I was given this camera to try and then to sell in the upcoming camera fair. I have already tried a few Samurais as they were much easier to find in Japan. Though I was happy to finally try the X4 version…it is still a half frame, not my favourite.
This version of the samurai was available around 1988. You can find all the information you need about this camera and other samurais at this website. Though I said they were easier to find in Japan, this website says the camera name “samurai” is a Japanese synonym for “bushi”. Outside of Japan the word Samurai is always used instead of “bushi”, so the camera might have been designed mainly for exporting.
This one arrived with an almost used Agfa 200 inside, which I suspect was from Poundland when they were on sale there. I finished the film off in my local nature reserve and got it developed. Dragon Photos in Leeds develops and scans half frame for just £2 extra, which I think is a bargain. Here are some of my shots from the found film.
Well, now I knew the camera worked so I loaded it again with an Ilford Delta 100 and took it to Manchester. I watched my sister in the marathon and visited a park. Half way through the film I decided to quit using it and save the film for another camera. I was struggling to use it. There was nothing wrong with the camera, but my hands are quite small. I found it impossible to reach the zoom buttons, plus the absence of a hand grip also made using it uncomfortable for me.
I developed the film using Pyro-510 which is fast becoming my favourite developer.
So the camera works really well, and for a half frame they are quite sharp. Samurais are still not my cup of tea though. The camera is a little on the large size for me and the negative a little on the small size.
So back to the very old question of keep or sell, definitely sell.
They are way too big! I had a friend who liked his because he could shoot a whole vacation without changing film, and that the shape made it easy to transport
True, but as half frames go I prefer the olympus pen ft and konica autoreflex…the latter means you can choose mid roll.
Yes!
I still love the Dial 35 best and the the Olympus Pen
I haven’t tried the dial 35 yet
Agreed. The Samurai and its full-frame cousins from Olympus and Kyocera are very inexpensive when found in thrift shops. My guess is few folks liked the plasticy-swoopy designs, even though the lenses were pretty darn good.
They are not cheap here unfortunately. I did like the aps version, very small and cute…plus sharp. I would have kept mine if film was more available.
You never go far wrong with Yashica quality and inovation but these always remind me of Rabbiting Lamps! Chinon went down this line to but I think they were prone to many little hiccups.
The first camera I ever tried for this blog was a chinon genesis, it wasn’t my favorite but got me hooked.