Yashica

The company began in December, 1949 in Nagano, Japan, when the Yashima Seiki Company was founded with an initial investment of $566. Its eight employees originally manufactured components for electric clocks. Later, they began making camera components, and by June 1953 had introduced their first complete camera, the Yashimaflex. The Yashimaflex and successive cameras used lenses sourced from the Tomioka Optical Works, beginning a relationship that would last for years. Also in 1953, the company�s name was changed to Yashima Optical Industry Company, Ltd. In 1957, Yashima founded Yashica, Inc., a subsidiary arm in New York City to manage marketing efforts in the USA. 1957 also marked the introduction of a popular new TLR camera series, the Yashica Mat line. During the next year and a half, Yashima continued to grow, with 1,982 employees by 1958. Later in 1958, Yashima changed its name to Yashica Company, Ltd, when it acquired the Nicca Camera Company, Ltd. There are 25 different models of Yashica TLRs.

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Twin-Lens.org is a companion blog to the TLR group on Flickr. Our aim is to show the wider world just how wonderful our funny old cameras are - even in the digital age. On these pages, you'll find selected images from the group and in time, articles about Twin-Lens cameras, tips and techniques and, hopefully, more. Enjoy and welcome!