Yashica Sequelle

Looking back at the history of photography, there were two major stepping stones. The first, and most important, was the transition from plates to roll film, which meant moving from a specialized trade into a free-for-all, no-skill-required hobby.  The second turning point was the move from #120 and #127 paperback roll film formats to 35mm cartridges.

The early medium formats were the default option, as most prints were contact with little hardware required. With Zeiss’s use of 35mm cinematic rolls, coupled with Nagel’s compact cartridges, camera size shrank, options increased, availability grew, and hardware prices plummeted.  The result, dating back to about the end of World War II, was that hobby photography became easy to pursue and mastered by all.  To match, available, cheap technology offered fast, easy access to processing/print labs.

Where, before, a twelve-frame roll was sufficient, and each frame carefully composed, the given 36 exposures weren’t enough. So, with enlargers able to produce a decent 4”x6” print size and the chemistry and optics improved, the natural next step was to split the film image size, double the exposure count, yet keep the roll price the same. Unless you were looking for a professional image, the 35mm half-frame was good enough to capture the grandkids horsing around.

The first 35mm half-frame camera that comes to mind is the Olympus Pen series, which made this format a household concept. The first Pen was presented in 1959, together with the Welta Penti, whose brand was first, I do not know. But the first 35mm half-frame was the Memo by Agfa / Ansco, introduced in 1927.

Most 35mm half-frames were side-by-side spools, so the format was 18x24mm in the horizontal camera position. To get a landscape shot it took holding the camera vertically.  Some camera makers outsmarted nature and offered a vertical film path, resulting in some short-lived oddities.  Such cameras reviewed here were the Taron Chic, Canon Dial, WZFO Alfa, Konica AA 35 / Recorder and the Yashica Rapide and Samurai. The Samurai does not really belong here, as it was a different category camera made for a different user’s class at a different era, but it is worth mentioning. There are some similarly styled #127 format cameras, such as the Bolsey-Flex and Becnini Comet 3.

Enter the Yashica Sequelle. At first glance, it seems the makers took an ordinary two-element camera of a barrel on a crate design, placed it under a press, and compressed it to the size of two cigarette boxes stacked back-to-back. For a 1962 camera, it has everything needed in a compact, though with a utilitarian charm. Where the other vertical models were wide and relatively thin, here the width dwarfs the body thickness. Reasons for that later. It is evident that designers had high aspirations for this style, as a successor to the Rapide of the year before, but the market didn’t bite. Yashica’s glory was rooted in TLR models, later morphed into compact rangefinders/viewfinders, and finally into the less successful SLR cameras. I don’t want to offend a particular reader who strongly disagrees with this view.

I wonder who the target market for this model was. As a 35mm half-frame, it was too heavy and bulky compared to the common, compact other models of this format. As a mass market, it was too complex. As a second shooter for a pro, it was featureless. Perhaps marketing aspired to create a new segment and left it at that, till the reincarnation as the Samurai a decade later.

• Overall production lasted about a year. All three Yashica vertical half-frame models enjoyed little success and were promptly withdrawn. For this camera, serial numbers start in the low 10,000s, so my camera’s serial number 16076 indicates it is mid-production.
• A very limited issue of a police model is specified, with a 4.0/45, fixed focus lens. There were several SLR models factory-converted to 35mm half-frame, primarily for police use: Autoreflex Half Frame, Yashica FX-Super 2000, Nikon FM2 Police Half Frame, Praktica MTL 3 STASI, Praktica L 2 Half Frame, and several Alpa 10 and 11 models.
• Interesting that many of the 35mm half frames were spring-loaded; here, it is one step up with an electric drive.
• It fires about a second a shot, till the roll ends. Spring-loaded cameras could capture a limited number of frames on a single wind. The shooting sequence may vary depending on the hardware condition/age and the battery’s capacity. There are notes that with a lazy mechanism, the film would wind with the shutter lagging behind.
• The skin shown on most online images is black. Some look gray; it could be the lighting. The model on my desk has what looks like real snake or lizard skin. Google Lens says ‘snake,’ my wife says ‘lizard,’ and my wife is always right, so lizard it is. Could be the original version or redresses.
• Early models had no trigger lock. I don’t know at what stage it was added. The unit I have has no lock. The trigger lock is a slider below the lens assembly, by the trigger, see image below.
• The camera has no internal viewer, but a fold-out sports-style viewer. I think that adding an integral fixed viewer would increase the camera’s height/bulk.
• Although the frame size is half, the frame counter ends at 68 frames; thereafter, it shows “stop”. Not sure why, as the film track length is similar to that of other cameras of this format that yield a full 72 frames per roll. An online suggestion is that, as there are no film guide cogs, the frame gaps increase as the take-off spool gets thicker, but I doubt it would account for the missing 4 x 18mm = 72mm (2.75”).
• The “stop” position disconnects the drive motor, perhaps not to force it and tear the perforation of the last frame.
• While winding is power-driven, rewinding is still manual.
• The camera comes with a lens cover, which is obvious, and a meter lens cover as well, which was probably immediately lost. An optional handle attachment enabled one-handed shooting, cine-camera style.
• Armed with previous experience, using the camera is pretty intuitive; however, it would take some toying around or reading the manual.

The Sequelle

• The camera is styled like a brick and weighs to match. It is small enough to grasp with a large hand with some balancing act.
• The top is finished with a rough paint, and the rest is leatherette with chrome accents. As said, in online images, skin appears black/gray; my camera is covered in lizard skin, not sure if original or reskinned.
• Top has a fold-down front and back sport-like viewer, ejected by a pinhead button in between. The front viewer has a magnifying glass, and the back is clear glass. Two marks at the front viewer top are used for close-up images. Push both viewers back in place.
• In the top middle is the meter lens, with a film speed rotating disk marked with the recommended EV. The disk is proud on the left side; scale there marked in ASA, set per the film used.
• The meter needle points to the EV.
• The back opens via a pull-down latch, exposing a mighty battery holder for three AA batteries. The holder is removed for battery change. The hollow in the camera body contributes to its heft; the designers could very well use a fraction of that space to accommodate the three batteries. To its merit, I believe it was done so that once batteries leak, as older batteries are wont to do, the body contacts will not corrode, and a replacement battery holder was cheaply available. The holder connectors meet the same in the camera body.
• The right side is busier.
  • At the top is the rewind fold-down crank handle, with the direction arrow marked.
  • Below is a thumb-driven frame counter to be manually reset with a roll change. The frame number, shown in the window underneath, is decreasing, so set it to 65 for a 36-exposure roll, or 40 for a 20-exposure roll. Why 65, not 72, I don’t know. At the end of the roll, it will display “stop” and cut the electrical circuit.
  • The remote trigger port is on the right.
  • At the bottom is the rewind release button, press while cranking back the roll.
• The bottom has the mount thread with a positioning groove, assuming to catch a matching pin on the add-on handle.
• The left side is fully removable with a lift-and-turn latch. The round bulge below is to accommodate the take-off spool head.
• Inside is an old Leica-style, drop-in cartridge hollow, a film slot with a hinged, spring-loaded, pressure plate. The entire film track occupies about half of the camera body; the battery holder occupies the rest.
• The electric motor is hidden somewhere; I have not dissected this camera.
• The front is where the settings are:
  • At the top, a very prominent selenium meter lens.
  • On the lens assembly, closest to the body is the aperture setting dial, with minuscule markings, well hidden. The dial is set by the EV ring in front of it. EVs are marked red, B is marked green, and a lightning icon indicates flash. The B and flash marks are also on the aperture dial, to be set to match. Use the fin between the dials to change the coupled f-values.
  • The distance ring is at the front, using zone focusing. Four icons represent closeup, group and landscape. The manual suggested using it as a fixed focus with f11 and up. I’m not sure what distance to set it to.
  • The trigger is below the lens barrel, a pull-down lever. I have an early model, as a trigger lock slider was added at later models.

After all is said and done, I loaded fresh batteries, set all as needed, pulled the trigger, and it remained silent. Guess it will hang around till I find time to explore it further.

For the collector, it is a unique camera. I would not expect much of it as a shooter, but as a wannabe trailblazer, it is worth having. The manual suggests treating the camera “with respect”, which says it all.