Yashica TLR production dates

[tim80]

I am trying to find some information on a few Yashica TLRs. In

particular I am looking for production dates and general info for the

Yashica B, Yashica E and any of the Yashicaflex variants (I have been

led to believe that there are 3? Yashicaflex, Yashicaflex S, and

Yashicaflex AS. Is this correct?).

 

Any information on these cameras would be appreciated.

[paulstephen]

http://www.freespeech.org/coreya/yashica/tlrhist.html

 

give this site a shot...

[michael_briggs2]

Another site with some information: http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/pw/yashica.html

[tim80]

I've tried both of those websites and neither has production dates for the Yashica B, or Yashicaflex.

 

Does anyone who owns a B or flex know what year theirs was made in?

[nolan woodbury]

Tim, I recently purchased via eBay bid a Yashicaflex with the 80mm f3.5 Heliotar. I did a small amount of research on this before I got it and discovered it wasn't nearly as rare as I thought it was. However, I do believe that it was the first production Yashica TLR, produced around 1956 according to Mike at Pacific Rim Camera, a true vintage camera expert. Yashicaflex's differed from the later 'Mats, and used levers for f-stop and shutter speed controls instead of the Rollei-like wheels near the lens cluster. Is the Heliotar a early version of the Yashikor? Most likely.

 

The Yashica B is a true mystery camera, even to those lucky enough to have one. It seems to be a true mix of the humble "A" and the "C" model that came after it. Most agree that it was never offered in the USA, but consider that Yashica first offered the A/C/D models in 1957-58, and it stands to reason the "B" was probably hatched right around then too. It is really difficult nailing down a definitive time line with Yashica -or any other Japanese camera maker- from this period, because either they didn't keep detailed records of this stuff, or they never released it to the public. My friend David Foy (who has a Yashica B) has been working on this for years. The coreya/yashica/tlrhist page is the best I've seen actually, with real information provided by Yashica themselves.

[chris_sheppard]

Hi Tim - I was researching that very thing this morning in

preparation for an eBay shopping spree :)<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica A<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                    </span>1958-1969<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica B<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                     </span>?

<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica C<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                    </span>1957-1958<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica D<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                    </span>1957-1973<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica E<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                     </span>1964-1966<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica 24<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                   </span>1966-1968<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica 12<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                   </span>1967-1968<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica LM<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                 </span>1956-1957<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica Mat <span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                </span>1957-1971<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica Mat LM<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>          </span>1958-1960<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica Mat EM<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>          </span>1964-1966<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica 124<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>                 </span>1968-1971<o:p></o:p></p>

 

<p class=MsoNormal>Yashica 124G<span style='mso-tab-count:2'>              </span>1970-1986</p>

 

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In fairness to the source, I found this at:

 

http://www.williamsphotographic.com/yashica.html

 

Hope that helps