Yashica 35J

[xwhatsit]

Found this sentence on Wikipedia:

The new SLR camera was introduced as the Penta J; a 35mm rangefinder with the M42 mount was released as the Yashica 35J.

First of all, I've never heard of the 35J. Secondly, an M42-mount rangefinder? Did it only take special lenses with rangefinder coupling tabs? How else could it find focus??

I did some Googling and turned up nothing, no pictures or description. I thought it must be the usual Wikipedia bollocks; sure enough, I found a 35J SLR, which made a bit more sense.

Then I found this thread here.

Key quote from thread:

My first camera was the 35J - a rangefinder with a blocky type body. Definitely not your 35J Reflex! I bought a Yashica J, thinking to recreate my first purchase, but it isn't even close. No info for the 35J Rangefinder.

Can anybody fill in the blanks? Sounds like a fascinating camera!

 

[sevo]

There is no M42 mount or interchangeable lens involved, nor was it their first. The J is a fixed lens 4.5cm f/2.8 rangefinder, essentially the Lynx 1000 minus meter. It was succeeded by the "Campus". See http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/chrono2.html, about mid page.

 

[xwhatsit]

There is no M42 mount or interchangeable lens involved, nor was it their first. The J is a fixed lens 4.5cm f/2.8 rangefinder, essentially the Lynx 1000 minus meter. It was succeeded by the "Campus". See http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/chrono2.html, about mid page.

I'm well aware of the J, owning one myself (it's the Minister Tessar-style 45/2.8 lens, in the Minister-II/Lynx 1000 body).

It's not the camera I'm referring to; see the second quote, where the poster refers to buying a J "thinking to recreate my first purchase" but it not being the camera he once owned.

I don't know where you got the "first"?

 

[sevo]

We don't know how old he is - but he can't mean the contemporary of the Reflex J/35J mentioned on Wikipedia, as Yashica was using a rounded body at that time and only went towards a edged body shape years later. If he had a "blocky" rangefinder, it would have to be parallel to the Electro series or immediately preceding it.

Yashica seem to have used "J" for basic models in a series, maybe for "Junior" - perhaps they built "J" versions of some of their very "blocky" seventies cameras for some local market.

In any case, the "M42 rangefinder" will be a mistake - M42 lenses have no coupling, so that such a system would have required a entirely new and separate set of lenses. If anybody with the weight of Yashica had built such a beast, we'd know about that curiosity.

 

[oftheherd]

I have seen Yashica Js offered on ebay several years ago, and listed as M42 mount. I was curious, but never bought one. They were reflex, not RF. However, that Pentamatic is a little different. I didn't know Yashica made a bayonet mount reflex until the mid 70s. Agree that an M42 mount RF would be tricky. Maybe there is some confusion with the Yashica ltm RF.

 

[xwhatsit]

I agree, a confusion with LTM seems likely. However there's a bit of a gap between this mysterious 35J (1962 according to Wikipedia) and the original Nicca/Yashica LTMs (1959). After the flop of the YE and the YF, why would they try again three years later in LTM?

A special M42 mount with rangefinder coupling tab wouldn't be out of the question, either. After all, Yashica (well, their lensmaking subsidiary, Tomioka) did make their own lenses and own proprietary bayonet mount for their very first SLR, the original Pentamatic. Only three lenses apparently. Would it be very difficult to chuck the same glass in a slightly different mount for a rangefinder? The Soviets did the same thing, 39mm screwmount rangefinder lenses, and 39mm screwmount SLR lenses. Neither really compatible with each other.