Inspecting used Yashica Mat 124

[karthik]

Hi all,

I am getting to inspect a Yashica Mat 124 (not G) tomorrow before I decide to buy it. What are things I should check? I have never used a TLR before, so really don't know what the weak points are. I could think of the following item. Any other suggestions?

(a) Check lenses for fungus, haze, dust. (With a flashlight shining through, fully open?)

(b) Shutter works or not - and if speeds are at least in the right ballpark.

(c) Aperture blades move? Any oil/crud on blades?

(d) Condition of light seals.

(e) Film winding crank works or not (though I do not have 120 film at hand to properly do this - should I get a roll and take it with me?).

Apart from all this, is there anything I absolutely should NOT do - e.g. quirky things like "Don't change shutter speed if you have already cocked the shutter and the aperture is set to f/8 - you will jam the mechanism".

Thanks for any advice!

--- RK

 

[mablo]

If you can shoot a test roll or two, do it. Yashica 124 sometimes suffers from overlapping frames. It is almost impossible to repair they tell me.

 

[tih]

Quirky thing not to do: don't attempt to use the self timer with the flash sync switch set to M! If you do, you'll break it!

So I guess you'll want to test that the self timer hasn't been broken in this way. Also don't forget to check whether it has a working light meter (you might even want to bring a button cell to power it - it uses a 1.3 volt PX13 mercury cell, but a 1.5 volt 625-type cell will work, although it does offset the reading a bit).

 

[Gearoidmuar]

The Yashinon lens is better than the Yashikor. The Yashinon lens in my experience was just as good as the Rolleiflex lenses.

 

[Ian Grant]

The Yashicamat 124's only hads the Yashinon lenses.

Just look for general wear and tear, make sure the slow shutter speeds sound OK, and that the meter works, they are great cameras.

Ian

 

[haris]

Problem I hade with mine Yashica Mat 124 is stucked shutter. Shutter leaves get stucked (glued) when camera is not used for longer period. Not big problem, unscrew frist glass element of lens, put drop or two of gasoline for cleaning ro for example for cigarete lighters, fire shutter few times and leave gasoline to evaporate. Maybe would need to repead procedure few times, and that is that.

Mine is with broken meter, as I have handheld meter, and would use it anyway even if Yasicha's meter works, it is not problem.

Manuals for Yashica MAT 124 can be seen at: http://mikec62.tripod.com/manuals.html

 

[mgb74]

Film wind problems (including not stopping at the next frame) are problems with the Y'mat that I've personally had and have also heard numerous reports of. So I suggest buying that roll of film and going through a full 12 frame cycle, making sure the crank stops for each frame. If you can actually expose, develop, and evaluate the film (as mablo suggests) all the better.

Make sure the viewfinder magnifier and the side curtains on the viewfinder pop up and stay up properly.

 

[ic-racer]

QUIRK: Don't fiddle with the self timer when the shutter is set to "M", keep it on "X" all the time!

QUIRK: The 120 and 220 start marks are at different places!

QUIRK: The dials on the front rotate the shutter and aperture rings opposite that of a Rollieflex.

QUIRK: No means for double exposure.

The first time you put film through it, make sure the pressure plate is set to 120 (if using 120 film). The pressure plate setting controls the frame counter (12 vs 24).

From what I recall it uses light traps, rather than foam rubber.

I hope it checks out OK for you!

Also, check the battery compartment for corrosion.

 

[karthik]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question above.

It had multiple issues: Shutter did not work. Winding crank rotated freely for several turns either way, sometimes with the sound of gears and sometimes not. *Lots* of dust inside both lenses, and spots that might have been the start of fungus.

Some of this is probably fixable as pointed out above, but the added expense/time was not something I could invest in it right now. I guess I have to postpone my entry into medium format.

 

[Ian Grant]

Keep looking, these cameras appear in the Classifieds here for very reasonable prices, that's how I bought mine 3 years ago. If you Subscribe you could try placing a wanted advert.

Ian

 

[RobertV]

Take notice that a Mat 124 (G) is at least 25 years old (or much more) so a CLA and replacement of the foam is necessary. A CLA on a Yashica Mat 124 (G) is about Eur. 80,- Eur. 100,-. The value of the camera can be about the same. However it's still a cheap and interesting entry in medium format. I use mine specially for I.R. photography due to the easy handling. Bay 1 filters can be ordered via Heliopan.

 

[ic-racer]

Just for the sake of completeness, one last quirk: the flash shoe loads from the front.