Yashica-Mat - can you help me identify it? and get it working right.

68degrees · Apr 5, 2019

I got it for free so I cant complain. I have been to yashicatlr.com but Im still having trouble. That site is quite extensive. Can someone tell me exactly what I have here?

Copal MXV 5 blade with self timer, B,1,2,5,10,25,50,100,250,500
taking lens Lumaxar 3.2 80mm
viewing lens Lumaxar 3.5 80mm
Focus scale in feet only
film counter with no red window.
Bayonet 1 filter mount
The serial number starts with EM but it is not an EM. Thats the part I dont get. The number decodes to Jan 1968 from what I learned on yashicatlr but that cant be right because it has the early Lumaxar lenses.

I have pics to upload but it says they are too big and doesnt tell me what the size limit is.

MattKing · Apr 5, 2019

68degrees said:
I have pics to upload but it says they are too big and doesnt tell me what the size limit is.

Resize your colour pics to no more than 750 - 800 pixels on the longest side.
Black and white can be a bit larger.

shutterfinger · Apr 5, 2019

DPI of the photo matters also, you can load larger pixel length at 72dpi than you can at 92dpi. The limit is not stated but is around 250kb per image.

moto-uno · Apr 5, 2019

I must be missing something here, but , what exactly is wrong with this camera ? Peter

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

heres a pic

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

Kino · Apr 6, 2019

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/yashica/yashicamat_m/yashicamat_m-splash.htm

Yashica-Mat M.

Needs a serious cleaning.

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

thanks Kino what is the difference between the Yashica-Mat M and a Yashica-Mat. No place on the camera does it say Yashica-Mat M. I see the box but I do not see any listing or reference to it on yashicatlr.com and in th butkus book it shows a different logo on the top viewfinder thingamabob. and if you look on the serial number i starts with an EM. But it cant be an EM becaus on the EM it says in big giant letters on the front of te camera EM. So Im still not sure what model this is. The shutter works on the the fast speeds but not on the slow ones. I tried to run some tst roll 120 through it but it doesnt want to go. winds and firres fine without spools in it though.

Molli · Apr 6, 2019

Hi 68Degrees,
You actually do have a YashicaMat. There never was a Yashica Mat M - that was a perfectly understandable transliteration error on Mr. Butkus' part with the manuals. If you look at the cover of the "How To Use..." uploaded to the Butkus site, you'll see how the confusion kicked in:

The YashicaMat:

The Yashica D:

At no time is the camera ever referred to as a YashicaMat M in that manual or another one I have labelled as the YashicaMat 66.

Regarding the serial numbers, you're actually looking at the wrong one. Your waist level finder has been replaced by one belonging to an EM and that serial number you referenced came from there. The YashicaMat's serial number is on the body of the camera the front directly above the faceplate. See highlighted image below. Red for the correct serial number, blue for the flip up waist level finder which is a replacement part from a different camera.

I can't quite make out if it's 73 or 75 as the start of your numbers, but mine is in the 76XXXX bracket which puts it around 1958. My lenses are Lumaxars as well, but the serial numbers make mine a bit younger: 82XXX rather than the 111,XXX lenses you have.

As to fixing it - mine arrived as a very pretty shelf queen and is, unfortunately, fifth on my list of camera repair priorities. I have a Yashica D running poorly at the slow speeds which has first dibs on my bank account! My YashicaMat sounds as though someone's poured gravel into it and trying to use it as a pepper grinder! So, no help to you there, but I do hope the rest of the information has been helpful to you in sorting out what you have.
Kindly,
Molli

Dan Daniel · Apr 6, 2019

Having opened up too many YashicaMats, what I see more than anything is all the leatherette peeling up along the edges!! Wonderful!! Later, Yashica used a material that turned into a hard concrete as it aged, making removal for getting inside the camera the hardest and longest part of any repair. You are very lucky. Most of that material will pop off easily. Throw it out and buy new coverings.

Molli has it right- the focus hood was swapped. That's why you have two body serial numbers. It also has two different coverings- pebbled on most of the body, crosshatched on the top. No problems- same basic part.

As to what is wrong and what can be done- well, depending on the condition of the lens, it might be worth opening up. If you can run a roll thorugh, go for it and see what happenes to evaluate the potential.

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

Mystery solved. Thank you everyone!

Kino · Apr 6, 2019

Glad to know about the "M" designation clarification.

Unless you have a box of shredded brass gears, these cameras are relatively easy to clean up and get going again.

Since you have almost nothing invested in the camera so far, you can make it very nice with a new set of leather (about $30), maybe a $7 dollar replacement mirror from Ebay and a general cleaning (free if you do the research online).

Good luck, they are fine shooters...

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

Kino said:
Glad to know about the "M" designation clarification.

Unless you have a box of shredded brass gears, these cameras are relatively easy to clean up and get going again.

Since you have almost nothing invested in the camera so far, you can make it very nice with a new set of leather (about $30), maybe a $7 dollar replacement mirror from Ebay and a general cleaning (free if you do the research online).

Good luck, they are fine shooters...

do you know of any good online tutorials? I have googled myself and havent found anything for Yashicamat. I did find for the 124 though.

Kino · Apr 6, 2019

68degrees said:
do you know of any good online tutorials? I have googled myself and havent found anything for Yashicamat. I did find for the 124 though.

No, not off the top of my head, but Yashica TLRs are very similar from model to model, so a bit of exploration would be in order.

If you are nervous about destroying the camera, then a good CLA would equal about the purchase price of a used, untested model; I would go that route.

I will say that someone on APUG once sent me a disassembled Yashicamat D for free and I was able to reassemble it to working order in less than 3 hours, so if I can do it, just about anyone can with some care and research...

68degrees · Apr 6, 2019

Im confident I can do it if I have a good model specific guide. Ill keep looking. Naturally Im cautious about not being able to get it back together or losing some tiny screw or part. Its nice having an extra one for reference. The glass is very clear and pretty much flawless as far as i can see so it would be worth it I think to put some time into it. Thanks.

dxqcanada · Apr 6, 2019

As @Kino mentioned ... most Yashica TLR's are similar, so you can easily use one as a guide to another.
I had no problems restoring various models using info online ... from early D's up to the 124G

Dan Daniel · Apr 7, 2019

68degrees said:
Im confident I can do it if I have a good model specific guide. Ill keep looking. Naturally Im cautious about not being able to get it back together or losing some tiny screw or part. Its nice having an extra one for reference. The glass is very clear and pretty much flawless as far as i can see so it would be worth it I think to put some time into it. Thanks.

There isn't a model-specific guide for YashicaMats. There are exploded drawings and that's about it, best as I've been able to find.

Use a digital camera and photograph everything as you go along. From multiple angles. You never know what you might need to see as you reassemble. Not sure if you've mentioned the problems with the camera, but you might not need to do much disassembly.

68degrees · Apr 7, 2019

so far what I can see is that the shutter is slow and slow speeds just dont go at all. seems to focus fine and smooth, viewfinder is clear enough. The crank is quiet whithout a spool, but with a spool it sounds quite noisy like a pepper grinder. After that I read that you shouldnt wind it with just a top spool. then I tried putting film in it and it did not seem to crank but I didnt follow any film loading instructions just went by feeel. So there may not be anything wrong with the film transport . It was noisy though. I dont know if thats normal for this camera. Last time it was services was in Jan of 1970. So its due.

Dan Daniel · Apr 7, 2019

Pull the lens shroud only Remove the front lens group. Open shutter, do some naphtha cleaning. Close it back up and give it a run.

The grinding noise is the plastic reel with notches running over the thin silver gear in the top film chamber, left side. Put a few wraps of masking tape around the spool where the gear runs and it will quiet down.

All in all if you don't need to go into the side or deal with focusing, for the best. get the shutter working and run a test roll before you do more.

M-88 · Apr 7, 2019

I'm too late, but check out yashicatlr.com, it is a rather interesting resource dedicated to TLR cameras of that brand. Covers every single model. A bit incomprehensive sometimes, but still good.

moto-uno · Apr 7, 2019

^After improving the few I've had (and still have one) I'm in complete agreement with Dans' remarks

68degrees · Apr 7, 2019

Dan Daniel said:
Pull the lens shroud only Remove the front lens group. Open shutter, do some naphtha cleaning. Close it back up and give it a run.

The grinding noise is the plastic reel with notches running over the thin silver gear in the top film chamber, left side. Put a few wraps of masking tape around the spool where the gear runs and it will quiet down.

All in all if you don't need to go into the side or deal with focusing, for the best. get the shutter working and run a test roll before you do more.

Is that noise normal or is the silver gear wearing out? Were the spools made of metal at one point or were they always plastic?

StepheKoontz · Apr 8, 2019

I've bought a couple of sets from cameraleather.com and been super pleased both with the quality and the service.

Dan Daniel · Apr 8, 2019

68degrees said:
Is that noise normal or is the silver gear wearing out? Were the spools made of metal at one point or were they always plastic?

The issue is that they weren't designed to run on an empty spool! In use, the silver gear would be riding on layers of film and backing paper. I seriously doubt that running an empty spool would wear out the gear- it's a fairly low stress situation and the gear teeth should handle the wear easily. The silver gear is transmitting linear film motion to a small gear insdie the camera that in turn drives another gear that drives the counter dial (metering, as in measuring, disk in Rollei language). Very little force on this system. the stress is the actual film being moved, not the counter moving, and the film winding stress travels a different set of gears.

There is also the internal noise of the Yashicamat wind system. The classic egg beater noise. A combination of rough gear cutting and cheap metals. I've applied grease to the gear teeth of YashicaMats and it reduced the noise nicely. But you have to be careful in the type of grease and where. If it goes to the wrong spots it can stop ratchets or levers from moving properly, the camera will stop working, and you will end up wanting any noise, even metal grinding, over a silent but broken camera.

68degrees · Apr 25, 2019

Ok I ran test roll though. It winds and fires and counts the frames perfect. Its quiet. I think I had put a test roll in the exposed side. I re rolled it to make it a unexposed roll and it went through perfect. So Im not worried about film transport anymore. The only thing now is the shutter. It fires fine on the high speeds. Slow speeds are hanging. I dont dare try the self timer. So I think I will take off the front and see if I can get some lighter fluid on the shutter. Any advice? I sent a nice email to Mark Hama. He replied with a form letter and said it would be $200 to overhaul it plus parts and didnt answer my questions. Im sure he is good but I dont think he wants to do it anymore, burned out. and I dont blame him. So Ill try to get her going myself and hope for the best.

Yashica-Mat - can you help me identify it? and get it working right.

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