Hello - Seeking Yaschiamat Guidance

[Fixcinater]

Double post.

 

[Fixcinater]

I am from the US. Live in Minnesota.

I really appreciate the responses. This may be a really dumb question but developing the film is only one step right? How do you get the actual prints? Any YT videos out there that can show me the process?

There is a lab in St. Cloud who can develop and print for you. As for light meter, either Sunny 16 (with Tri-X or something similar for film, as they are forgiving with regards to mistakes in exposure) or use a light meter app on smart phone. I shot 25-ish rolls in France last summer with only that for a meter and only had 3-4 frames turn out so poorly they can't be used. It's easier than you think.


As for the Yashica: make sure the shutter is timing itself correctly before putting a bunch of film through it.

Lens hood is very useful on that camera, even the cheap Chinese plastic ones you find on eBay. Be aware of what flare looks like in the viewfinder, and assume it will look similar on film.



Last but not least, have fun! Great camera to start off with.

 

[fotch]

And if you bring it to England, you can shoot colour with it!


Steve.

What if your using color film?

 

[Rick A]

What if your using color film?

The use of color film is strictly prohibited in England.

 

[spankurmonkey]

So, I want to dust off this camera and give it a try this spring.... have a nieces wedding next month and would be great to snap a few photos.

Where can I get some film and where is the easiest place to send for developing?

Any advantage/disadvantage in ordering off of Amazon ?

What is negative vs slide versions...?

 

[Fixcinater]

Buying film: Adorama, B&H, Freestyle are mail-order stores that I have used for fresh film. I haven't ordered film from Amazon but I see no reason why it shouldn't be OK.

Negative: for prints/scanning. Most flexible/forgiving in shooting errors and you can have prints made when you send the film to get developed.

Slides: for projection or just seeing them in hand which is very neat. I still pull out my medium format slides from a trip to France two years ago and look at the colors. Nothing like it.

 

[spankurmonkey]

So just a standard 400 ISO should be good for my first attempt?

Where is the most economical place to have it developed/prints?

 

[Sirius Glass]

ISO 400 film allows one to use smaller apertures and thus have a better depth of field. Further more ISO 400 will allow the user to continue to shoot photographs in lower light levels before needing to set the camera down or use a tripod.

 

[bvy]

Look for medium format (120 format) film. Any 100 or 400 speed film should be fine for general shooting. Does the onboard light meter work? If not, you'll need a dedicated light meter (or app) -- or you can apply the Sunny 16 rule.

Here's a good lab. There are others:
www.dwaynesphoto.com

 

[spankurmonkey]

Look for medium format (120 format) film. Any 100 or 400 speed film should be fine for general shooting. Does the onboard light meter work? If not, you'll need a dedicated light meter (or app) -- or you can apply the Sunny 16 rule.

Here's a good lab. There are others:
www.dwaynesphoto.com

I ordered one roll of ILFORD HP5 PLUS 400 B&W from Amazon and plan to take a few photos over the weekend. One thing I still have yet to figure out is how many exposures the roll has.

I still have to study how to load the film and also what which knobs/controls I need to be familiar with.

Not sure what you mean by onboard light meter...can you explain? [ OK, I found out the version of the camera I have does not have a built in light meter ]

 

[Terry Christian]

spank:
120 roll film has a fixed width (6 cm) and no fixed length, enabling multiple frame sizes for different cameras, and thus a variable number of frames.
TLRs like your Yashicamat tend to have frames that are 6x6, which makes for 12 shots per roll.

 

[spankurmonkey]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here..... would there be anyone who has one of these camera's who could school me by phone for 5-10 min?

If so PM me and I will give you a call if that works.

I will continue to read up best I can.

 

[bvy]

Sorry -- I thought you had the 124 or 124G, both of which have meters. Even so, they're not always trustworthy, and most people find them gratuitous anyway. Your film has good latitude in case you don't have an accessory meter and decide to "wing it."

As for loading the film, have you checked out YouTube? There are some good instructional videos there and elsewhere. I think it would be hard to walk you through this by phone -- especially for me, since I don't have this exact model.

 

[spankurmonkey]

Rick A - Thank you for your help this morning. Enjoyed the talk and will get the book you suggested..... Off to shoot some film!

 

[Rick A]

You're very welcome, feel free to contact me any time.

 

[SJRichardson]

I buy 120 film from National Camera or West Photo in the Mpls/St. Paul area

 

[spankurmonkey]

I buy 120 film from National Camera or West Photo in the Mpls/St. Paul area

do either offer developing services?

 

[ic-racer]

Finding books on photography can be difficult these days. The books you want usually don't have "FILM" in the title because, in the day, there was no need to differentiate film photography from digital. I can recommend the Time-Life book "The Camera" as it is a copy of the Ansel Adams book by the same name and you can get it for a few dollars.

 

[SJRichardson]

Yes, I have sent some film through National Camera. It is shipped to St. Cloud for developing and takes about 10-14 days. I got better and faster service from Dwaynes Photo. I haven't tried West photo yet as I'm just starting to shoot film.