Yashica Electro ?

S

Steve Boykin

Well-Known Member
I am going to be taking a film photography class at the college where I work this fall. We have a really great darkroom facility. The class teaches how to develop and print so I'm kind of excited about it. On the Electro, has anyone used this camera and if so have any advice on purchasing one? I need something cheap due to a back taxes problem I have with the IRS. However I do a few MF lenses left for Nikon mount (Voigtlander 58, 40, and a Nikon 24mm Ai or Ais, not sure which one) but the prices on Nikon bodies for those are not doable this year. My thinking on the Electro is that I might like something with just one lens. I wish I could afford something like the Fuji Klasse or a Ricoh GR1 but a cursory glance at Ebay told me to forget that.

Any Electro advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Oh yeah, if you every have a complicated tax situation- hire an accountant.......[doh]
 
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David Mitchell said:
What about something like some of the Zenit cameras which take easy to find M42 lenses? How many are you looking at getting?

Chris has some details on it:

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/10266-yashica-electro-35-gt.html

Also check out some of the Cosina cameras and the Fujica ST series, as well as the usual student Pentax K1000.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea...except...between the IRS and the rescue menagerie (3 dogs and 2 cats), I'm going to be living off bread and water for some time. I can't afford a body and lenses. The Nikon bodies are too much. I'm a little scared on the Electro because I've read that a lot of them have problems on various internet forums. I never know how much stock to place in that stuff.

I have two Olympus XA's I bought in January...but neither of them work. You can't use a full auto camera with the class. You have to be able to control the aperture. The instructor who I know very well doesn't care about controlling the shutter speed.

Anyway, the Electro seemed like an affordable answer....if risky one.
 
I might have a spare SLR you could have, although the postage might be a killer!
 
David Mitchell said:
I might have a spare SLR you could have, although the postage might be a killer!
Click to expand...

Thanks!! As they say in Mississippi where I was born (but thankfully no longer live even though Texas isn't much better)... "I'm po' but proud." I'd have to pay you for it. :D

Ideally I could find a Nikon mount camera. I sold off all things Nikon related except those lenses hoping I could afford a Nikon film body. Man they aren't cheap. I've even been watching the Goodwill auctions (although they are a crapshoot since they don't really guarantee anything).

Oddly enough I just remembered I have a Sears made M42 mount camera, but I'm not sure if the meter is working. I could never figure out what kind of battery it took. It's a very long story, but to shorten it I planned on using it with this M42 mount zone plate and just never had the time. I may go dig it out of the box in the garage. Do you think you would know what kind of batter it would use?

That still leaves me with no lenses...except for the zone plate... What a mess. If I had a 50 and a 28 that would make me happy. Pentax lenses K or M42 end up going for a lot. I use to shoot a Pentax DSLR before I switched to Nikon.

- - - Updated - - -

Also the real upside for me on this is Dave (the photographer instructor) will let me use the darkroom any time. He's even offered me a key to use it on the weekend. I've always wanted to try film. I think it would help me. I need to slow down and learn how to compose, ect since basically my photos SUCK from just about any perspective. In that context I think using film would help because it would force me to take more time to at least try and get something (anything...) right.

Plus I just like the way film looks. It's why I became so enamored with Fuji cameras.

It's just a hobby but I'd like to try and get better at it.

Thanks again Dave!!! Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
 
I have a Nikon EM which is an aperture priority Nikon SLR so partly auto, this would allow for the lens to be stopped down but you don't have control over the shutter speed.

With regards to batteries it can be hard to tell, its best to check the make and manual as some used older sorts of batteries, although there are modern equivalents - usually watch button batteries etc.

Perhaps also have a look at some of the Zorki cameras eg the Zorki 4k which although would mean a different lens mount they usually have a 50mm lens.

The money is usually in the lenses as technology on the bodies change quickly whereas a lens if kept well will still focus light.

Check what cameras you have, what sort of budget do you have for the camera?
 
I don't think I have a manual for it. The shutter works fine. I got it at a Salvation Army for something like $10 a few years ago.

On the budget I could probably do $100. I'm going back and forth on selling off the X Pro I have. I just love that camera so much. Obviously if I sold that my budget would change. It's kind of a moving target right now. I have to meet with the IRS again tomorrow. Nobodies fault but mine (so maybe I'll play some Led Zeppelin on the way to Austin...).

One thing for sure it's going to austerity plus in my household for number of months. Did I mention the four bird feeders in the backyard? Birds are just ravenous. It's like a hoard of zombies back there.

Would those Voigtlander lenses work on an EM? Not that I can afford to buy yours but it might give me another option. What I wanted was an FM2. I had no idea they would be going for that much. I figured nobody would be using them anymore.

Well, I'm off to take the dogs out hiking. I took a vacation day. I found the Sears camera. When I get back I'll post a photo of it. The plus on that is those Russian lenses are good and cheap. The downside is the meter. With my luck, I'm sure it's DOA. It's a real El-Cheapo. I was only figuring to use it on "B" so it's not exactly feature laden. However, at least I'll now be able to use the zone plate. :D

- - - Updated - - -

It's a Sears Auto/TLS. Kind of cool looking.
 
Wow if its still got the original 55mm lens its a really quite fast f1.4 which would give some amazingly arty shots if shot wide open due to the very shallow depth of field.
 
Steve, the yashica is a great camera.

You need to note the battery requirements with some models, I.e. you may need an adapter

Exposure system is excellent, and the lens quality is super

If the electronics are good you're golden

If they fail then it's not much use
 
A common failure in the Yashica Electro line is "Pad of Death," or POD, which is an internal patch of hard fibrous material about a centimeter thick that prevents some metal bits from completing an electrical circuit. When the POD deteriorates and the metal bits touch, your battery power is continually consumed until the battery dies. (Hence Pad of Death.) A new battery will die overnight when this condition occurs.

However, the camera will still function without a battery, albeit in a limited way: The shutter defaults to 1/500th for every shot.

The POD can be replaced. (I did one on one of mine.) But its not very easy.

I still have one or two Electros that I think need POD replacement.

One indicator of a good POD is a soft "clunk" you can hear when you advance the film about 1/3rd to 1/2 of the forward travel of the advance lever.
 
Don't forget that if the meter isn't that good you can always get a basic hand held one, they are only a few pounds - some of my cameras have no meter at all so I use a small handheld meter for some shots or use the sunny 16 rule. Its why I like the more mechanical cameras (like my FM2n) as it just feels more solid and there isn't really anything that could mess it up.
 
David Mitchell said:
Don't forget that if the meter isn't that good you can always get a basic hand held one, they are only a few pounds - some of my cameras have no meter at all so I use a small handheld meter for some shots or use the sunny 16 rule. Its why I like the more mechanical cameras (like my FM2n) as it just feels more solid and there isn't really anything that could mess it up.
Click to expand...

The Electro is aperture-priority. You pick the aperture and the camera picks the shutter speed. If the meter is working, but isn't working right, its still going to pick a shutter speed. Presumably a wrong one, so a hand-held meter isn't going to do any good. Of course, you could disable the faulty meter altogether by removing the battery, but then your shutter speed will always be 1/500th. It's not ideal, although in daylight it would be OK.
 
Ideally for this class you would be able to control aperture and shutter speed. The instructor is willing to make an exception for me provided I can control the aperture. This is Photog. I which mostly is about learning to develop and print. Photog II has more of a creative element (I'm definitely not there yet). It's a pretty cool darkroom set up. I think you can even do those big negatives like 4 x 5. There is a really nice lady here in town who uses one of those and shows in the small gallery here. She uses the darkroom.

Anyway, I'm kind of scared off of biding on the Electro now. If I win it won't work, guaranteed. I wish I knew what kind of batteries this Sears camera took. Of course all I have now is a zone plate so.... I doubt I could really test it. But if it was working I could buy two Russian lenses for less than or right at $100.
 
If the Sears camera has a full-manual functionality, I wouldn't bother trying to find a battery for it. I'd just shoot. I use the Sunny 16 thing all the time. Sometimes, even when I'm shooting a camera with a good meter (like my Canon F1) I'll double-check what the meter told me against my notion of Sunny 16.

On the other hand,...if you really want to know what battery for the Sears, look it up on the web or take it to a local camera shop.

On the web,...

--Google the name of the camera and put the word "manual" after it. When you get your results look for a site run by a guy called "Butkus." (That's his surname.) He has lots of manuals available on line and use of them is free, although a donation of a few bucks is encouraged.
--Or, look up a group for the camera on Flickr. You may get the information you need that way.
 
Steve, given the budget and requirements, I'd look at a restored Canonet QL17 GIII

Full manual available in aperture and shutter

Super little lens, a really nice camera to use.

Here's one that looks to have been fixed up already

Canon Canonet QL 17 GIII | eBay

Brian has been shooting with one recently, and I have one from a year or two ago which I love using.

Worth a look.
 
I finally managed to locate the manual for the Sears camera. It's actually a Ricoh Auto TLS EE with Sears name on it. Of course I don't have an M42 lens. I may get a battery for it. I should be able to tell if the meter is working with the zone plate on it shouldn't I? Not saying accurate just saying working...

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ricoh/ricoh_tls_ee/ricoh_tls_ee.pdf

This is the camera for sure. I couldn't find the manual under the name Sears.


The Canonet looks very interesting. Dave said he didn't care what lens you had, you just have to have one lens and be able to control the aperture. Ideally he would prefer a fully manual SLR. It looks like you can control both the aperture and the shutter speed on the Canon so that would fit the bill.

Just in case I go with the Sears, anybody have any suggestions on two M42 lenses? 50ish and 28ish. I would love to have 35mm but those are probably expensive.
 
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