New (to me) rf camera arrived today.

There was a thread last week about the Yashica Electro 35 camera which caught my eye. I had purchased one (a black body model) of these cameras new in 1970 while stationed as a photographer in Viet Nam. I shot a few rolls through it at the time and eventually sold it to another photographer for reasons which elude me now. I recall being surprised at the sharp clear images it produced for the price as compared to the Nikon slr gear and Yashica 6x6cm TLR I used on the job. Just last year a friend gave me another one which I never used and gave to a young man at work who had expressed and interest in photography.

As I was reading the thread and remembering the one I had owned I kicked myself mentally for giving the latest one away. The last post on the thread was from b1bmsgt who apparently buys and refurbishes the cameras for resale on ebay. I sent him a pm and asked if he would contact me the next time he put one up for auction. He did a lot better than that. He told me about a few getting ready for sale and we came to an agreement on one of them. When it was ready for shipping he took a few pictures of it and sent them to me saying that it looked pretty good considering its age.

It arrived today. It is very nearly in brand new condition. If it has any cosmetic flaws I haven't seen them. The foam seals and pod have been replaced and the lens is clear and the shutter crisp.

I rushed down to Radio Shack and bought a 6 volt battery. It is not the right size (about a 1/2" short) and not as big around as the original but I quickly devised a field expedient adapter using a .45 acp shell casing ground down about 1/8th inch. I will turn a more proper adapter out of aluminum on my lathe later tonight but for now the camera is working and I am a happy camper.

Thank you b1bmsgt. It is beautiful and you did a great job on the refurbish.

And I won't sell or give this one away.

Hey I might be interested in one of these. Ebay is a real crap shoot for these cameras, never know if it will work or not. I'd feel much better buying one that's been gone over and checked out.

Kevin Roach said:

Hey I might be interested in one of these. Ebay is a real crap shoot for these cameras, never know if it will work or not. I'd feel much better buying one that's been gone over and checked out.

Click to expand...

Well I can certainly recommend b1bmsgt and his cameras. I just finished making a battery adapter for my camera. Its pretty simple if you have a lathe.I bought a Radio Shack 23-469-6 volt battery to replace the mercury cell originally used. The new battery is smaller in both od and length. I used 5/8th" bar stock and turned the od down just a smidgeon (about .0250") and bored a .498" hole to a depth of .250". The length is about .6". After putting heat shrink around the exposed outside diameter it just fits into the battery well and extends the battery length to the proper size.

I've got a roll of C-41 asa 400 B&W in it and tomorrow I will shoot the first roll. I'm jazzed.

It is a super camera; we had 3 for our high school annual staff and I exposed many a crisp roll of tri-x through them.

Makes me want another one...

that's pretty fancy AZLF, I've just wrapped them in a piece of cardbord with a bit of tinfoil in the end.

Has anyone tried a Lynx or a yashica 35? The Lynx just needs a battery for the meter and the 35 is all mechanical. Are the lenses as good as the gsn?

Kevin Roach said:

that's pretty fancy AZLF, I've just wrapped them in a piece of cardbord with a bit of tinfoil in the end.

You heathen! However if you read the first post you know that my first impulse was to slap whatever I could find in there. And besides, what fun is there in having a nice lathe if you can't whip up a widget now and then?

Has anyone tried a Lynx or a yashica 35? The Lynx just needs a battery for the meter and the 35 is all mechanical. Are the lenses as good as the gsn?

Click to expand...

I've been told they are but I don't have any personal experience with them.

I have more...

Send me a PM if you would like one.

Below are some shots (digital...please forgive me...) of AZLF's Yashica. Didn't come out too bad...

Russ

Hey b1bmsgt, If you ever get out to Tucson give me a ring. My brother is a sheet metal fabricator for Pima Air Museum. He can give us a tour of the facility that most people will never see. I've been several times but I never get tired of the exhibits. They (the museum staff) have done a very good job with the place. Something for every taste. Attached is a photo I took of a "corncob" radial engine they have on display. It has cutaways as you can see but the engine is set up to rotate through its cycles by pressing a button on the front of the display. I love all the mechanical intricacy of it.

I was in Tucson back in 1982 for a couple of months, on a temporary duty assignment to do flight control modifications to the A-10's at Davis Monthan. I went to the air museum every chance I got. It was pretty primitive at that time. I recall one building that was under construction, but everything else was strictly open air. I took a lot of pictures back then, and I still have some of them. I'll see if I can dig them out and post a couple of them.

Thanks for the invite, but I doubt that I will be out that way anytime soon. (or anytime not so soon, for that matter...)

Russ

I have purchased several Electros and Lynx 14 and all of them have had issues unfotunately, which is a shame because they seem to be a really cool RF and Yashica lenses are top class. The only Yashica that I have that works is a Minister 111 with a selenium meter and 2.8 45mm lens. The quality of this little beast is realy quite amazing and they seem to sell for a song. Buy a couple before they get discovered!