Yashica TLR Thread

[DWThomas]

Indeed, I have just succumbed to the allure. I picked up a MAT 124G a couple of weeks ago. The meter appears to be a bit dubious, but I had very low expectations on that anyway. I have at least two meters, maybe three that will work for exposure. After noticing a couple of faint bands of fog on the first roll, I have replaced the light seals around the door and things look promising. I had it at a weekend festival in upstate PA a week or so ago, and as I stepped back from taking a shot, I heard a voice behind and to my left say "how many megapixels?" Before I could offer my standard answer of "40", the voice said "wow, a 124G, haven't seen one in a while, but they're a nice camera." We chatted a while. He had worked in a photo shop for a number of years and was currently looking over some film gear and paper that had fallen his way and looking toward getting a darkroom going. So I told him about APUG -- maybe he's out there reading this!

I also got some good natured banter from some bit zappers. Told them I was reliving my youth, then "on second thought given the dates, maybe it's more like reliving my middle age."

The beastie seems like a nice compromise for public use, it looks serious, but not too intimidating.

 

[Anscojohn]

[QUOTE Yashica D . . If you forget to wind the film after your exposure you end up with a double exposure for the next shot![/QUOTE]
**************
Not to worry. Convince everyone you did that on purpose because you be an Arteeste and that be "High Art." Voila: end of problem.

 

[Rick A]

[QUOTE Yashica D . . If you forget to wind the film after your exposure you end up with a double exposure for the next shot!

**************
Not to worry. Convince everyone you did that on purpose because you be an Arteeste and that be "High Art." Voila: end of problem. [/QUOTE]

That is the one feature that endears me to the D, multi-exposure capability without having to use any special procedures, just dont wind after a shot and you are done. Aah--the simplicity of the little beasty.

 

[Galah]

Picking up my first set of prints today: can't wait!

 

[2F/2F]

Anyone have a link to a Webpage that describes how to fix the common jammed shutter problem on my Yashica D? Supposedly it has something to do with the self timer.

 

[Dan Daniel]

A step by step to opening up a Yashica-D lens panel and shutter:
http://ratfactor.com/page/yashicaTlrCopalShutter

I make no promises that it will address your specific problem!!

 

[Wade D]

A step by step to opening up a Yashica-D lens panel and shutter:
http://ratfactor.com/page/yashicaTlrCopalShutter

I make no promises that it will address your specific problem!!

WOW! That was a very good web page on breaking down the shutter. Nice to have but I hope I never have to do that to my D.

 

[2F/2F]

I was afraid I'd have to peel up the leatherette. That's too bad, as the camera is really in top cosmetic condition. Thanks for the link! Very useful. I just have to figure out if it is worth the work to get the camera working.

 

[Laurent]

Anyone else here have some loving for the Yashica TLRs? I still have my LM, and actually found a roll of film (way out of date) that I might shoot just to see what comes out.

I do. My first MF camera was a Yashica Mat 124, which I -stupidly- sold after it was CLAed as I had some issues with lubricant in the shutter blades. I should have kept it (it worked like a new one), as it was as smooth as my Rollei (3.5B aka MX-EVS) and newer.

Now I'm contemplating a Rolleicord Vb (but am still having hard times deciding between this and a cheap Mamiya C330 kit) to double my 'flex. But the Yashica was a very nice camera.

 

[jp498]

I'm also slightly coveting/researching the c330 and some sort of rolleicord/flex to complement my Yashica-C. I used to be thrilled with the idea of interchangable lenses on the c330, but I've been looking at some of the images (such as on flickr) shot with it wide open and I don't personally like the bokeh it shows. The Rollei uses a tessar on the older cameras (and I think a planar on the newer ones), and the tessar almost always has a pleasing bokeh. My Yashica-C has some sort of cheap triplet design I think that's a tiny bit soft (good for 8x10 and smaller) and swirly at wide open and crisp and sharp (good for 16x20) as you stop down. With the increased image quality of 120, the characteristics of the lens become important to understand.

 

[Laurent]

The Rollei uses a tessar on the older cameras (and I think a planar on the newer ones), and the tessar almost always has a pleasing bokeh. ... With the increased image quality of 120, the characteristics of the lens become important to understand.

My Rolleiflex has a Tessar, and the bokeh when wide open is amazing. The Yashica was the same (not sure I can tell them apart if I haven't written down what camera shot which film).

What you say about the Mamiya's bokeh doesn't really help as I did not take this into account when thinking about the two possible sets.

 

[ic-racer]

I remember mowing lawns to get a 124G in 1975. It was just over $100 at one of the NYC dealers that advertised in Pop Photo. I still have the camera. It has produced many fine images throughout the years.

Here it is with a set of Yashica branded wide angle lenses.

I'm not a big fan of plastic cameras, but if one puts the 'finder' wide angle lens on the taking lens, it produces images similar to a Diana or other plastic camera (without light leaks or winding problems )

 

[jp498]

Followup with my details about my concerns about the c330; this is based on flickr pix by other people and it might be their sharpening or other post processing, or it might be the lens... Perhaps this can be avoided and c330 owners can tell us how?

These are other peoples pix...

The background leaves here look kinda nasty.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmitry9/5080644748/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherpoole/5084830100/

The bricks here look kinda nasty

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranuf/3848873304/



This is alright, sorta like my Yashica

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraburlton/4564672062/

This is one of mine from my yashica:
http://www.f64.nu/gallery2007/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album207&id=img233

any other square images in same album are from the yashica-c too.

 

[MattKing]

Followup with my details about my concerns about the c330; this is based on flickr pix by other people and it might be their sharpening or other post processing, or it might be the lens... Perhaps this can be avoided and c330 owners can tell us how?

These are other peoples pix...

The background leaves here look kinda nasty.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmitry9/5080644748/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherpoole/5084830100/

The bricks here look kinda nasty

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranuf/3848873304/



This is alright, sorta like my Yashica

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraburlton/4564672062/

This is one of mine from my yashica:
http://www.f64.nu/gallery2007/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album207&id=img233

any other square images in same album are from the yashica-c too.

I'm not sure of this, but I think that the examples you posted that you don't like are shot with either the 55mm (most likely) or 65mm (less likely) lenses. The bokeh with them is significantly different than the bokeh with the longer lenses.

I am not particularly sensitive to bokeh, but I'll see if I have anything that can help you with this.

EDIT:

Here are two examples from my APUG gallery. The dark closeup is an example of the 65mm (I think), whereas the bright, more scenic photo is an example of the 135mm. Strangely, both are pictures of stumps:

 

[Wilcoxson David L.]

Well, I'm one Rolleiflex driver who does not sneer at Yashica's. The very first MF camera I ever used was a Yashica-Mat 124. It was owned by my boss (at the time) and he was gracious enough to allow me to borrow it for a couple of weeks. He was a good boss. I fell in love with the camera and TLR's in general. The negatives yielded amazing results and to say I was blown away would be understatement. It was my experience with the Yashica that moved me to get the Rollei. My wife knew I wanted one badly and gave me a real nice 2.8C for my birthday. Of all the camera's I own, it's my favorite.

 

[Anscojohn]

I worked the summer of 1965 shooting children's home portraits for a New Jersey company. We were issued a tripod, a back drop, three AC strobles on stands, a focus light, and a camera, all of which were tossed in a big steamer trunk to which had been attached galvanized iron pipe which kind of unfolded to make a posing bench of the steamer trunk.
Depending on travel time it was possible to shoot eight or ten sittings a day in that part of South Jersey. The camera: a Yashica D which was pounded around in that steamer trunk from shoot to shoot. The cameras were used for a calendar year then tossed. They issued a "C" as a back up. What a rotten job; but, "hey: I was shooting and getting paid for it." One of the biggest problems came when calling the next client: getting accurate driving directions from some of those ditzy young mothers was a real challenge.
Another story: about a year later I was working in the camera department of a large discount retail chain. A guy comes in with a really great 11x14 composite photo of a couple of kids and wants copies made. I said to him: "Your name's Snyder, isn't it?" He said, "Yes, how did you know?" I told him: "I took those pictures." He looked slightly embarassed.

 

[thicktheo]

The bricks here look kinda nasty

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranuf/3848873304/

This one was taken with a Bronica EC-TL - it's tagged with "C330" because the girl holds it. Bronica lenses are totally different designs than Mamiya lenses. I've been using both a Bronica SQ-A and a Mamiya C220 and it was obvious from the first frame that the Mamiya 80mm lens is more "creamy" while the Bronica 80mm lens is more harsh.

Here's some of my photos with the Mamiya C220 & the 80mm:




...you can get a pretty good idea about the 80mm's bokeh and tone rendition.

Compared to a Yashica (with a Yashinon) or a Rolleicord (with a Xenar), the Mamiya/Sekor 80mm exhibits the same style of creamy bokeh.

The camera, though, be it C220 or C330, is quite a different beast. I find it easier to focus on the C220 than on the Rolleicord or on a Yashica, but it is much heavier and bulkier than those two. Bulk and weight are the only negative comments about a C220/330 - apart from that, it's a great camera, and don't forget interchangeable lenses, the ability to use a prism and a grip and all this stuff.

 

[jp498]

Thank you thicktheo (et.al). Those 80mm/c220 images look really nice and compare well as you said. I guess I could appreciate a c220/c330 with 80mm and tele lenses without losing the creamy images I like.

 

[Galah]

Yashica 635

So far, I have put 3 films through mine (Fujicolor Pro 400H and Fujicolor Pro160C, all hand-held) and (my lacking artistic talents aside), I am quite pleased with my purchase: the lens seems to be very sharp; it can be used in hyperfocal focusing mode; the close-up 2x diopter is surprisingly- sharp; there is very little noticeable flare even shooting at 45degs into the sun (obviously a sun on lens situation, as no lens-hood); even though the lens is only single-coated, the image appears to be evenly sharp corner-to-corner; and there is no visible corner vignetting. Colour rendition IMO is excellent.

I am amazed at the IQ produced by this "lowly" triplet (Yashikor), as compared to its much more sophisticated multi-coated multiple element, multiple grouped 35mm bretheren.

The shutter appears to be consonant with my lightmeter and indicated film speed.

I only need to brush up my "creative eye" and get more in tune with the square format.

 

[landscapepics]

I have a Yashicamat 124G; I'm pleased with the results (see http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=33186310@N03&q=yashicamat&m=text).

I also have a Mamiya RZ67 which has a sharper lens, but at about 10 times the system weight; I can cycle or walk the hills with the Yashica but not with the Mamiya. Of course the Yashica lens still beats the vast majority of 35mm lenses just because of the smaller magnification required with medium format film.

I've used the built in meter quite satisfactorily with print film but I've just got a Weston Master V meter which will give me the confidence to meter for the Yashica with slide film.

 

[Galah]

Nice images, landscapepics!

 

[BrianL]

I had a Mat 124 G in like new condition some years ago and really liked it. It was in like new condition. However, a fellow shooter had a Rolleiflex '53-54 Automat in very good user condition and he wanted some thing that looked better than his beater so I offered and we did a even trade. He was happy as he was no longer embarrassed by having such a beat up camera and I was very happy after getting back the 1st roll taken with the Rollieflex. The 124G is a very good camera and needs no excuses but the Rollei was just that much better. Considering the cost difference in the marketplace, I am not the cost difference vs quality can be justified.

 

[whlogan]

you guys are right. You can't beat thes older yashica 2 1/4 beaters. they are and alwaya will be the besy of the post war cameras that came out of japan. If you have one: keep it; use it and cherish it. I use mine and use it lots \. It repesenishs a period of time i spent in Japan (1953-1957) I really liked and had fun in. Maybe you did too. If soo. Love it.
Logan

 

[kingkristjan]

124 G

Yep, great camera. My first camera was a Yashica Electro 35 CC bought back in 1974. It created a sentimental soft spot for Yashica cameras. Fantastic camera that just kept on going, and it had a great lens. But the better quality of medium format negatives kept calling me, so a little over a year ago I picked up a near-mint 124 G off eBay. I've gotten great images. Far better than what some negative toned reviews have said about it. I've used a Mamiya RB67, and currently use a Pentax 6X7, and the Yashica negatives compare and hold up quite well. I also have a left hand grip that came with the camera, and makes hand holding very easy. I will use it 'till it runs into the ground, and then it will go into a display case.

 

[jcayer]

I just joined the Club

I received my Yashica D yesterday. Excellent condition, I already shot a roll. Can't wait this weekend to develop it