Group: Member
Post: 2 (0 liked)
Join date: July 2021
Status:
|
|
on Jul 23, 2021 21:33:22 GMT
Posted: Jul 23, 2021 21:33:22 GMT
Thank you for maintaining this forum. It's been a very useful resource for acquiring and repairing my growing collection of Yashicas.
I only in the last year got back into photography after a decade hiatus, with a micro 4/3 mirrorless camera. And of course mirrorless cameras are a gateway drug to adapting old lenses. Often the easiest way to get cheap old lenses is with cheap old film cameras attached... and next thing you know I'm cleaning up Spotmatics and loading film into them.
It's not clear to me the sequence of events that led up to my first Yashica, but I think it was an auction for a Contax 139 Quartz, which I'd never heard of before. A bit of research later, I'd acquired not one, but two FX-Ds. I like the handing of these cameras and the lenses have a lot of interesting character. For example, the 70-210/4.5 has remarkable sharpness and color rendition that really pops.
Not really a collector, but more a keeper of things out of landfills if I can fix them. Putting together one good FX-3 Super out of a couple pretty beat cameras. Most recently I was given a ratty but working FR 1 that I've been slowly fixing for the past week. Got the exposure counter fixed and the self timer as well. Cleaned quite a bit of dirt off the viewfinder, mirror, and focusing screen. Unfortunately both the aperture indicator and M flag fell off. I found the M flag, but not the aperture indicator yet. Oh, needs all new light seals as well, of course.
Cheers all. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and enthusiasm for these cameras.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Jul 23, 2021 21:51:49 GMT
Posted: Jul 23, 2021 21:51:49 GMT
Hello hucklecat and welcome to the Forum! You're absolutely right about the m4/3 system being a great way into using legacy lenses - though with the crop factor, you probably get the best out of standard to telephoto lenses but Yashica ML zooms also have a lot to offer. I'm delighted that you're having fun refurbishing/recycling a variety of Yashica C/Y cameras. With a little regular maintenance they can go on for decades. Indeed, if you really get bitten by the Yashica bug, you may even find yourself going right back to the 1950s - you'd be amazed how many cameras, lenses, flash units, etc. are still working more than 60 years on! We're delighted to have been of help and hope you continue to enjoy the contributions of our many Members in the future...
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (303 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jul 23, 2021 23:17:01 GMT
Posted: Jul 23, 2021 23:17:01 GMT
Welcome to the forum hucklecat ... I'm rather fond of the FX-D's myself for similar reasons. As biggles3 alluded to, the Yashica brand has been quietly sneaking into the bloodstream of many photogs over several decades, and those who've found their gear more recently often come to realize what gems they can be.
|
|
Group: Member
Post: 2 (0 liked)
Join date: July 2021
Status:
|
|
on Jul 24, 2021 1:53:29 GMT
Posted: Jul 24, 2021 1:53:29 GMT
Thanks for the welcome. And yes I'm already looking back to the earlier eras. Just need the right deal to come together on the right camera.
|
|