YASHICA HALF 17

Yashicas first half-frame speed demon, the YASHICA HALF 17, appeared in 1964. It has a 32mm f1.7 manually focusing lens. Focusing is from infinity to 2.5 feet. A selenium meter around the lens automatically sets the correct aperture and shutter speed in program fashion -- 1/30 at f1.7 to 1/800 at f 16. The automatically-selected shutter speed, along with distance, over/under exposure and parallax information are visible in the viewfinder. For flash purposes, the aperture can be set manually, while the shutter is fixed at 1/30. A "B" setting can also be selected, which fixes the aperture at f1.7 -- great for low-light shooting. The camera included a cold shoe with PC contact, self-timer; cable release connection, tripod socket and a unique case system. The camera, strap and case were all attached to a special frame so that the camera or the case could be quickly removed, leaving the other attached to the strap. To top it off, the film advance is different from most 35mm cameras. In this model, the film is loaded "upside down" and a film-advance wheel under the left thuimb quickly advances the film. Film speeds of 12 - 400 and a 52mm filter.