Troubeshooting a Yashicat Mat

[QuisAmet]

So I picked up a Yashica Mat some time ago as my first foray into medium format, on a well known auction site. On using it the results are very hit or miss, mostly being blurry and I'm not quite sure what's causing it, so will upload a couple of examples (apologies for the scans being rough and ready). Can it be the shutter? I shot all these handheld but I'm sure these were all taken at either 1/500 or 1/250.. but again there are some sharp shots as well. Can it be my focusing? I'll be honest in that the viewfinder is not the clearest or brightest on my example, though I thought the subjects looked in focus.. but nothing looks sharp in some, leading me to believe its the shutter.. any help would be appreciated.

 

[tokam]

I have a Yashicamat 124G that displays this problem from time to time. It seems that the shutter lubricants outgas and this condenses on the inner surface of the rear element of the taking lens making the images look soft and a bit blurry.

Although my camera had a full service about 10 years ago it seems that every 3 - 4 years the lens gets cloudy again and needs to be dismantled and cleaned. I checked it a couple of weeks ago and it will need cleaning before I use it again. If doing the job yourself you will need a long lens spanner that can reach down to the slots in the rear lens holder. I clean the lens with a tissue and naptha. Isopropyl alcohol may also do the job.

In the worst case you lens may be affected by fungus. Open the camera back and set the shutter to B and the aperture wide open and look through the back of the taking lens with the shutter open. If it looks evenly foggy you probably have the same problem I have on the inside of the rear element. (Fungus infections will look different).

 

[gone]

Could be a film loading problem, or a film advance issue w/ the camera. My guess is that the film is buckling in the middle in the camera.

 

[Ian Grant]

I've just sold my Yashicamat 124, they are easy to master no harder than any other TLR and definitely easier to use compared to Rolleicord/Micrcords and the Mamya C2 (22 & 220) series where the shutter cocking isn't liked to the film wind. Very intuitive, but some take to them quicker than others.

You need to check the focus is correct, that the taking lens focus matching the focus screen. Ideally a small piece of ground glass, but even some tracing paper across the film gate with the shutter locked open. It's a focus issue and you may need to get the viewing lens adjusted so they hatch focus.

Ian

 

[Alex Benjamin]

they are easy to master no harder than any other TLR and definitely easier to use compared to Rolleicord/Micrcords and the Mamya C2 (22 & 220) series

You're probably right on the focusing issue, Ian. I just had problems finding a comfortable way of holding the Yashica and preferred the heavier Mamiyas.

 

[cramej]

That's not motion blur so it isn't a shutter problem.

4 possibilities:

• Taking lens is not correct
• Viewing lens is not correct
• Mirror is out of alignment
• Focusing screen is out of alignment

You can check the mirror by focusing on a wall and making sure everything is in focus to to bottom or remove the finder and check that it is still securely in place.

Use a ground glass or scotch tape or tracing paper at the film gate, focus at a known distance by using the distance on the knob and see which lens agrees with the focused point. Then you know which lens is off. Or if both lenses are off, which could indicate the focusing screen needs adjusting.

The remedy for each of these varies so do this first and then decide how it needs to be fixed.

 

[Ian Grant]

You're probably right on the focusing issue, Ian. I just had problems finding a comfortable way of holding the Yashica and preferred the heavier Mamiyas.

The first TLR camera I used was a Yashicamat 124G, while at school, I did a swap for a weekend lending my Zenit E and 58mm and 135mm lens in exchange, I was 15, Summer of 69

I used a Mamiya C33 and a C3 for commercial work in the mid 1970s and early 1980s until they were stolen, it's like comparing M series Leicas to FEDs and Zorkis, the extra weight or better put mass makes them more stable, easier to hand hold for slower speeds. It's why Disc cameras and the format failed, they were too light.

Ian

 

[QuisAmet]

Thanks all for the advice. So the inside facing side of the lens was indeed a bit groggy, so gave that a clean, that might explain why the top half of the in focus photos seemed to be sharper than the bottom half. Also tried the tracing paper trick to assess focusing, to my eye the viewing lens matches with the knob as does the image on the paper from the taking lens. So I'm a bit stumped, maybe I did take some shots at 1/125 after all and my hands were a bit shaky, or the film backing is indeed buckling at some parts of the roll. I intend to risk one test roll at set distances on a tripod and handheld and failing that will CLA it.

 

[250swb]

You should take some shots on a set view, not a close up, not a landscape, but something with all the elements, all at different apertures with the camera mounted on a tripod. In this way you rule out the obvious of camera shake, focusing distance, etc. and then whatever is left no matter how improbable it becomes a suspect.

 

[grat]

Neither of your shots show the kind of effect I would expect from motion blur. Further, even at 1/125, I wouldn't expect much motion blur, unless you've been doing Red Bull Espresso shots.

But 250swb is correct, using a tripod and a shutter release cable, you can rule out any motion blur as an issue.

I'll also throw in a general recommendation for Mark Hama, depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on.

 

[Martin Frank]

I had a similar problem with a Yashica EM, finally had a CLA by Mark Hama, and all my negatives now are quite sharp. Presumably the lens/film plane/mirror distances were out of alignment