on Nov 25, 2016 12:56:50 GMT
I have been hoping to find one of these rare beasts in working condition for a while now and I'm delighted to have finally got one.
It was a commercial failure. It was being sold just as Project 130 was starting which was to create the Contax/Yashica range of cameras so it was doomed from the outset but it was an important development for Yashica as it's Auto Exposure facility was to be the basis of that found in the FX-1 and FR. One of the reasons it was initially unpopular was the slightly darker viewfinder which resulted from the unusual metering system: it has a CdS spot-meter which is located in front of the film, taking a measurement through the centre of the mirror and popping down, out of sight, for the exposure. Break a mirror on the AX and you have no chance as it's a unique design (you can't use DX lenses on the AX because of this) which has the effect of reducing the amount of light reaching the viewfinder. It has a 125 sec flash sync speed which is pretty good and an aperture activating button on the front to help with focusing - you preset the aperture for metering and then press the button which opens the aperture to aid focusing. The exposure information in the viewfinder is quite neat - an arrow appears - either red (over-exposure warning) or yellow (under-exposure) and the arrow points in the direction that the aperture ring should be moved. Very good idea.
I have yet to use it so I may discover a few oddities in its handling but I've popped on the DS-M 50 1.7 and the viewfinder was nice and bright wide open and the metering seems to be working but I need to check it more thoroughly.
It's a sturdily built camera of metal construction and weighs a whopping 961gms with the DS-M 50 1.7 on board, along with the battery and its adapter.
