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This was my first medium format camera, bought new twenty years ago. It was a learning experience, took a bit of getting used to, but the quality of prints off those huge negatives knocked the socks off any 35mm work I'd done up to then! That particular camera died in a rather stupid car accident... I had that Yashica on the shiny leather front seat of my old Volvo, and was on my way to take some photos ( somewhat ironically ) of the place where my first wife had just had a minor traffic accident in her own car. Two youths, grinning like a pair of hand-fed hyenas, were sitting together on one single bicycle, intent on a little game of chicken before supper. About 30 meters in front of my hood, they zoomed out across the road in front of me. With sparks flying off the front number plate, four huge disc brakes somehow managed to drag nearly two tons of Swedish rolling iron to a grinding halt just in front of these idiots. With a roar of laughter, they were gone. Gone too was my Yashica, smashed beyond repair against the dashboard. Morale? Secure loose cameras before flight! Last year, a Canadian friend of mine sold me his 124G on the condition that I promised to take good care of it! So I have one again, and it gets regular use.* The screen is very bright and easy to focus on. I believe this is the only TLR ever made with an effective built-in CDS light meter. The meter doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, perched on top of the camera like a bolt-on accessory, but in practice it works very well. Lifting the focusing hood turns it on, and it's a simple match needle design coupled to shutter and aperture wheels. It tends to be easily fooled by bright light sources (like the sky...) so it's a good idea to point it slightly down when taking a reading. If you use a filter on your Yashicamat, don't forget to allow for it when setting the ASA on the meter. Equally important is to use the correct battery - the outlawed PX625 mercury cell rated at 1.35 volts. These can still be had, but they're getting rare... the wrong battery, the current 1.5 volt silver oxide version, will cause the meter to give a totally inaccurate reading throughout its entire range. It's possible Yashicamat cameras from the final production years up to 1986 MIGHT use the later battery - I'm not sure about this. My first one was from 1981, my current 124G is from 1971 or so. Both took PX625 mercuries. Please e-mail me if you know more! If finding batteries is a problem, there are a couple of alternatives. You can use a hand held meter - wait, don't run away! Lots of photographers use them, okay? There's nothing scary about them, believe me! Another alternative is the zinc-air Wien Cell: a bit short lived, but it'll deliver a true voltage of 1.3 and the meter will be accurate. More expensive but possibly the best solution is a commercially available adapter that accepts the one-size-smaller PX675 1.5 volt button battery, and includes a resistor in its circuitry to limit the voltage output to 1.3. Not a bad idea. The Yashicamat is one of my favourite twin lens reflex cameras, and I'd recommend it to anyone thinking about moving to medium format. A little less robust than the Rolleiflex, it's nevertheless very simple to operate and holds no nasty surprises for a beginner with even a basic knowledge of photography. It can certainly handle the occasional bump and scrape well enough. When you shoot, don't leave the winding crank sticking out - fold it back as soon as you've advanced film. If it moves even a few degrees once the camera is cocked and ready to shoot, it'll prevent the shutter button from being pressed and you might miss the shot while you figure it out! Not a serious problem, but you need to be aware of it - it's happened to me. The 124-G is the last of a long line of Yashica TLRs that started around 1956 with the Yashica LM. It's a great pity that Yashica discontinued this camera, but it had such a long production run that they would have had to completely retool their factory to carry on building them. From 1970 to 1986 - that's pretty impressive! But sales of TLRs gradually tapered off as more sophisticated roll-film cameras became popular, and I doubt if they'll ever offer a similar camera again. Plus points:
Minus points:
*On the M-setting, it'll
jam the self timer. Design flaw. I suggest wedging a This is one of the cheaper TLRs, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's not a VERY good camera. I've printed 20x20 inch posters off Yashicamat negatives, used the camera for aerial photos, weddings and all kinds of paying jobs. Breaking my first one was a real loss, and I missed it even though I had another medium format camera. The single-coated, four element Yashinon lens, a clone of the Carl Zeiss Tessar, matches the German equivalent in every respect - contrast, resolution and faithful colour reproduction. Used wide open, you'll see a certain softness around the edges, but the center remains very sharp. Since just about ALL lenses tend to be soft at full aperture, this isn't meant as criticism, and for some shots it can work to your advantage if you use it creatively to blur out unwanted backgrounds. If you find a clean one in good working condition, don't be afraid to trust it for serious, unrepeatable photographic situations. Like the Tessar lens, the Yashinon does very well at improving the contrast on finely defined surfaces like tree bark or granite. It's a lens that can give you the "WOW!" effect when you print up a poster. With its built in meter, this is a camera that will encourage you to get back to basics and enjoy going out with no spare batteries and no accessories - just the camera, some film, and maybe a tripod. Just make sure you check out everything before you part with folding money - shutter, self timer, winding crank and so on. Connect up a flash, and look through the taking lens through the open camera back as you fire a few shots off at different speeds. Loading is pretty easy, and follows the TLR norm. Locate both spools in their correct positions, carefully advance the film until the arrows just outside the film gate (the green arrows - a bit hard to find, but they're there - green for 120 film, red for 220) line up with the marks on the film backing paper. Then close the back, and carefully crank the film along until it locks at frame number one. Ready to rock and roll. After frame 12, keep cranking four or five times until you feel the film coming off the spool and resistance gets easier. Easy money! I've noticed the prices creeping up lately to the point where you can expect to pay as much for a good, clean example as you would for a Rolleiflex T. Given the choice, the Rolleiflex has the edge on build quality, but the Yashica is more user-friendly. As for the lenses, it's a tie. Both are excellent picture takers. If you have the money for a Rolleiflex 2.8F, great! If not, think of this sympathetic TLR as a high-performance trainer, capable of getting you started, learning the basics, and occasionally performing aerobatics! Tip: The standard camera strap that comes with the 124G is a nasty, plastic affair that's much too stiff. Why they built such a super camera with a fine quality leather ER case and then saved 25 cents on the price of a decent strap is beyond me! A good, solid leather strap makes handling the camera easier. A simple strap is fine, the type with one hole punched in each end. This fits the little studs on the side of the camera, like on the Rolleicord. Putting the strap on the camera rather than the ER case makes it useable with or without the case. Although they followed in Rollei's wake, Yashica pretty much wrote the book on TLRs. Alternative offerings included the Yashica D, the Yashica 635 (designed around a 35mm adapter like the Rolleikin, making this a multi-format camera), and several other nice TLRs before this, their final offering. They even dabbled in the 127 market with their own excellent versions of the Baby Rollei, the Yashica 44.
*July 17, 2001. My friend for more than twenty years, Gary Johnston, the previous owner of my Yashicamat, died last week after a long and painful battle with cancer. He was just 63. His gentle humour and quiet intelligence made time spent in his company seem to stand still. Tall and lanky, always smiling, and courageous beyond measure, he was a true gentleman. He never gave up, and fought till the end. I wish we could have had more time together. I shall miss you, Gary, and I'll particularly remember you every time I use your old camera, which will be often. Miles habit multi patria, quod unus sepulchrum. ( A soldier has many countries, but only one grave ). Sleep in peace, my friend.
Copyright © 2001 by Mike Graham. All rights reserved.
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