Yashica Samurai V-70
Publicity image from May 1990 Popular Photography image by camerawiki (Image rights) |
The Kyocera (Yashica Samurai) V-70 is a still-video camera announced in prototype form by Kyocera in early 1990[1] and marketed the same year in Japan. The vertical styling (resembling an amateur video or movie camera) was taken from the Samurai half-frame 35mm camera series, such as the Samurai Z2. As with other models in the still video category, it was not actually a digital camera, but rather recorded analog television scan lines onto special 2" Video Floppy disks. The designation "high-band" refers to a revised VF standard permitting greater image resolution.
The V-70 offers a 3x, f/1.4 9-27 mm zoom, entirely enclosed within the camera body. Images are recorded with a 1/2"-format, 360,000-pixel CCD sensor. The V-70 was apparently only sold in Japan, at a price equivalent to USD $770, with a dock for playback adding $220[2]. The main sensor provides autoexposure, contrast-detect autofocus, and TTL flash auto-exposure; it can record bursts up to 10 frames per second. A macro setting allows close-ups down to 4½"[1].
Notes
Links
In Japanese:
- Comparison of Samurai Z with V-70 (last item on half-frame camera page), from Asgrown Oka (archived)
- Yashica Kyocera Samurai V-70 information at digicammuseum.com