Yashica T3 focus issue - help!

Welcome to the forum! Since you have found someone else with the same problem on their camera, then we can presume it is a design fault, causing a failure of the lens alignment. Or it could be an issue caused by a drop. Either way, there is likely a weak structure that gives away after so many years of service, and the only repair is to tear apart another camera to get the replacement. But then the parts camera you get may actually be in better shape than the one you own. And if it is "non-functioning", well, the same problem that has disabled your camera could exist in it. Either way, you're going to need to get another camera.

You could open up the T3 to see if maybe it is just something that has been displaced by the shock of being dropped. But most P&S cameras were never designed to be repaired, just to last a certain amount of time (like shortly after the warranty expires). The camera came out in what, the mid-eighties? And here it is thirty years later, finally giving up the ghost. I'd say it has done pretty well.

I'll tell you what I went through with one camera in particular. It was a Canon Sure Shot 120 Classic, their top-of-the-line P&S model, with all the bells and whistles you could pack in such a contraption. The body front styling reminded one of an old rangefinder camera.  And it had an aluminum body shell to boot. But here was the inherent problem with them. They had a control button array on the film door (camera back) to change many parameters and shooting modes, including a date imprinting/caption feature.

They took excellent photos with the 38-120mm zoom that collapsed completely into the camera body, making it easy to carry around in a shirt pocket (that comes into play later on). My first of four examples (all bought very used) had a quirk where it would not auto-load the film when you first put it in the camera. I had to close the film door, wait a few seconds, then quickly open and close it again to initiate the winding on to the take-up spool. My second one I got as a replacement (in an online auction of a charity shop) came DOA. The third one worked fine for a couple of months. Remember what I said about carrying it in a shirt pocket? That wound up being a killer. My sweat condensed on the back of the camera, and all those little switches, though covered with rubber hoods, were not water resistant. So I got a fourth camera. Everything was fine for a couple of rolls, then it quit focusing if you racked the lens past the middle zoom range.

So see, you can invest a lot of time and money in chasing the perfect P&S camera. They are all getting old, and the plastics in most don't hold up under the stress like they used to. There are other T-model Yashicas with that same lens, so I'm going to say you should look to replace yours with another one. The 4's and 5's (which are the same camera model sold in different markets) will be newer, but only by a couple of years at best, and could have improved architecture that eliminates that lens shift problem. Or maybe not. Sending it for repair is going to cost more than replacing it, if you can find a place that will do the work. I've only worked on a few P&S cameras myself, but I used to hang around a camera shop that did repairs, and the biggest problem with them is electronics failures. Secondly is dirt intrusion which helps to wick moisture around the inside. Thirdly is parts failures due to stress fractures. And lastly, the dreaded old batteries left in it for years.  You find a lot of parts inside that are glued in place, or are mounted on a post that is then melted over on the end to act like a rivet.

Since you don't want to deviate from what has become your favorite, then by all means keep buying T-3's. You might get one that lasts a while, but I doubt it would be a long while. So buy two or three of them so you won't be caught without until you can restock.

Happy hunting!

PF