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on Nov 6, 2014 1:07:49 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 9, 2014 15:24:17 GMT by biggles3
Well, even at my venerable old age I can still enjoy surprises and today was no exception.
An Ebay impulse purchase led to the arrival of a pristine FX-1 and three ML lenses: 50 1.7, 35mm and 135mm - £41 well spent!
Having had the chance to play with the FX-1 (kindly supplied with its manual or I'd have taken ages to find the battery holder!!) I have discovered a new favourite. I had never owned the FX-1 - I have a FX-2 that I've yet to put a film in - but wish it had not taken me 38 years to get hold of one. Lovely, metal, old-school, simple engineering and manufacture with a clear, informative viewfinder and very accurate meter...marvellous. I know many members of this forum will be familiar with this camera but I wish I'd opted for this instead of the FR (a real favourite) when I bought my first Contax RTS in 1977 - working in Romania back then shooting gymnastics under artificial and dull lighting ate batteries at a terrifying rate - to have had a mechanical shutter over-ride as a last ditch back-up would have prevented the occasional sleepless night.
OK - it's no Contax S2b and it's a lot heavier than the FX-3 but it fills me with confidence that it could take a bit of a bashing and still function. I hope to pop a film in it shortly and can't wait to see the results...
Gotta luv those old Yashi's...
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on Nov 8, 2014 3:34:15 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 8, 2014 3:35:10 GMT by ridgeblue99
I've got a pair of FX-2's so I wouldn't have to change lenses on a shoot, and am very satisfied with them. I need to curtail my camera buying for a while though, so there will be no additions to the brood anytime soon. Though if in pursuit of a lens, and it's attached to a body, what can one do?
PF
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on Nov 9, 2014 15:30:57 GMT
Posted: Nov 9, 2014 15:30:57 GMT
Ah PF - life is filled with such dilemmas...
Re the FX-1, one thing I can't find out is the speed of the mechanical release (like the RTSII) - is it 1:60? Because the shutter fires without a battery, initially I mistakenly thought it was a mechanical shutter but it's electronic and without its 6v cell, the range of speeds from 1:1000 to 2 sec is not available. Oddly, the manual does not mention the mechanical over-ride or its speed.
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on Nov 11, 2014 23:33:12 GMT
Posted: Nov 11, 2014 23:33:12 GMT
I have yet to find out if the FX-1 will turn out "such a delight" for me--keep watching them on German eBay--but I was absolutely delighted with your account of your combined children's birthday and X-mas sensations on unpacking your treasure, knowing such feelings only too well... BTW, the 35mm is often said to be the best of the whole ML range, so ... congratulations! Michael
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on Nov 13, 2014 17:08:55 GMT
Posted: Nov 13, 2014 17:08:55 GMT
I check focal plane shutter performance by viewing an old television through the shutter. Calculation of the speed is then possible. Of course, I learned this from the rangefinder forum.
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on Nov 13, 2014 17:51:14 GMT
Posted: Nov 13, 2014 17:51:14 GMT
I check focal plane shutter performance by viewing an old television through the shutter. Calculation of the speed is then possible. Of course, I learned this from the rangefinder forum. Thank you - that's a very good technique. Now, all I have to do is find a lovely old TV set....I'm sure there are quite a few in these backwoods
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on Nov 14, 2014 14:42:25 GMT
Posted: Nov 14, 2014 14:42:25 GMT
I check focal plane shutter performance by viewing an old television through the shutter. Calculation of the speed is then possible. Of course, I learned this from the rangefinder forum. Thank you - that's a very good technique. Now, all I have to do is find a lovely old TV set....I'm sure there are quite a few in these backwoods And the old TV set doesn't have to receive a good picture. As long as the tube lights up, you can use it.
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on Nov 22, 2014 3:25:46 GMT
Posted: Nov 22, 2014 3:25:46 GMT
Computer CRT's can be used for this too, but preferably while it is displaying something from the CPU. Otherwise, they are usually dark. I couldn't find anything on the default speed either. Maybe you can record the sound of different speeds, then compare them to the no-battery one. Somebody has to have an app for sound recording graphing display out there.
PF
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on Feb 26, 2015 2:01:43 GMT
Posted: Feb 26, 2015 2:01:43 GMT
A delight all over again!
Much as I love my silver FX-1, I have wanted to find a black one that works well for some time. At long last it, along with a FR-1, has arrived and I also have another 35mm ML and 50 1.7 ML. I was especially pleased to find that the FX-1 came with its original 50 1.7 ML - the type that looks like the DSB as it has the silver nose and coarser rubber grip pattern. I've attached a piccie of the two latest additions to show the two styles of ML lenses from the mid-1970s; it's also interesting to note the different ergonomics and styling of the FR and FX-1, with the latter being a much larger beast but was marketed initially by Yashica as superior to the FR series. I love using both the FR and FX types from this period - of course, an additional benefit of the FX-1/FX-2 is that their shutters are not battery dependent.
I have to say that I do like the old styling of the early ML lenses - to date I have the 50 1.7, 50 1.4, 28mm and 35mm - as they're very distinctive. I know it was simply a way of using up the old DSB body parts but they do look better on the FX-1 than the later, plain MLs which are better suited to the FR cameras.
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on Nov 26, 2016 18:39:21 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 26, 2016 18:39:44 GMT by tts
I'm collecting a FX-1 tommorow ( for free )
The lady who will give it to me does know where to find the battery, but can't remove it.
I haven't seen the camera yet. IS there a trick involved to remove the battery?
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on Nov 26, 2016 19:16:04 GMT
Posted: Nov 26, 2016 19:16:04 GMT
Hi tts,
It's not as straightforward as in most Yashica cameras but it only takes about 6 seconds.
You have first to open the back and this you do on the baseplate by moving the lever to the number 1 (there's an arrow showing the direction) and then press the button marked 2; the back should now open.
Now, grab the prongs of the film winder inside the film chamber so that the rewind knob on the top plate can't move; now extend the latch on the rewind knob and rotate the knob counter clockwise until the rewind knob comes off - the battery is underneath it.
The FX-1 is unique in the C/Y series of cameras in having this method of battery storage.
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on Nov 26, 2016 20:03:26 GMT
Posted: Nov 26, 2016 20:03:26 GMT
THanks. She does have the manual, is aware of the placement of the battery, but still wasn't able to remove it.
Maybe it leaked and got stuck..
We'll see tommorow.
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on Nov 26, 2016 20:12:44 GMT
Posted: Nov 26, 2016 20:12:44 GMT
THanks. She does have the manual, is aware of the placement of the battery, but still wasn't able to remove it. Maybe it leaked and got stuck.. We'll see tommorow. That sound like very bad news. The battery should be removable easily - it's a firm fit but not a squeeze. I fear you may be right about leakage in which case you may not have any AE function and the shutter may only fire at its default setting; let's hope that if it has leaked, any corrosion is limited to the battery chamber in which case, a bit of scrape and then a coat of electric paint might do the trick...
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on Nov 27, 2016 17:51:43 GMT
Posted: Nov 27, 2016 17:51:43 GMT
Does anyone know of a table somewhere that lists all of the Yashica SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses -- comparing their different features? If it included the Contax cameras that would be OK, but I think that would deserve a table of its own. I have one for ALL of Minolta's manual focus SLRs. I should know since I created it. Here it is if anyone is interested: www.subclub.org/minman/slrtable.htm
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on Nov 27, 2016 18:17:33 GMT
Posted: Nov 27, 2016 18:17:33 GMT
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