This photo of my photoalbum was taken in Okinawa.

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, a twin-lens reflex (TLR) medium-format camera designed for 6x6cm rollfilm. 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. The Nicca acquisition was fortuitous, greatly expanding the company’s market into 35mm film cameras. The Yashica Pentamatic, an advanced, modern 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with a proprietary bayonet-mount and interchangeable lenses, was introduced in 1959. As before, Yashica continued to source its lenses from the Tomioka Optical factory. Around 1960-61, Yashica made yet another important acquisition, the Zunow Optical Industry Co. Ltd. Though a small company, Zunow had become well-known for its limited production of a very advanced SLR camera, along with several high-quality, fast lens designs. In December 1965, Yashica introduced the world’s first electronically controlled 35mm camera, the Electro 35, a popular rangefinder model that eventually sold 5 million units. The company continued to expand its international markets, and in August 1968, Yashica finally acquired its lens manufacturer, the Tomioka Optical and Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (later re-named the Tomioka Optical Co. Ltd.). By this time, Tomioka was one of the largest and most reputable lens manufacturers in Japan. Sales of 35mm SLRs continued to grow steadily, and Yashica was quickly acquiring a reputation for both electronic camera expertise and high-quality optics. 1968 also marked the year of Yashica's last major TLR camera design, the Yashica Mat-124, a popular model which combined some of the best features of Yashica's earlier TLR cameras. In 1973, Yashica the company began a collaboration with Carl Zeiss to produce a new, professional 35mm SLR with an electronically-controlled shutter, bearing the Contax brand name. A new prestige line of Yashica / Contax lenses designed by Carl Zeiss were introduced for the camera, with a common C/Y bayonet mount allowing lens interchange between all 35mm Contax and Yashica SLR camera models. The F. Alexander Porsche Group was hired to complete an ergonomic and styling study of the new camera. The new Contax RTS appeared at Photokina in 1974, and proved a success. Yashica soon introduced several new 35mm SLR cameras beginning with the FX-1 (1975) and FX-2 (1976). Also in that year, Yashica developed the upscale Yashica FR. The FR was capable of using the entire range of Carl Zeiss T* lenses. This practice of ‘pairing’ similar Contax models with more affordable, less full-featured, but still high-quality Yashica models would continue for the next 10 years. The FR was quickly followed in April 1977 by the FR-I and FR-II. In 1979, Yashica introduced a new inexpensive 35mm consumer SLR, the FX-3, intended for entry-level buyers. Like all Yashica manual-focus bodies, the affordable FX-3 would also accept Carl Zeiss T* lenses. This simple, lightweight manual-exposure SLR camera sold well, and stayed in production until 2002. In October 1983, Yashica Company Ltd. was acquired by ceramics giant Kyocera. Initially, the merger resulted in few outward changes. The manual-focus (MF) FX-103 Program, introduced in 1985, continued the ‘pairing’ tradition of high-end Yashica SLR models with Contax (Contax 159mm), and was the first Yashica SLR with TTL flash and full programmed exposure capabilities. After 1983, all Yashica cameras were made by Kyocera (Kyoto Ceramics), which also made newer Contax cameras. In 2005, Kyocera halted production on all Contax, Yashica, and other Kyocera branded film and digital cameras.

The Diana camera is a simple, low-quality plastic-bodied box camera. The Diana takes sixteen 4 cm x 4 cm pictures on 120 film, leaving a large part of the film surface unused. Though often referred to as a toy camera, the term is somewhat misleading, as the Diana is fully capable of taking actual photographs. The Diana was first produced during the early 1960s in Kowloon, Hong Kong, by the "Great Wall Plastic Factory", and was sold under various labels (often just a different stick-on nametag). Most were given away as novelties or prizes at fairs, carnivals, or other public events. In addition to the 'Diana' labelled cameras, there are over fifty similar variants of the basic design, some of which may have been produced by other factories and/or manufacturers. Some variants incorporate a 6 cm x 6 cm negative size (like the Diana Deluxe), while others have provision for different controls or separate bulb flashes. The 3 aperture version of the classic Diana/Diana clone has apertures of f11 f13 & f19, and it takes 32mm clip on filters. Shutter speed is usually 1/100th (for a crisp one) to 1/50th (for a slower one). The Diana Deluxe- f9 f16 & f22, and it takes a 46-49mm step-up ring. With the development of inexpensive, higher quality consumer cameras such as the Kodak Instamatic, demand for the Diana, even as a novelty gift, gradually disappeared. Production of the Diana, its clones (have 151 marked on the door latch like the original Diana), close copies and variants is believed to have stopped sometime during the 1970s, though similar 35mm box cameras were produced for many years thereafter by various companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan as promotional items. Diana cameras are predisposed to light leaks, a situation often remedied by sealing the seams with light-proof tape (like black electrical tape) after loading the film. To get the completed roll out of the camera, it is necessary to untape the body -- a ponderous but very useful procedure, as it helps to prevent a lot of unpredictable orange light streaks on the negatives/prints. The design of the Diana incorporates a lens that produces an image circle which only marginally covers the diagonal of a film frame. This marginal coverage field produces images with often pronounced vignetting. The poor quality of the plastic meniscus lens results in generally low contrast, odd color rendition, chromatic aberration, and blurred images. Although these attributes are generally thought undesirable in a camera, some photographers have intentionally utilized these characteristics to produce photographs with interesting or artistic effects. Though made by a different manufacturer, the Holga camera is considered by many to be the modern-day successor to the Diana.