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on Aug 16, 2022 15:11:38 GMT
Posted: Aug 16, 2022 15:11:38 GMT
Hi xkaes , sorry to hear that you had problems with your Sequelle. Yes, the latest model to arrive is complete, bar the pistol grip. Without daring to peer into the camera's mechanism, there are only two, tiny visible differences: the texture and trim on the knurled ring that turns the the film counter is different. On the early version, the entire rim of the ring is knurled but not so on the later model. This is a strange change as it's much more difficult to move the counter on the final version. The only other difference is very minor: where on the back the serial numbers are recorded, in the original it has two lines, the top: No. xxxxx and then below it: MADE IN JAPAN On the final models there's a single line: the serial number, which has no prefix, just the 5 digits, then a short space and simply: JAPAN I'm really sorry but I don't know when Yashica made the changes to the camera. My early version's 5 digit number starts 11 and my others with 15 and 17. Having just checked the numbers, the weird thing is that the camera with the most recent serial number has a lens with a much earlier number, being of 5 numerals instead of the 6 found on the others... I may trawl auction and retail sites to see if I can find an early Sequelle with a visible serial number to see roughly how many may have been produced in that form. If I'm successful, I'll report back.
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on Aug 16, 2022 15:13:33 GMT
Posted: Aug 16, 2022 15:13:33 GMT
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? 'Academy Size' isn't a term I'm familiar with, but in the US, there is one term that might be roughly equivalent. They are 2.5' x 3.5' (6.35cm x 8.89cm) in dimension, and were commonly referred to as a 'School photo' when printed to paper. I suppose if Academy and School are treated as interchangeable words, they might be considered equal for vertically oriented portraits of an individual student. If the term refers to something representing what we'd call a 'Class photo', then it would be a horizontally oriented photo in 8x10" size, in landscape, of one's entire home room or all the student's for a given class or activity groups or clubs. If it's a small school, it might be the entire student body in the photo... but anything in landscape mode won't make sense when compared to any half-frame camera's frame orientation in the way I think you'd be expecting. Printed School/Class photos always had a border too, so if there might have been any minor dimensional difference in the actual film frame sizes with full or half frame ratios, that might 'disappear' and be less obvious when printed.
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on Aug 16, 2022 15:39:44 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 16, 2022 15:40:07 GMT by biggles3
While we're talking about the Sequelle, I have just had to reply to a question on one of the Facebook Groups that deals with Yashica gear in which a member asked for a photo of the film compartment. This snap shows the two items which are all too often missing from Sequelle cameras being sold or auctioned. Sequelle film compartmentAt the top left is the battery box (it takes 3 AA cells which is very handy) and at the bottom of the film compartment is the take-up spool. The spool is specific to the Sequelle and if either item is missing, you can not operate the camera. And as xkaes has painfully reminded us, even if the battery box is present, it's vital to check that it and the contacts inside the camera are free from signs of corrosion. Even if you clean up any signs of leakage in the battery container and on the terminals in the camera, you can't be sure the acid didn't wick along the connecting wires rendering the drive mechanism potentially useless.
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on Aug 24, 2022 9:56:36 GMT
Posted: Aug 24, 2022 9:56:36 GMT
At long last I've seen the Yashica Sequelle Police model.
The 45mm f4.5 lens is not the only difference as has been stated elsewhere.
The camera has dispensed with the light-meter and covering the light-gathering glass for the selenium cell is an oversized, metal dress plate which carries the Yashica name near the top. It stands proud of the Sequelle's top plate by about 5mm which has led to an elongation of the viewfinder assembly; interestingly, the rear eyepiece has a square cut-out instead of the rectangular one found on the all other versions. The Police version is based on the second iteration of the Sequelle as it features the shutter lock slide. I don't know if there are internal differences other than those concerning the absence of a light-meter.
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on Sept 5, 2022 15:32:14 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 5, 2022 15:33:13 GMT by xkaes
Thanks for that info. It makes sense that the viewfinder would be changed since the focal length is much longer. Who knows how they determined the exposure though?!?!?
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on Sept 5, 2022 17:04:08 GMT
Posted: Sept 5, 2022 17:04:08 GMT
Thanks for that info. It makes sense that the viewfinder would be changed since the focal length is much longer. Who knows how they determined the exposure though?!?!? I wonder if it was fixed like most of the much later police-issued FX-3 half frames so that it was simply synchronised with the flash at 1/60s with the aperture pre-set... Again, one would suspect they were used for recording the faces of people who've been arrested rather than for surveillance or recording scenes of crime.
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on Dec 19, 2022 16:55:52 GMT
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 16:55:52 GMT
Here we can see the two versions of the Half 17 with the Electronic Eye and made to use the Agfa Rapid film cassettes. Half 17 EE variants Just why Yashica felt obliged to change the name remains a mystery. On the odd occasion when they've had to do this (Yashica M3 to Minister III comes to mind) it was because another manufacturer (Leica in the case of the M3) objected that the name was too close to an existing model of their own. If the serial numbers of this model are intended to be sequential, then the first version was the Half 17 Rapid-EE. I've not spotted a similar half frame camera which used the Rapid-EE marque prior to the release of the Yashica model; Ricoh and Olympus both had EE Rapid models so it seems unlikely that they could have been involved in the threat of litigation. Nearly all the Yashica Rapid half-frame cameras, featuring the Yashinon 32mm f1.7 lens and the Electronic Eye (a selenium-powered light meter) use the later name of Half 17 EE Rapid (no hyphen). If anyone here has the definitive answer as to why the model's name was altered, I'd love to know...
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on Dec 20, 2022 11:49:25 GMT
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 11:49:25 GMT
Well, picking up from the previous post, it gets weirder trying to fathom the Rapid-EE versus the later and more common EE Rapid models.
I have today discovered a further variant of the same model. It is a Half 17 EE-Rapid (note the addition of the hyphen) with a very early serial number for the EE Rapid series.
The early and unusual Rapid-EE versions were manufactured in April 1965; the standard EE Rapid cameras were manufactured from May 1965 but also in May was the production of the EE-Rapid model which numbered at least 885 cameras (that's the highest serial number I've been able to find).
So, we now know there were three versions of the same Half 17 Rapid, with the designated Electronic Eye, produced in the space of a month or so. Weird.
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on Dec 20, 2022 17:16:41 GMT
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 17:16:41 GMT
Thanks for this information. It certainly is confusing, but I can't think of any reason why they would change the name three times. There were other "RAPID" cameras and other "EE" cameras, and probably "RAPID EE" or "EE RAPID", but no one owned the "EE" or "RAPID" designation. My guess is that Yashica just couldn't make up it's mind.
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on May 19, 2023 9:18:34 GMT
Posted: May 19, 2023 9:18:34 GMT
If there is one golden rule that should be applied to rare and working Yashica cameras, it's grab them when you can! Following the acquisition in Japan of a few Yashica and Contax items (and well done FedEx as the package only took 3 days to reach Wales) I'm pleased to report that among them was a second copy of the snappily-named Electro Half 6-Transistor. Electro Half 6-Transistor braceAs was mentioned in a separate thread, this camera was the very first of any kind to combine an electronic shutter with automatic exposure control. Its revolutionary nature slipped under most people's radar at the time but it is now becoming recognised for its significance in the development of modern photography. It was not made in large numbers and is sadly increasingly hard to find. That's my excuse for grabbing another... The Yashinon-DX 32mm f1.7 lens is a true gem and with PX32 battery adapters being easily available, it remains relevant for those who wish to extract the most from a roll of film.
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