Yashica 35mm Cameras...Let's See Them!

[ic-racer]

I got into Yashica many years ago. My first 'pro' camera was a Yashica 124-G I got mowing lawns in the mid 1970s. What a great camera both then and now.

Subsequently I was gifted a beat-up FX-3. After repairing it I was amazed how it had everything I needed for good photography. Big bright viewfinder, compact design, no moving galvometer, no automation, metal frame and easy to take apart and repair.

I wound up getting 6 of them. I bought 2 as parts cameras, but those two repaired easily and wound up being better than the cameras that needed the parts.

Initially I was going to get Zeiss lenses for them, but wound up getting the Yashica ML lenses instead.

 

[ic-racer]

 

[Paul Howell]

I think Yashica made many really great cameras from rangefinders, M42, C/Y mount, with really undervalued lens. Even their AF bodies were pretty good for fist generation AF.

 

[xkaes]

I agree completely that Yashica (actually Tomioka) made a lot of great lenses.

I have a Tomioka (Spiratone) 500mm f8 CAT that's great -- not the later Spiratone Minitel-M which was NOT Tomioka.

The only thing that still puzzles me is why they never made an 85mm lens.

 

[ic-racer]

Yes, the screw mount DX lenses! Some were pretty unique, like the 21mmm, 1000mm and the 55 f1.2.

 

[Paul Howell]

I think the 55 1.2 is the only 1.2 in M42 that I've ever seen, must be really rare.

 

[xkaes]

Just these four f1.2 in m42 -- probably all the same lens -- one was for a Cosina SLR, one a Revue SLR, and a fifth (?!?!) might have been for a Sears-labeled SLR.

Name	Vendor	Focal range	Max. aperture
Tomioka Auto Yashinon DS-M 55mm f/1.2-16	Tomioka	55mm	1.2
Tomioka Auto Yashinon 55mm f/1.2-16	Tomioka	55mm	1.2
Tomioka Auto Revuenon 55mm f/1.2-16	Tomioka	55mm	1.2
Tomioka Cosinon Auto 55mm f/1.2-16	Tomioka	55mm	1.2

 

[ic-racer]

The internet prices for those and the C/Y 1.2 55mm lens are crazy. One would think it was the best 1.2 lens ever made.

 

[moggi1964]

The F/1.7 version of the Yashica Minister. A lovely camera to use and surprisingly heavy.

 

[ic-racer]

Yes, Yashica made some very nice fixed lens rangefinders that don't get much mention around here. I guess everyone thinks they want an interchangeable lens rangefinder.

I don't own any of them, but in addition to the Minister-700 above they made the Electro 35 CC which had an amazing f1.8 35mm fixed lens.
Try to put a compact lens like that on your interchangeable-lens rangefinder!

 

[Don_ih]

very nice fixed lens rangefinders

I have a Minister D, a Minister III, and I had a Lynx with the 1.4 lens - all took good pictures. I have had a couple of Electros, but neither had a properly working shutter. Yashica cameras: great lenses, almost everything else is not reliable.

 

[KerrKid]

This very underrated, underappreciated, underpriced Yashica was given to me years ago. It has that clever "now you see me, now you don't" lens setup which keeps the rocks hurled by haters from damaging the lens. I just used it at a vintage motorcycle show and I think it was the perfect camera for that. No one came up to me and tried to steal or admire it which illustrates how nice it is to have a camera that flies under the radar. It truly is weatherproof, too, as I don't think any weather got in the camera and I was surrounded by weather the whole time. I can't wait to get the film developed and hope the developer doesn't try and keep the pictures because of how sharp and contrasty they are and how well they are composed.

 

[Don_ih]

underrated, underappreciated, underpriced Yashica

Um, the T4 is generally overrated, overappreciated, and overpriced. A quick look at recent ebay sales says they're going for more than $500.

However - it does take good pictures.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Um, the T4 is generally overrated, overappreciated, and overpriced.

Certainly overpriced. I keep thinking of selling my three - bought new for $100 or whatever they went for. Now 15-20 years old and still working without a hitch. I don't know what I would replace them with, though.

 

[OAPOli]

I have an MG-1. Nice f/2.8 Tessar lens and aperture priority AE. But it's the same bulk as an SLR and the shutter release has a too long travel.

 

[KerrKid]

I see I was throwing seeds on the sidewalk with my post.

It's called humor, gentlemen.

 

[ic-racer]

Am I missing something here? Weatherproof cameras are going for that much? I paid less for my Nikonos.

View attachment 334795

This very underrated, underappreciated, underpriced Yashica was given to me years ago. It has that clever "now you see me, now you don't" lens setup which keeps the rocks hurled by haters from damaging the lens. I just used it at a vintage motorcycle show and I think it was the perfect camera for that. No one came up to me and tried to steal or admire it which illustrates how nice it is to have a camera that flies under the radar. It truly is weatherproof, too, as I don't think any weather got in the camera and I was surrounded by weather the whole time. I can't wait to get the film developed and hope the developer doesn't try and keep the pictures because of how sharp and contrasty they are and how well they are composed.

Looks like a nice camera. I have a box of point and shoots, but they don't work well for me. Seems they pick such a low shutter speed, everything is always blurry. Even with flash, the shutter speed is low. Does that one have a manual mode?

 

[KerrKid]

Am I missing something here? Weatherproof cameras are going for that much? I paid less for my Nikonos.


Looks like a nice camera. I have a box of point and shoots, but they don't work well for me. Seems they pick such a low shutter speed, everything is always blurry. Even with flash, the shutter speed is low. Does that one have a manual mode?

I don’t know if it’s really weatherproof. It just says that on the front.

It takes good pictures. Compared to what I couldn’t say.

Manual mode? I think not.

Glad I got it free. My father-in-law paid $200 for it new. I sure wouldn’t pay what they’re asking for them now. Ditto for the T2 and T3.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I have a box of point and shoots, but they don't work well for me. Seems they pick such a low shutter speed, everything is always blurry.

Funny, a common complaint about P&S cameras is they stay at maximum shutter speed until they are wide open and only then reduce the speed.

Olympus P&S cameras often focus on the wrong thing in the scene - if you have O P&S cameras taking fuzzy pictures that may be part of it.

T4s take balanced aproach to f/stop Vs time, or at least they seem to. The old T4 (no S) would accept ASA 25 film. I used it with Kodachrome 25 and Tech Pan with great results. Lent it to a girlfriend who refused to return it - should have bought her a T4S/T5 and traded. The Kodachrome situation has taken care of itself, for Tech Pan I tape a 0.3OD filter over the metering cell.

 

[removedacct2]

the T4 is generally overrated, overappreciated, and overpriced.

here on norwegian online marketsplace, a T4 for 5000kr, use your favorite calculator for currency conversion ...
Of course seller puts in title "Carl Zeiss". If "Zeiss" or "Leitz" is printed somewhere on a camera price magically jumps to the roof:

nearby in Finland the hipsters of Kameratori, a 3/5 estimated T4 in Tampere, for 579€ (!!!):

the Olympus Mju II is typically the expensive toy in this category, but these Yashica T4 prices are non-sense.

 

[ic-racer]

here on norwegian online marketsplace, a T4 for 5000kr, use your favorite calculator for currency conversion ...
Of course seller puts in title "Carl Zeiss". If "Zeiss" or "Leitz" is printed somewhere on a camera price magically jumps to the roof:

Ok, that explains it. I thought it might have been the Kyocera branding or being weatherproof something.

I did not see the little 'Zeiss' lettering in the picture of post #12.

What if the lettering rubs off? Can they still get the big dollars?

I was expecting people to post about the metal classic 35mm Yashicas, but that's ok I learned something new.

[

 

[miha]

I have an MG-1. Nice f/2.8 Tessar lens and aperture priority AE. But it's the same bulk as an SLR and the shutter release has a too long travel.

I also have an MG-1. What battery do you use to power it?

 

[OAPOli]

I also have an MG-1. What battery do you use to power it?

I printed this adapter https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4893954, glued a brass shim at the bottom, put a spring in the hole and inserted 4x LR44 batteries.

The MG-1 will fire at 1/250s without a battery.

 

[removedacct2]

I was gifted a beat-up FX-3. After repairing it I was amazed how it had everything I needed for good photography. Big bright viewfinder, compact design, no moving galvometer, no automation, metal frame and easy to take apart and repair.

some years ago I was given a FX-3 in very bad shape. Skin was very deteriorated, wind lever stuck. It was indeed easy to start disassembly. I only removed top and bottom and fixed advance lever.
I removed all skin, put a piece of black gaffer on the forehead of the prism, and reskinned with cuts from an old leather jacket I had around, used just for such small repairs.
Everything works included lightmeter, which I don't use most of the time, I prefer narrow angle meters (like some old Sekonic or the Polaris).

couple tweaks:
- the shutter button was just level with its casing, so requiring a good push with the finger. I made a button from an old not working cable release, a flat headed office pin, bit of epoxy putty:

the battery cover is plastic and had a big hole where the slit was. For this I use cyanoacrylate "super" glue mixed with some sodium bicarbonate (backing soda), taking care of protecting the inside. Then some sanding, use dremel or just precision files to carve a new slit.

for a bit of esthetic I applied some black marker pen and red automotive touch-up red ink in the slit:

when I got it I remember how light it felt, like a toy camera.
It is the lighter of all my 35mm SLR, the heavier being the Ricoh Singlex II. The smaller also.

Yashica FX-3: 456g
Ricoh Singlex II: 783g:

a group picture with some of my SLR, from smaller and lighter to bigger and heavier (from left to right): Fx-3 456g, Spotmatic: 621g , Miranda-D: 656g, Zenit-V: 674g, Ricoh Singlex II: 783.
People who think old Zenit and Praktica are big and heavy haven´t hold a Singlex....

After I have been shoting with a Bronica S2 kit or a Horseman 985 kit, if I grab the Yashica FX-3 I have to check twice that I have something in the hand, just too light

 

[ic-racer]

All three of these are 35mm cameras. The Yashica looks the size of a Pentax 110 SLR!