Yashica MAT-124G

[Old Dude]

I inherited a box of photo equipment that belonged to my mother. Among the treasures therein was the aforementioned camera. I recall using it a few times when I first got the box, but just stored it away until today. I have expired TriX film. Batteries are headed here.
I am retired. I have the leisure to brew coffee in a Chemex. Time for some retro good times.

 

[GRHazelton]

Enjoy! I have the same camera; its a pleasure to use. On mine I can't remove the battery compartment cover and I hate to use a pair of pliers. BTW, here's a possible source for bayonet 1 filters and hoods and stuff http://www.filterfind.net/Home.html They have used and NOS filters, etc. BTW, I was told by a knowledgeable person that Rollei bayonet 1 stuff may "jam" in the 'Mats lens and be really difficult to remove. But, since the Rollei stuff is so expensive, I won't worry! Check http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ for downloads of the manual for the 'Mat; and do be aware that there is in the manual a warning about a potential shutter jam re: the sync setting. My mind is shutting down tonight, but do check it out.

 

[DWThomas]

I acquired a 124G a few years back during a moment of GAS and think it's really cool. I don't use it a lot, but one use it is good for is street photography -- festivals and the liike. For whatever reason, TLRs seem to be considered benign by the public at large. (Could be they don't know what it is -- or can't figure out what you're doing with it, staring down into the WLF.) The meter in mine is a pretty much non-functional, but that may be the switch that energizes the meter when the top cover is lifted. My tiny Digisix is a good substitute.

My most recent uses have been shooting infrared. It's nice to be able to compose and focus without having to remove an opaque filter from the taking lens.

I have some Rollei Bay 1 filters and can't say I've noticed a problem with their fit. One thing I have noticed, there are some relatively inexpensive Bay I filters in plastic mounts (often seen on ePrey) that are taller and also have a smaller diameter glass area than the big names. It is sufficient to see some vignetting at the corners. Also, there is a cheap plastic sunshade that goes in the inner bayonet. Both Rollei and Yashica had/have metal shades that mount on the outer bayonet, allowing the shade to be used independent of a filter (recommended).

The nasty sync trap is that if you try to use the self timer with the sync set to M (used for bulbs), the shutter will jam; the sync needs to be set to X. Some people go so far as to put tape or a drop of epoxy or silcone rubber at the sync switch lever to lock it into the X setting. (I so seldom use flash or a self timer I'm probably at risk of screwing it up. )

 

[GRHazelton]

Ah, I hadn't thought about the infrared angle. Freestyle has some film http://www.freestylephoto.biz/901029-Ilford-SFX-200-ISO-120-size-(Extended-Red-Sensitivity) but is it really infrared film? Can you suggest a source? Would be really nice to have "full viewing rights," so to speak!~

 

[DWThomas]

Hmmm - for IR, (out of what there is) I would recommend the Rollei Infrared 400 (which seems to cost more every time I look it up!) You can see some negative scans from it, taken with my 124G and an 89B filter, in my PBase galleries. The 89B is purportedly about 695nm cutoff. I suppose a 720nm (R72 or whatever) might be slightly better, but that's about the outer limit. In other tests, a 760nm needed an additional 6 stops of exposure over a 720 with the Rollei material -- definitely rules it out for action shots.

I've run one test with SFX200, using an assortment of filters, that did indeed show some Wood effect with the 89B, but I think the Rollei is better. My other data point from that SFX test was the vignetting of the cheap plastic framed Bay 1 filters alluded to above. Backing up in that gallery hierarchy gets some other examples including the now fading EFKE stuff which worked nicely with a 760 filter.