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josh houston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:21 pm: | 
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I just impulsively purchased a very nice looking Yashica Electro 35 GT.... However, upon further inspection - its in pretty bad shape. After I got it home I popped a battery in it, but the test button light didn't do anything. I snapped the release a few times, it clicks but does not open at the 1/500 default speed and the self timer is jammed up. At this point I can't even guess if the POD is operational. Like I mentioned - the cosmetics are nearly perfect but this is going to take a lot of time to fix and I'm not real sure if its worth the effort. The place I bought it from has a 3 day no questions asked return policy - after that it's all mine. The other reason I might want to return it is that they had a nice little Minolta Hi-Matic. I could trade. What do you think? |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 12:06 am: |
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It depends... broken battery wires are repairable, stuck shutters are repairable, even a broken self timer escapement is repairable. The question is if the camera will work properly after hours of tinkering? I think I would trade it for a (working) Hi-Matic. |
charlie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 06:28 am: |
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I bought a GSN, very nice looking, didn' work. The main problem was the wire from the battery compartment to the battery test button was corroded through. Fairly easy to replace. The test lamp wire was also corroded through but I didn't bother with that. The camera works fine now. Easy to spot, remove the two little screws at the test button, remove the little plate and see if there is continuity back to the battery compartment, and replace the wire if necessary (need to remove the top and bottom covers to do this). Various web sites have wiring diagrams. But after all is said and done the Minolta may have a better lens. |
Rollei fan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 09:57 am: |
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Return it. There are plenty of cheap AND working Electros to buy. It's a great camera, with a very sharp lens. |
Michael Linn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 06:26 pm: |
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Many GS Yashicas and Minolta Hi-Matics are sold today as "working perfectly" because the seller can wind the film advance and hear a "click" when the shutter button is pressed. But most of these cameras are not working perfectly at all. Many 30 to 40 year old cameras which have been used for a few years and then put in a drawer for a few decades don't work as the manufacturer intended them to work when new.
They intended them to be serviced at regular intervals, and that didn't happen very often. That is one of the main reasons this excellent board exists.
As for lens quality, I would be hard-pressed to chose one model over another. When working properly, these Yashica and Minolta RF lenses are usually better lenses than I am a photographer. I say this from experience as I have owned and used examples of both (in addition to too many other cameras). |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 12:04 am: |
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Return it. Even when working, these cameras have a characteristic flare that manifests itself as a loss of contrast emanating from small, bright light sources. At one time, I owned three Electros that were in perfect working condition thanks to the many hours I spent repairing them. All of them exhibited this flaw, and all were unique in this respect. I have used numerous RFs from the '50s and '60s, including other Yashicas like the Lynx 5000 and Lynx 1.4, and none have done this. I suspect it's related to the lack of internal baffling, or perhaps just a poorly designed light chamber, but in any event, I'll never use one of these for anything more than a decoration. In fact, I think I still have two that need only minor repair. One of these days I'll offer them here for cost of shipping.
You should also consider that the Hi-Matics, despite their aesthetic appeal, are complex and much more difficult to repair than cameras produced in the preceding era. I had two that needed relatively minor work on the shutters, but eventually gave up on both. The parts are still sitting in my garage in freezer bags.
I consider the Lynx 5000 (not the IC version) to be one of the best fixed-lens RFs Yashica ever made. I also like the Mamiya Super Deluxe series, although they're very heavy and need more maintenance. None of these cameras have auto exposure though, so they're not everyone's cup of tea.
Good luck in your decision! |
WernerJB
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 09:03 am: |
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Jack, what you say about the Hi-Matics is definitely not right. Once you understand how these are put toghether they are fun to repair, I have repaired three really mangled ones by now and had all of them apart to the bones!
(A fourth camera, a Hi-Matic 9, is still incomplete for lack of parts, so how much are the freezer bags? Contact me via email address if you think you want to give them away, please.) W. |
Steve T.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 01:46 pm: |
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About the Yashica Electro GSN 45mm 1.7 being prone to flare?
Would a lens hood help? I have a GSN that I intend on using soon. It seems to work perfectly. I also have a lens hood that fits it, and I planned on using that with the camera. |
Howard
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 05:32 pm: |
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Hi Steve T. In my opinion unless the front lens element is heavily recessed, and this is very rare with fast lens like the Yashica 1.7, then you should always use an appropriate lens hood and ideally a good multi coated UV filter. Some of my best photos are with my GSN and I have never had a flare problem. They are great cameras with a great lens but they need a lens hood. In the good old days if you bought a quality new camera you bought a lens hood for it. It was virtually assumed.
Put you lens hood on and enjoy your GSN |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 01:15 am: |
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Steve and Howard, it's not exactly that type of flare. It appears when the scene includes a point of light surrounded by much darker objects. One example would be a shot of a leafy tree, with the sun peeking brightly through the spaces between a couple leaves. I also noticed it in several photos in which the subject was backlit. I compensated for the backlighting, only to discover that the area of the subject nearest the lighting source was washed out (not exactly overexposed, just suffering from a cloud-like loss of contrast that extended only partially into the frame). Given that the glass in all three of my GSNs was pristine and crystal clear, I question whther the lenses themselves were at fault. Just before selling, I disassembled two of the lenses and cleaned the internal surfaces, but they really didn't need it. There was no change in the performance relating to this issue.
I know everyone raves about the Electro, but I also know what I shot. In fact, I posted one of the photos a couple years ago for others to see, and no one could explain it. One person thought it was normal, and I had to tell him it doesn't happen with other cameras. I eventually sold all three GSNs, even though they were in like-new condition and had consumed weeks of my time to get there.
Werner, I think the pieces are from Hi-Matic 9s, but I'll have to double-check. I respectfully disagree with your assessment. I've disassembled, cleaned and repaired a goodly number of rangefinders as a hobby. I've grafted beamsplitters from one model to another, disassembled lens assemblies all the way down to the individual aperture glades, cleaned internal lens elements, disassembled slow-speed escapements, etc., etc. Maybe you have the knack, but in my case, no model other than the Hi-Matics ended up in pieces. I nearly threw everything away, but I occasionally need small metric hardware to fit my other cameras and lenses. I'll consider whether I want to keep this stuff longer, and if not, I'll get in touch. I do hate to see things go to waste.  |
Howard
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 05:43 am: |
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Hi Jack. Next time I have the GSN out I'll try taking some photos with small bright light sources as you describe and see what shows up. I must say I've never noticed this problem but that's not to say it's not possible. I must agree with you about the Lynx 5000. I think these are greatly undervalued cameras. I like everything about it. I also have a 14 and 14e but the 5000 feels so compact and that lovely crisp shutter sounds so good it make the 14's look and feel like big clunkers, although to be fair they do have their strengths. |
Steve T.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 08:41 am: |
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Thank you Jack and Howard for your explanations.
One last question about the Yashica.
I have the Yashinon wide angle and telephoto lens attachments for this camera, but no auxillary viewfinder (those lens attachments came with an auxillary viewfinder to compensate for the different angles). I could find a viewfinder to go with the lens set, probably on ebay sooner or later. I don't think they are expensive.
But from what I've read on one website, the wide and tele lenses are a waste of time, mostly because you have to do extra figuring for each shot, plus, the tele isn't very long and the wide angle isn't very wide.
What say you? |
Howard
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 04:54 pm: |
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Hi Steve. I have experience with a similar set for a Petri 2.8 and based on that I would have to agree with the general consensus that they are fairly useless. I think if you want to get involved with wide angle and telephoto lens you would be far better off with an SLR or perhaps a FED or Zorki if you want to stick to rangefinder cameras. |
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