Get Me Started w/ Yashica 44

I bought a Yashica 44 originally to shoot 35mm only but have now decided to try 127 ( have one roll ) and maybe slit my own eventually. I have the first version Yashica 44. I'm wondering--when you load the film and look for frame one in the red window, do you start shooting from there and the camera automatically advances the frame counter as you turn the crank? Do you reset the counter after it's at "1"? Can you test the counter and the reset button without film in the camera?

Anyone who slits film--do you slit 120 and use the paper on the 120 roll or do you recycle from a 127 roll? If you use the 120 paper, if you start at 1, will you still get the same number of images as you would from a 127 roll?

Thanks for any help.

Mike Butkus offers this: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/yashica/yashica_44-a/yashica_44-a.htm If you find the content useful, send him a few dollars to help maintain this wonderful resource.

As in the previous message, download the manual and read it carefully as it's easy to get the loading sequence wrong and totally mess up the film advance.
The sequence is load the film, wind on until no.1 is in the window, then press the switch near the wind-on lever. I'm typing this from memory, so check it in the instructions!. You need a dummy roll to test the camera properly, but it should work if you click the button first, but you may need to cheat by turning the metering roller with the back open.
I slit 120 film along with the 120 backing paper as I don't have the facility to add the film to 127 backing paper. Once it's slit the numbers will start at 16 and count down, I would start at 14 to be safe. If it's re-wound after slitting it will start at 1 and only give you 8 numbers, but you can use the largest dot in between them as a number, but again I would start at 2.

Brian P

When I've cut 120 to 127 I've reused the paper. Works great for a 4x4, you get 16 frames with the red window, and extra space between (because the 120 half frame is wider than 4 cm). Never tried it in a camera with a counter -- my Yashica is the "simple" model, limited shutter speeds and red window only.

Rewinding the film after cutting shouldn't make any difference; the 6x4.5 framing track winds up along the center of the cut roll, so you'll get 16 to 1 if you run it backward, or 1 to 16 otherwise. The auto advance will most likely freewheel after 12. If this is (as suggested above) a length-counter (friction roller operated) you should be able to reset the counter at any point and have it continue -- shooting 1 to 6, and resetting after advancing to 7, should get you 18 on recut 120 (works this way for 828, same frame width, if you have a camera that uses a friction roller to stop advance).

I used these specs to cut 127 backing paper from fresh 120 backing paper and then reuse it. I got a great film slicer off ETSY.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/266829907/film-slitter-to-cut-any-roll-film

The manual online is for the second simpler version 44a. I don’t think it has a reset button. I think I read you have to use the red window for all images with the 44a.

StepheKoontz said:

I used these specs to cut 127 backing paper from fresh 120 backing paper and then reuse it. I got a great film slicer off ETSY.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/266829907/film-slitter-to-cut-any-roll-film

Click to expand...

I have a 120 to 35mm slitter from that seller but I got it on eBay. Good stuff.

Congratulations--you've got a reliable 127 camera there. The original 44 is, in my opinion, the best of the Yashca 127 TLRs. The 44A is a simplified version that relies on the red window for framing, with the attendant risk of light leaks that implies. The 44LM is a clunky heavier version with a built-in light meter (hence "LM") that probably isn't accurate half a century after it was made. The 44 uses a geared frame counter mechanism that measures out the film in descending amounts to compensate for the takeup spool filling up. The Primo Jr. cameras use a follower wheel in the takeup chamber to measure the film and the Rollei baby uses a fat plastic roller on the feed side to measure film travel. The Yashicas and Primos use a red window to find the first frame; the Rolleis use a tiny switch that detects the leading edge of the film as you wind it through. So to answer your question: set the counter at "1" and crank until you hear the clicking sound that tells you you've just finished the roll.

I bought a film slitter from ebay with the intention of cutting 120 down but I lucked into five 100-foot rolls of 46mm Portra 160NC from a guy who used them in an old bulk-loading portrait camera. (I forget the brand name but it was commonplace among studios that shot class portraits in schools.) And, of course, 46mm is the right size for 127. I use the slitter to cut down backing paper, since my recycled papers from old rolls of Efke and Rerapan were getting too dog-eared to use. A side note that may not be news to you: Frugal Photographer has solved some of his production-line issues and is once again loading Portra in 127 format.

Just to add to Tel's excellent post, the red window is central in the 44, which is the position for 8-on 127 film, the 12-on window is down the side of the backing paper, but this does make any difference to the procedure.
I use the same slitter as wjlapier, but I've had to modify it to cut of roll of 120 complete with the backing paper, instead of just the film. All I did was add 2mm padding to one side of the cutter.

Brian P

Does the film counter advance when the crank arm is turned when there is no film in the camera? My camera is at (1) in the counter and when I turn the crank the number doesn't advance. Also, does the crank arm go past the reset button when you turn it to it's fullest distance?

The leather on the film counter side is missing and it makes me wonder if someone pulled it off to gain access to the counter. I have some new leather for the camera and will apply it soon.

On a side note, I slit some film for my Kodak Flash Bantam 828 camera yesterday. First time pulling through the backing paper. I usually just pull the film through, but I see I can maybe do the same if I buy or make a slitter for 120 to 127.

When I've cut film for 127 or 828 I've always kept the 120 backing with it and trimmed the leader and tail for length and shape before/while respooling to the correct spools. If you cut the correct edge, you get the 16-on track for 828, and running the roll backward lets the 16-on and 12-on tracks work for 4x4 and 4x6, respectively (though on 4x6 or 4x3 (double red window), you wind up with a couple mm of overlap -- masking the frame gate is my preferred solution there).

wjlapier said:

Does the film counter advance when the crank arm is turned when there is no film in the camera? My camera is at (1) in the counter and when I turn the crank the number doesn't advance. Also, does the crank arm go past the reset button when you turn it to it's fullest distance?

The leather on the film counter side is missing and it makes me wonder if someone pulled it off to gain access to the counter. I have some new leather for the camera and will apply it soon.

On a side note, I slit some film for my Kodak Flash Bantam 828 camera yesterday. First time pulling through the backing paper. I usually just pull the film through, but I see I can maybe do the same if I buy or make a slitter for 120 to 127.

Click to expand...

The Yashica 44 doesn't know if there's film in it or not until you tell it so (unlike the Rollei Baby) so normally you can crank away and watch the numbers advance to your heart's content.

If you see a number in the counter window and it doesn't change when you turn the crank, there's likely a problem with the counter mechanism. In the Yashica 44, there's no link between the frame counter and the shutter, so that wouldn't be the problem. Does it make a clicking sound when you turn the crank? If so, the counter hasn't fully reset to the starting position even though it shows the number 1. Try pressing the reset button one more time (press it firmly) and see if that solves the problem.

BTW, I found the correct manual on Mike's site. If you open the Yashica page listing various models, it'll appear in the column on the left, opposite the 44A link. Here it is direct:https://www.cameramanuals.org/yashica_pdf/yashica_44.pdf

The "leather " on these cameras is cheap plastic that dries up and cracks (and flakes off) all by itself.

Let me know if you can't get the counter working.

And for the record: I opened up a 44LM and realized instantly that it uses the same mechanism for counting frames as the Primo Jr. There's a big follower wheel in the takeup chamber that tracks the movement of the film. So if you unload a 44LM in the middle of a roll, you have to stick your finger in there and advance the follower so it thinks it's run through the end of the roll. Another reason I like the plain old 44 better!

The winding crank arm will travel more than 180 degrees--past the reset button and stops. I have seen the numbers move but it's an odd way to get that to happen. I turn the crank to a little past 90 degrees. Then while at the spot slowly move the crank arm back and forth from 90 degrees to almost 180 degrees. The numbers start to move then somewhere they stay and I can allow the crank arm to go back to start and then it turns about 180 degrees. The numbers advance to 12 and then whatever is past 12. I push in the reset button and it returns to 1. Sometimes when I do the cranking to move the counter it gets to 3 or 4 and resets back to 1 on it's own.

BTW, thanks for finding the correct manual. In the manual someone crossed out under the roller bar and wrote in over. I'm assuming under the roller bar nearest the take up spool.

That doesn't seem good! I'm going to guess that somewhere in the counter mechanism a gear tooth has broken off or something has been bent out of shape--it shouldn't be that erratic. PM me; I might have a solution.