Yashica Electro 35 GS

Here is another camera range I am a little obsessed with. Each time I see one in a junk bin I seem compelled to buy it. I think it is all due to the fact that the one I did find that was working was seized and contained by a friend – you know who you are – never to be returned. Plus it is Spiderman’s camera of choice. I previously wrote about one version here. That was a less than successful purchase. This foray into the Yashica zone seemed to be more successful, until…well, you will see.

There is a ton of information about this range of cameras online. This website is particularly detailed and a fantastic resource for information on many camera. And of course there is always The Yashica Guy.

So what about my $5 buy. It seemed to work well, the viewfinder was a little hazy and there seemed to be a little something inside the lens. I didn’t think it would affect the photos though. So once I added the batteries as per this video, I was away.

I went with a friend to Amabiki Kannon which is a lovely temple in Tsukuba. It was a smashing day with early cherry blossom trees and a bright red main shrine, glad I put in some colour film.

And then I decided to develop the film myself….and ruined it. I didn’t mind so much as I live within an hour so I can go back, plus I took a few digitals as well. But still, little disappointed. I don’t think I will try that again for a while. I ended up ruining 4 films that day practicing. Bad temperature control, lack of patience, combined with poor tank loading skills and voila: crap film.

This was the best film of the bunch and did just about show that this camera worked. But I think I will try this Yashica out again at some point. I did have to change it to black and white to salvage it to some extent.

My beautiful picture

Oooooh imagine those pinks and reds. Well, they do have a vintage feel to them. So, ooooh imagine this being 1930 and not having a Leica. Perfect.

As I said the camera did seem to work well, and there was a “thunk” when taking a photo. So at the moment the POD seems fine. That is great as I don’t think this camera would be worth a refurbishment due to the lens issue.

So keep or sell? I might sell it later, but it is a bit of a brick and the postage anywhere might be a bit high. Another one to ponder on for a little while. So far I have about 5 camera to ponder on, I have to be a bit more ruthless about all this.