I saw the new' Yashica MF-2 in the wild today

[Huss]

A young woman was carrying one today at a local festival.
I felt bad for her.

Yashica MF-2 Super DX Review: The Worst Camera We've Tested.

The Yashica MF-2 Super DX has to be one of the worst cameras we've ever used in our years testing cameras. Don't buy it. Here's why.

www.thephoblographer.com

 

[xkaes]

All I can say is that the author is ignorant when he states, "Some of you may say I should’ve known better than to buy a camera from a cheap company like Yashica."

Pure ignorance -- plain and simple.

 

[Tel]

Maybe just an accessory--a camera to take with you to a festival to make you look cool but one that you wouldn't miss if it were stolen.

 

[Tel]

All I can say is that the author is ignorant when he states, "Some of you may say I should’ve known better than to buy a camera from a cheap company like Yashica."

Pure ignorance -- plain and simple.

To be fair, deeply buried within the article is the acknowledgement that the company currently using the name Yashica is nothing to do with the Japanese camera manufacturer (who made some fine cameras).

 

[Huss]

Maybe just an accessory--a camera to take with you to a festival to make you look cool but one that you wouldn't miss if it were stolen.

I have a feeling that most people who buy them think they are getting a decent camera, because it "looks" like it should be decent, and costs $130.

 

[macfred]

I have used a couple of Yashica's film cameras about the years ( Electro 35; 35 GSN, Lynx, 230AF; Mat 124G ...) - I do not complain.

''Self''1988 / Yashica 230AF - -Yashinon AF 50 mm f/1.8 - Kodak Gold 200 (5095)

 

[Paul Howell]

I bought one and returned it, the ad was misleading, the flash did not work, build quality was dismal. Took a while for the marketing company to refund my Amazon account. And as stated, the old Yashica has nothing to do with this camera, like Petri, Miranda, the Yashica name was sold, which is too bad, Yashica made pretty decent camera and lens.

 

[Tel]

I've got a couple of Yashica 44s. Simple to use and well engineered--still working after 60+ years.

 

[ic-racer]

The junk camera which is the topic of this thread has nothing to do with any other Yashica camera ever built.
It is a CSO*.

*Camera Shape Object

 

[BobD]

So many fine old brand names have been sold to others. Not just cameras but many types of products. It's really a shame when the new owners don't keep up the quality standards of the original manufacturers.

 

[xkaes]

To be fair, deeply buried within the article is the acknowledgement that the company currently using the name Yashica is nothing to do with the Japanese camera manufacturer (who made some fine cameras).

To be fair? You're saying he knows he's spreading trash -- instead of being an ignoramus. In my book, that makes it worse.

The original Yashica 35MF is a very nice camera -- a 35ME with a flash -- and a great 38mm f2.8 lens.

Yashica followed this up with a less expensive, trimmed-down, MF-1, but kept the 38mm f2.8 lens.

They then decided on an even more economic model, the MF-2 with a 38mm f4.0 lens. Still the camera is capable of good results within its limits -- much like the Minolta Hi-matic GF.

And when Kyocera bought Yashica, they decided to produce one more -- the MF-3 with a 38mm f3.5 lens. Brazil was the marketing target

These four cameras have nothing to do with the current crop of cameras from the corporation that now owns the "YASHICA" name -- as others have pointed out. And who knows who actually makes the new two:

MF-1 with a 31mm f11 lens -- probably a single element
MF-2 SUPER DX -- 38mm f3.8 -- maybe two elements

If the "reviewer" doesn't know this stuff, he shouldn't be reviewing the camera. If he knows this stuff and doesn't reveal it completely, he's a jerk. In either case, he should be ignored.

I should be "fair"? Rubbish!!! He's tarnishing the good name of Yashica, and needs to be called out for knowingly doing it .

 

[Brendan Quirk]

I have used a couple of Yashica's film cameras about the years ( Electro 35; 35 GSN, Lynx, 230AF; Mat 124G ...) - I do not complain.

I used to desire strongly the Yashica TL Electro X. Later, I wanted a Yashica mat 124G. (Now I have a Pentax 67, no need for the Yashicas...)

 

[gone]

It's a shame to see venerable old names turn into something else. At least when the Voigtlander name was revived the cameras were by and large really cool. My first Bessa R was a fun camera that initially felt flimsy, but nothing ever broke other than the rewind crank. It always gave crisp exposures too.

The info that the Yashica is a kickstarter camera isn't exactly buried. The author uses it to lead off his third paragraph.

 

[Huss]

My first Bessa R was a fun camera that initially felt flimsy, but nothing ever broke other than the rewind crank.

lol.

 

[albada]

It took me a while to realize that (1) this camera is new, and (2) it's merely styled like a 1990 P&S, but its internals are probably little better than a disposable. At first I thought, "This camera is around 30 years old, so why expect everything to work?"

 

[xkaes]

Just like with the other "Yashica" in-name-only cameras, the marketing company hopes people will fall for the Yashica name, and think that the cameras are actually "good" and "valuable" -- AND, most importantly, pay a lot more than they are really worth.

The same thing is happening with the MINOLTA label. Some company bought the rights to the name, and is slapping the Minolta name on what should be bargain-basement gear from digital cameras to dash cams -- hoping that people will pay a lot more than bargain-basement prices.

"A fool and his money..."

The problem I have with the Yashica MF-2 Super DX review is not that the reviewer says it is a piece of crap, but he throws the REAL Yashica's great gear under the bus in the process.

 

[Huss]

It took me a while to realize that (1) this camera is new, and (2) it's merely styled like a 1990 P&S, but its internals are probably little better than a disposable. At first I thought, "This camera is around 30 years old, so why expect everything to work?"

It's this

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1688759-REG/yashica_yas_mf2sdx_bk_cs_mf_2_35mm_camera_with.html

 

[xkaes]

It took me a while to realize that (1) this camera is new, and (2) it's merely styled like a 1990 P&S, but its internals are probably little better than a disposable.

You got that right, but Yashica came out with their MF cameras in the early '80s.

 

[4season]

Huss, are you sure that wasn't an original Yashica that you saw? There seems to be more than one MF2 variant, but the one you've linked to is a dead ringer for a genuine Yashica / Kyocera product, lacking only the Kyocera branding, and I wonder this new camera is a bona fide reissue of a cheap original.

Edit: Spotted a difference: New camera adds a self timer lever.

Image of older camera taken from this eBay auction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185561674351

 

[NB23]

Were you like “wow is that a Leica?”

Yesterday I crossed a Leica user and I was like “WOW IS THAT A YASHICA?”

I kinda burst his moment.

 

[xkaes]

Huss, are you sure that wasn't an original Yashica that you saw? There seems to be more than one MF2 variant, but the one you've linked to is a dead ringer for a genuine Yashica / Kyocera product, lacking only the Kyocera branding, and I wonder this new camera is a bona fide reissue of a cheap original.

The original, GENUINE, Yashica MF-2 had an f4 lens. The Genuine MF-2 SUPER changed that to f3.8 with the "MF-2 Super" on the top.

The new FAKE added the self-timer, as mentioned. What's changed on the inside? Who knows, but the original MF-2 was pretty basic to begin with.

 

[Paul Howell]

The new version shows a metering cell, there is no meter, the shutter is fixed.

 

[xkaes]

The Kyocera version of the DF-2 shows a metering cell in the picture (above).

 

[Paul Howell]

I think it has working meter.

 

[xkaes]

Like with many, many other simple cameras with a built-in flash, the meter is used to determine if the flash is needed -- will fire -- not to adjust the camera for a non-flash exposure. That would require a much more complicated camera, and automatic adjustment of the shutter speed, the f-stop, or both. With simple flash cameras, when the flash is needed, it either simply fires, or it sets the shutter speed to 1/30, or the f-stop to the max, etc. Nothing fancy.