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Yashica 44A – Twin in small package

January 25, 2019

T
he Yashica 44A has joined what has been a surprising revelation, that somehow there is a Twin Lens Re ex (TLR) collection in the
house.  TLRs being so ornate and beautiful cameras, they are very hard to resist when they are available for sale.  The Yashica
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This does mean that the 44A is a signi cantly smaller camera, thus why it is called the “Baby TLR”.  This is taken from the Baby Rollei
connotation.  It was aimed at the more amateur consumer market, but this does not automatically mean that it is any less capable than
its bigger siblings.

Up the escalator, Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

This copy is in the grey colour, which was the most popular of the di erent colours available. It was dubbed the “Baby Grey” colour.  In
total there were 8 colour combinations, which helped make them a hit with consumers.

TLRs are not everyone’s cup of tea.  You have to get used to working with the image in the viewing screen backwards, and they can be a
bit di cult to shoot a portrait at eye level.  Interestingly, this is also what gives the photos made from them such a unique perspective.

The comparable 6×6    Rolleicord Va review is here, but a camera which is even more interesting for the Yashica is the  Pigeon ex
linked here.  The Pigeon ex was the rst TLR camera the company which eventually changed names to become Yashica produced.

History
As indicated above, the Yashima Seiki or later Yashima Kogak Seiki company started o manufacturing the Pigeon ex for about a year in
1953.    As this was for a distributor, they branched o and started manufacturing their own branded cameras in 1954, with the
Yashima ex.  

In 1957 Yashima founded the Yashica Inc. subsidiary based in New York.  It was this year that they also introduced the Yashica Mat line of
6×6 TLRs. They had landed on their nal branding.  More information is available of Yashica at the Yashica Electro 35 GL review here.

Shadow under the bridge, Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

TLRs were very well established by this point, as can be seen by the plethora of TLRs available from that period.  Franke & Heidecke, with
their Rollei cameras, was the obvious one at the top of the heap, and in 1957 they re-introduced their pre-war 127 model, the Baby
Rollei. 

Almost immediately, in 1958, many Japanese manufacturers responded by producing their own 127 versions, including Yashica with the
Yashica 44.  It was manufactured in the same grey colour as the Baby Rollei. Franke & Heidecke took Yashica to court in the US, which
lasted for a year until the two company presidents signed an agreement.  This included that Yashica stop manufacturing the 44 models in
grey, which is consistent with the availability of the other colours from 1960 onwards.

When the Yashica 44 was rst introduced in 1958, it was priced quite heavily, though not as much as the Rollei.    It was in fact more
expensive than the Yashica D which had a very similar feature set albeit in a 6×6 format.  The features included a hand crank and a top
speed of 1/500 second.

To ensure coverage of the amateur consumer market, Yashica then introduced the Yashica 44A in 1959.  The main changes being that it
lost the crank and was limited to 1/300 second top speed. It can easily be identi ed with a set of “teeth” markings just under the name
plate.  The Yashica 44A was manufactured likely until 1965.

Camera Speci cs
The Yashica 44A is a 127 lm, 4x4cm format, Twin Lens Re ex camera.  This copy is in a grey colour, although they came in 8 di erent
colours.  It is fully mechanical, as there is no meter.  Due to the history related to the litigation where Yashica agreed with Rollei to stop
producing grey versions from 1960, this is then likely to be a 1959 model.

Both the taking and viewing lenses are Yashikor 60mm f/3.5 lenses.  This equates roughly to a 50mm lens in 35mm terms.  The taking
lens is in a three element con guration.  The shutter is a Copal shutter which o ers speeds from 1/25 to 1/300 second and Bulb.  Setting
the speed is done by rotating the ring around the taking lens and aligning the speed marker to the red arrow. The shutter is cocked with a
lever just behind the speed settings.

Yashica 44A

Aperture is selected on the side of the taking lens, with another lever.  Options available are f/3.5 through to f/22.  The shutter release is
in the corner under the taking lens and does not have a remote thread.  A ash sync port is available on the other front corner.

On the left hand side of the camera is the focus knob.  It moves the front of the camera in and out achieving focus.  On this copy distance
is marked in feet with closest focus at 3.3 feet (1 metre). The focus knob also has the lm reminder on it.  You just set it to the lm speed
you have, marked in ASA and DIN.  Highest speed marking is 400 ASA.  A ash cold shoe is also on the left hand side.

The right hand side has only the lm advance knob.    This does not prevent double exposures and can be over advanced.    A little red
window at the back is used to align the frame number for the next shot.    It also has a little sliding cover, to minimise possible light
entering the camera.

Yashica 44A

On the bottom of the camera is the tripod socket which is surrounded by a at knob that locks/unlocks the back of the camera.  Twisting
it around to “O” moves the lock away from the camera and allows the back to be swung upwards.  

Loading the camera is a fairly standard a air, the 127 lm is loaded into the top and threaded into the bottom which is connected to the
advance.  When the camera is closed, you just need to advance the lm to the rst frame.

Viewing is through the top, as per regular TLR function.    The viewing screen has a cross with a circle in the centre, which is slightly
magni ed to allow easier focusing.  A pop out magni er is also available, allowing ne focusing and easier viewing in bright sunlight.

This copy came with a bluish grey leather case, which is magni cent looking in itself.

The Experience
As I mentioned at the top of the review, I seem to have somehow accidentally become a TLR collector.  I nd them extremely attractive, a
product of a previous era.  I came across this Yashica 44A online and put in what I thought was reasonable for one in great condition.  A
week later it arrived and I started to understand why people like these “Baby” models.  The size is very convenient and they t in the hand
so well.

I have some 127 lm, but this is running out ever since Rerapan has discontinued their 100 ISO black and white lm, so I had a moment
of decision.    Do I use the camera for a few rolls as I do with the other reviews, or do I conserve for other 127 cameras?    In the end I
decided to try and do this review with one lm.

In front of the big teeth, Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

Soon after I started using the Yashica 44A, I started to question this decision.    It is such a nice little camera to use.    Fantastic to carry
around and even with the grey colour, very unobtrusive to use.  

The viewing screen was not extensively re ective, so even in bright sunlight it is quite good to use.  The magni er was nice and handy for
ne focus.   Surprisingly the screen is quite bright itself, as with a f/3.5 viewing lens I expected it to be a bit more dim.

It didn’t take long to hit the rst limitation with the 44A in the bright Sydney sunlight. The maximum shutter speed is 1/300 second.  Most
of the shooting, even in late afternoon, ended up being at the smaller apertures. Further to this, capturing movement without blur was
impossible.  1/300 second will not freeze a person in motion, as you can see with the examples presented in this article.

Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

I didn’t mind using the advance knob rather than having a hand crank, it moved smoothly and it was easy to align with the next frame.

The results are very good.  Rerapan can be quite contrasty in bright light, which is exactly what came out.  The camera did handle this
quite well, and the pictures are well de ned.  Sharpness from the Yashikor lens is also very good.  The centre is spot on, with very little fall
o to the edges.    Light fall o is not signi cant either.    Surprisingly it does have more distortion than I would expect from a standard
lens.  It is rather strong and can be a little distracting in the photo.  Not a camera for any architectural use!

The niggle about the shutter speed maximum aside, it was a very enjoyable camera to use.  It just needs a bit of a planned approach and
for portraits rather than candid photography.  For the target market of the amateur consumer of the time, the camera hits the mark.  The
results are above what you would expect for that market.  I will use the 44A again, hopefully when more 127 lm becomes available.

Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

Yashica 44A, Rerapan 100

Related Links
Great review by Mike Eckman of the original Yashica 44 here.

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4 COMMENTS

JORGE REBELLO
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 AT 10:23 AM

This is a great little camera. I have one just like yours, although mine has the focusing knob marked in meters. It came with
box, manual and the beautiful grey-bluish leather case. As for the lm, as here in Brazil it is even worse to get lm, I hand-
roll 35mm on 127 spools & paper and it works great. Luck you to have the fantastic FILM NEVER DIE in Australia ( I was once
interviewd by them). My rst camera was a 127 lm Kodak – that’s 1967. Congratulations on your excellent review. Cheers,
Jorge Rebello

THEO
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 AT 10:11 PM

Thank you for the nice comments, I am really glad you enjoyed it. I’ve thought of using 35mm in it to try out, might
have to give it a go this year.

NICK LYLE
FEBRUARY 6, 2022 AT 5:03 AM

Do you think this lens is actually distorting straight lines? Or is perspective distortion caused by camera tilt simply more
evident in square format?

THEO
FEBRUARY 6, 2022 AT 10:22 PM

I think it distorts a bit, but I don’t think I did it any favours in those examples with my angles. I’m currently running a
batch of 127 lm I’ve got through it and it is not so evident in these. I’ll try it out in similar situations and see during
the next few weeks and let you know.

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