Yashica 635 question

[Kyle M.]

Hello all. I just acquired a very nice Yashica 635 complete with 35mm conversion and have a question for anyone out there that uses one. I've noticed my first roll of 120 that I ran through the camera has a small spot on the lower right of the image, therefore upper left of the negative where the rewind lock pin for the 35mm conversion protrudes into the image area. My question is when using the camera with 120 film is this knob mean to be pulled out and turned into the locked position? No big deal if it is it just never occured to me until after I shot and developed the roll. Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Fritzthecat]

A copy of the manual is available at Orphan Camera, you should read it and maybe kick in a few bucks to the site to help keep it open.
https://www.butkus.org/chinon/

 

[AndyH]

A copy of the manual is available at Orphan Camera, you should read it and maybe kick in a few bucks to the site to help keep it open.
https://www.butkus.org/chinon/

One of my very favorite websites. I always chip in a fivespot anytime I download anything from him, and I have a LOT of manuals. Great guy and great information.

Andy

 

[Randy Stewart]

Kyle,
Don't fall in love too quickly. The 635 is a relatively crudely made camera compared to later Yashicas, which are nothing to write home about anyway. Most 635 bodies mount a "Yashinor", a three element lens sourced from the Lauser Co, which company Yashica purchased. It specialized in supplying cheap, low quality lenses (i.e., the infamous Tri-Lauser) to a lot of the early 1950s Japanese camera makers. However, with the 6x6cm format, it will still make a reasonably sharp 11x14 print if you shut down the aperture to f8.0. A fairly small percentage, late version 635 bodies mount the same 4-element Yashinon used by Yashica most of their later Yashicamat bodies, a better lens. I acquired a full kit 635 with 35mm conversion parts and combo hard case. I used it on one short vacation trip and then discarded the negatives and unloaded the camera.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Kyle,
Don't fall in love too quickly. The 635 is a relatively crudely made camera compared to later Yashicas.....

Well now, it's not quite that bad! The 635 is based on the Yashica D, a perfectly fine camera. Many many people have had a great time shooting with the 635 and the Yashikor triplet lens.

A big problem with Yashicas is that they made so many. And they have been used by so many people. Condition can be all over the place. They weren't the strongest or best built cameras all in all, and they weren't really meant to be serviced. Drive them into the ground and move on to the next one. The basic design and execution is what I would consider the first level of 'real' TLRs. Sure, there are better cameras- Rolleis, Autocords, Ikoflexes, etc.- but that does not mean that the 635 is a bad camera by any means.

But get one in usable condition and they are very good cameras. And again, in these cases, many people have a great time with them and produce wonderful photos.

 

[moto-uno]

^ I agree with Dan completely on this subject . Over the years I've owned a few YashicaMats and the pictures were an easy match for similar ones from
my beloved Bronica Etrsi and it's 75mm lens .Can't speak to the Yashikor lens . Peter

 

[kevs]

Hello all. I just acquired a very nice Yashica 635 complete with 35mm conversion and have a question for anyone out there that uses one. I've noticed my first roll of 120 that I ran through the camera has a small spot on the lower right of the image, therefore upper left of the negative where the rewind lock pin for the 35mm conversion protrudes into the image area. My question is when using the camera with 120 film is this knob mean to be pulled out and turned into the locked position? No big deal if it is it just never occured to me until after I shot and developed the roll. Thanks for any assistance.

Hi Kyle,

When using 120 film, pull the knob marked 'R' out and rotate it 90 degrees to keep the pin from casting a shadow on the image area. You could use tape or even glue it to fix it in place if you never use the 35mm kit.

The 635 is a nicely-made camera and it's not 'crudely made' but it is fairly basic compared to the Yashica-Mat line. As Randy said, the Yashikor 3-element lens (unless you're lucky and have a late model with a Yashinon) isn't crash-hot but is adequate if you stop down, and can make a good, sharp neg. The bokeh is oddly circular. The centre is quite sharp but that falls away toward the edges, in 35mm mode it's a nice, sharp portrait lens.

Using the camera in 35mm mode is an interesting experience; it's easy to use in portrait orientation but a bit more awkward for horizontal images. You can use the sports finder but you'll have more parallax. Using the ground glass is more accurate on framing but getting used to the upside-down viewfinder is a bit... unnerving! Not a great camera for action shots!

It's possible to get 60mm-long, full-width images on 35mm film; fit the cassette adapter to the feed spool and the take-up spool but leave out the frame and backplate. Your images will cover the sprocket holes. The downside is the frame counter won't be accurate, you'll need to work out the actual amount of turns per frame and there's a possibility the film won't lie flat across the film plane. My solution is to glue cardboard across the camera back. There's a very useful website at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage6.html#yashica635.

Have fun,
kevs

 

[Kyle M.]

Hi Kyle,

When using 120 film, pull the knob marked 'R' out and rotate it 90 degrees to keep the pin from casting a shadow on the image area. You could use tape or even glue it to fix it in place if you never use the 35mm kit.

The 635 is a nicely-made camera and it's not 'crudely made' but it is fairly basic compared to the Yashica-Mat line. As Randy said, the Yashikor 3-element lens (unless you're lucky and have a late model with a Yashinon) isn't crash-hot but is adequate if you stop down, and can make a good, sharp neg. The bokeh is oddly circular. The centre is quite sharp but that falls away toward the edges, in 35mm mode it's a nice, sharp portrait lens.

Using the camera in 35mm mode is an interesting experience; it's easy to use in portrait orientation but a bit more awkward for horizontal images. You can use the sports finder but you'll have more parallax. Using the ground glass is more accurate on framing but getting used to the upside-down viewfinder is a bit... unnerving! Not a great camera for action shots!

It's possible to get 60mm-long, full-width images on 35mm film; fit the cassette adapter to the feed spool and the take-up spool but leave out the frame and backplate. Your images will cover the sprocket holes. The downside is the frame counter won't be accurate, you'll need to work out the actual amount of turns per frame and there's a possibility the film won't lie flat across the film plane. My solution is to glue cardboard across the camera back. There's a very useful website at http://www.yashicatlr.com/66ModelsPage6.html#yashica635.

Have fun,
kevs

Thank you! This is exactly the info I was looking for. I’ve owned 6 Yashica TLR’s now and have never had one with a mechanical problem. I also can tell that they are not crudely made. As someone who has also owned a Rolleiflex Automat and a Rolleicord I personally feel that the Yashica’s especially the earlier knob wind models feel more durable than the lower end Rolleis. I might have missed it but I don’t think that little detail about the rewind knob was mentioned in the manual, hence the reason I asked. Also as someone who has been shooting almost exclusively medium and large format film for the past six years I’m used to all the little inconveniences and nuances. I personally prefer waist level finders to any other viewfinder. Also having owned models with the Lumaxar, Yashikor, and Yashinon I found no issues with any of them even wide open. I honestly think the Lumaxar I had was the sharpest. The main reason I bought this one was because it’s a 635 and I’ve always been interested in the novel idea that it can use 35mm film. Which it does no more or less crudely than a Rolleiflex with the adapter.

 

[summicron1]

interesting it took 6 answers before anyone answered the question.

Thank you Kevs.

 

[moto-uno]

^ Yeah , I'm impressed it happened so fast too . How boring it'd be if everything was just a B&W answer ! Peter

 

[kevs]

Thank you! This is exactly the info I was looking for. I’ve owned 6 Yashica TLR’s now and have never had one with a mechanical problem. I also can tell that they are not crudely made. As someone who has also owned a Rolleiflex Automat and a Rolleicord I personally feel that the Yashica’s especially the earlier knob wind models feel more durable than the lower end Rolleis. I might have missed it but I don’t think that little detail about the rewind knob was mentioned in the manual, hence the reason I asked. Also as someone who has been shooting almost exclusively medium and large format film for the past six years I’m used to all the little inconveniences and nuances. I personally prefer waist level finders to any other viewfinder. Also having owned models with the Lumaxar, Yashikor, and Yashinon I found no issues with any of them even wide open. I honestly think the Lumaxar I had was the sharpest. The main reason I bought this one was because it’s a 635 and I’ve always been interested in the novel idea that it can use 35mm film. Which it does no more or less crudely than a Rolleiflex with the adapter.

No worries; I hope you have fun with your 635; I've had mine at least 25 years and I've taken apart the shutter to remove a broken self-timer. I even cleaned and reassembled the aperture blades (not fun!). I should take it for a walk with some 35mm one day... it's been a while...

I also have a 124-G, which served me well but got relegated to backup status when I brought a Bronica SQ-B in my student days.

Cheers,
kevs

 

[Toyo]

Yes the camera is a great introduction to 120 film and was my first 120 camera.
Mine had the Yashikor lens which was quite good, but the edges were always soft - even stopped down.
Having said that, I took some memorable images with it.
After some years, I purchased a Mamiya C330 which I still use.
I have long ago sold the Yashica 635
T

 

[Deleted member 88956]

Kyle,
Don't fall in love too quickly. The 635 is a relatively crudely made camera compared to later Yashicas, which are nothing to write home about anyway. Most 635 bodies mount a "Yashinor", a three element lens sourced from the Lauser Co, which company Yashica purchased. It specialized in supplying cheap, low quality lenses (i.e., the infamous Tri-Lauser) to a lot of the early 1950s Japanese camera makers. However, with the 6x6cm format, it will still make a reasonably sharp 11x14 print if you shut down the aperture to f8.0. A fairly small percentage, late version 635 bodies mount the same 4-element Yashinon used by Yashica most of their later Yashicamat bodies, a better lens. I acquired a full kit 635 with 35mm conversion parts and combo hard case. I used it on one short vacation trip and then discarded the negatives and unloaded the camera.

Hear say. Don't know why people do it. Things need to be put in perspective.

635 is on par with Mats build wise, the lens is Yashikor and it is not as bad as you seem to suggest. Yashinons were indeed put into later production which is by sepcs a better lens, in fact I think it is a very good to excellent lens.

The problem is that these cameras are old, many have been mishandled and not cared for or stored properly, as say Rollei flexes or cords, and there are surely examples to give one a headache, a case for any old camera anyways.

Shop carefully and you will end up with a great camera, just don't expect overall Rolleiflex experience. There are still Yashicas of all models available in a hardly used shape.

As for the 635 I will only say it is a portrait shooting style in that format and I never fell for, even with it waiting for a date in my photo hangar.

 

[Cholentpot]

Kyle,
Don't fall in love too quickly. The 635 is a relatively crudely made camera compared to later Yashicas, which are nothing to write home about anyway. Most 635 bodies mount a "Yashinor", a three element lens sourced from the Lauser Co, which company Yashica purchased. It specialized in supplying cheap, low quality lenses (i.e., the infamous Tri-Lauser) to a lot of the early 1950s Japanese camera makers. However, with the 6x6cm format, it will still make a reasonably sharp 11x14 print if you shut down the aperture to f8.0. A fairly small percentage, late version 635 bodies mount the same 4-element Yashinon used by Yashica most of their later Yashicamat bodies, a better lens. I acquired a full kit 635 with 35mm conversion parts and combo hard case. I used it on one short vacation trip and then discarded the negatives and unloaded the camera.

I've been using a Yashica Mat for about 6 months now. I guess I like junky cameras.

I almost pulled the trigger on a 635 a few weeks back but held off, I have enough cameras I guess...

 

[Deleted member 88956]

I've been using a Yashica Mat for about 6 months now. I guess I like junky cameras.

I almost pulled the trigger on a 635 a few weeks back but held off, I have enough cameras I guess...

Except Yashica are neither junky nor junk and certainly not crudely made. I might not call it high precision, but does require pretty good manufacturing set to make them the way they came out.

 

[Aviv]

I've really enjoyed my 635. Picked it up from an estate sale 6 months back and it does take pretty nice images, even when shot wide open. The Yashikor certainly is a bit soft in the corners wide open, but the swirly bokeh is quite nice when shot wide open as well. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for super serious work, but as a walk around medium format camera, its a joy to use.

 

[Cholentpot]

Except Yashica are neither junky nor junk and certainly not crudely made. I might not call it high precision, but does require pretty good manufacturing set to make them the way they came out.

I was being sarcastic.

It beats my Lubitel and Ricohflex VII any time. Then again, different tools for different things.