Throwback Thursday: From January 2016.

I have yearned for a Yashica Electro 35 for some time. Ever since I heard that it is Spiderman’s camera of choice. Apparently, he prefers the GSN version (he is real), but when I saw this in a junk bin my eyes nearly popped out of my head. In my eyes, this is a beautiful camera, heavy like a brick but when you hold it there is quality “in them thar designs”. Plus it was released the same year as me 1969. Perfect. For more technical details this website has it all.

Through my yearning, I already knew this camera had battery issues, the type needed not being available. I also knew there were adaptors out there and modifications that could be made. In the end, I used the hack shown in this video. One CR123 plus two LR44 adds up to 6 volts and a possible solution…but first to clean the gunk inside the battery compartment. Why do people leave batteries inside things they are not using? A bit of vinegar on a cotton bud and the battery check button was as bright as a…button. Now does it actually work? I loaded some expired film, of which I still have quite a bit left and away to the park I trundled.

This camera has two arrows in the viewfinder showing if something is under or over-exposed based on the aperture. No matter what I did to this one it always showed the underexposed arrow, not a good sign. The dial was also very difficult to move, another not-good sign.

But I clicked away on different settings and focus points until the film was at an end. Turning the lens to focus also felt odd, like it had been dropped and was out of alignment 🙁

I got the film processed nonetheless.

Disregarding the colour cast, what a varied bunch of photos. Some are almost perfect, others are just wildly out there. So, not such a bargain after all. I then had fun disassembling the camera, keeping the battery cover and strap lugs to use later and chucked the rest in the non-burnable bin. Now, on with the search for a Yashica Electro that works.

Update: I still don’t own one.