy Ratio but it can't be as it does not conform to that shape. Do you know from where the term comes?
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on Aug 16, 2022 14:00:46 GMT
Posted: Aug 16, 2022 14:00:46 GMT
I had a Sequelle several years ago, but despite having the battery holder (I assume you have that, too) there was too much corrosion from old leaked batteries. I could never get it to work, so I sold it.
I can't recall if it had that lock switch or not, so I don't know which version I had. But if you can tell me if the lens hood is removable, that might answer my question, as on mine the lens details were obvious.
Any guess as to when the updated version came out? 1963?
Any other differences internally or externally that you notice?
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