NickTrop
Veteran
The Yashica Electros had a remakable long production run - something like 17 years, ending in either 1990 or 1987 (was never really clear on that), well into the period of dominance of SLRs in the pro-sumer market and plastic point and shooters took over the consumer market forcing other Japanese manufacturers out of the manufacture of fixed lens rangefinders.
I stumbled on a link last week (grrrrr... can't find it now :bang: ) that was a posting of an ad for the GSN. I thought the ad was very telling about how this camera was marketed and why it survived so long...
The ad (very fine print jpeg and I couldn't make out all of the type) essentially boasted the following:
1. No Flash Required (I recall this being the headline...)
2. Talked (and had pics) of a professional photographer's low light pics taken without a flash.
3. The MSRP of the camera - as I recall, was $117 US at the time as described by the ad. The cost with the teleconverter set was $212 - nearly equal to the cost of the camera(!), when the ad was made.
So, why did this camera survive so long? Admittedly pure inference based on the ad...
1. The camera had a modest mark-up, probably. But Yashica (along with the retailers) most likely made a nice tidy profit upselling consumers on the accessory teleconverters and finders...
2. These accessory converter lenses scratched the itch of consumers who wanted "interchangable lenses" of SLR systems, at least while they were in the camera store.
3. The camera is "flashy" - with those two lights showing over/under exposure. This had "flash appeal" (ohhhh look at the lites - kewl!) over other cameras - including SLRs that didn't come with a "light show".
4. The camera ad touted "No Flash Required". Salesmen probably sold consumers that they didn't need to purchase a flash with this camera (like is said in the ad...) and they could use that money on the profitable teleconverter kit.
5. No flash required probably also appealed to more serious hobbiests, who were interested in low-light photography just like the "pro" from the ad.
So, the fam walks into a camera store no knowing what to buy - perhaps thinking about an SLR. They look at some cameras. Boy those SLRs seem complicated. Mom (not to be sexist) doesn't like them. Look at this model - just two lights. Dad wants interchangable lenese, but the Electro has an auxilary kit that "does the same thing", has not one but two(!) "interchangable lenses" (and you'll note, you see a lot of these auxilary lens kits on eBay, so it seems they sold very well... usually add-ons like this are hard to come by but not for the Electros) for the price of a single extra SLR lens (say, a 35mm). Hey, the ad (or the salesman) says, "you don't really need a flash with this camera under most circumstances..." Flash photography is deemed complicated to consumers during the pre-TTL days, all those settings, and they also were expensive. Junior thinks the lights on the top are kewl when the salesman demonstrates the camera. Everyone futzed with the aperture ring to get the lights to go on and off...
The salesperson says, "...tellya what I'm gunna do. You can have the Electro, and the two extra lenses and finder, for $190! And you'll never have to use the flash..." Junior is still playing with the aperture ring making the Over/Under lights go off and on. By now he's figured out that if you put your finger over the meter, the "Under" light stays on!
As the market for rangefinders continues to erode, save the high-end Leicas, attacked at the lower end by point-n-shoots with a bulit in (crummy) flash (and much slower lenses), and at the high end by SLRs...
Yashica introduces the "CC" with its compact black "Leica-like" body(along with the GX and GL) along with its 2/35 lens spec to appeal to the prosumer market of folks who want to shoot rangefinder-style but can't afford a Leica, who still refused to "basterdize" their high-end kits with quality lower cost offerings.
The GSN continues to plod along, being cranked out less and less expensively in China, never really changing save some relatively minor mod between the "G" and "GSN" lines, all R and D costs for the camera long ago "paid off". Some slick marketing and an ad and a camera that sells due to "sizzle" of a couple flashing lights on the top plate, and a slick marketing campaign.
Wish I could find the link for that ad! :bang:
I stumbled on a link last week (grrrrr... can't find it now :bang: ) that was a posting of an ad for the GSN. I thought the ad was very telling about how this camera was marketed and why it survived so long...
The ad (very fine print jpeg and I couldn't make out all of the type) essentially boasted the following:
1. No Flash Required (I recall this being the headline...)
2. Talked (and had pics) of a professional photographer's low light pics taken without a flash.
3. The MSRP of the camera - as I recall, was $117 US at the time as described by the ad. The cost with the teleconverter set was $212 - nearly equal to the cost of the camera(!), when the ad was made.
So, why did this camera survive so long? Admittedly pure inference based on the ad...
1. The camera had a modest mark-up, probably. But Yashica (along with the retailers) most likely made a nice tidy profit upselling consumers on the accessory teleconverters and finders...
2. These accessory converter lenses scratched the itch of consumers who wanted "interchangable lenses" of SLR systems, at least while they were in the camera store.
3. The camera is "flashy" - with those two lights showing over/under exposure. This had "flash appeal" (ohhhh look at the lites - kewl!) over other cameras - including SLRs that didn't come with a "light show".
4. The camera ad touted "No Flash Required". Salesmen probably sold consumers that they didn't need to purchase a flash with this camera (like is said in the ad...) and they could use that money on the profitable teleconverter kit.
5. No flash required probably also appealed to more serious hobbiests, who were interested in low-light photography just like the "pro" from the ad.
So, the fam walks into a camera store no knowing what to buy - perhaps thinking about an SLR. They look at some cameras. Boy those SLRs seem complicated. Mom (not to be sexist) doesn't like them. Look at this model - just two lights. Dad wants interchangable lenese, but the Electro has an auxilary kit that "does the same thing", has not one but two(!) "interchangable lenses" (and you'll note, you see a lot of these auxilary lens kits on eBay, so it seems they sold very well... usually add-ons like this are hard to come by but not for the Electros) for the price of a single extra SLR lens (say, a 35mm). Hey, the ad (or the salesman) says, "you don't really need a flash with this camera under most circumstances..." Flash photography is deemed complicated to consumers during the pre-TTL days, all those settings, and they also were expensive. Junior thinks the lights on the top are kewl when the salesman demonstrates the camera. Everyone futzed with the aperture ring to get the lights to go on and off...
The salesperson says, "...tellya what I'm gunna do. You can have the Electro, and the two extra lenses and finder, for $190! And you'll never have to use the flash..." Junior is still playing with the aperture ring making the Over/Under lights go off and on. By now he's figured out that if you put your finger over the meter, the "Under" light stays on!
As the market for rangefinders continues to erode, save the high-end Leicas, attacked at the lower end by point-n-shoots with a bulit in (crummy) flash (and much slower lenses), and at the high end by SLRs...
Yashica introduces the "CC" with its compact black "Leica-like" body(along with the GX and GL) along with its 2/35 lens spec to appeal to the prosumer market of folks who want to shoot rangefinder-style but can't afford a Leica, who still refused to "basterdize" their high-end kits with quality lower cost offerings.
The GSN continues to plod along, being cranked out less and less expensively in China, never really changing save some relatively minor mod between the "G" and "GSN" lines, all R and D costs for the camera long ago "paid off". Some slick marketing and an ad and a camera that sells due to "sizzle" of a couple flashing lights on the top plate, and a slick marketing campaign.
Wish I could find the link for that ad! :bang:
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