Throwback Edit Version: I edited this in May 2026, checked the links and converted it to the new WordPress blocks format if needed.

As you know, I love Yashica cameras. The TLRs are usually out of my price range. I have never seen one in a junk bin…until now. Even then, it was still $40, a bit of a risk considering its state. This one seemed to be the A2 version; there are many versions of the Yashicaflex. The A2 was released in 1956 and can be identified by the red window at the back. It has a Yashimar 80mm f3.5 lens with shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/400, plus bulb. The speed and aperture are set by levers around the lens. There is no meter, and the film is manually advanced by using the red film window and the film numbers. It takes 6×6 images.

When I picked this one up, I realised the plate that pushes out the magnifier had been jammed over the focusing plate. That seemed like an easy fix, but did the rest of the camera function as it should? Was the lens clean? What condition was the actual focusing screen in? Was it damaged under the plate? How was the shutter? So many questions.

The first thing to do was to remove the hood and yank the plate into the right position.

I unscrewed the top off and then used a dentist’s hook and brute force. One of the screws disintegrated, and the skin fell apart on touch. Once the top was off, I could see the mirror, and it was in a terrible state. You could barely see anything in it. If everything else did work, I would have to buy or learn how to make a replacement.

Ok, so once I put it all back together, I superglued the plate in place permanently. As the spring was missing, the plate would not stay in position and made focusing impossible. The same issue might happen again without the glue. I could get the magnifier out with my fingers, so no biggie.

Then I loaded a film and walked around my local area. Did it work?

YES!!! Ok, I need to mix new chemicals, but the camera worked!! Gosh, the things this camera must have seen in its 60 years.

Ok, so now for the skin. It is now my camera, and I can do with it as I will….Sunflowers!

Keep or sell: Mine! It has sunflowers 🙂 May 20026 – It finally gave up working, and I had many 6×6 TLRs by that point, so I sold it for parts.