Throwback Edit Version: I edited this in October 2026, checked the links and converted it to the new WordPress blocks format if needed.
When I saw this camera, I thought…REALLY??? A Yashica half-frame? I hate half-frames, but I love Yashicas. Should I buy it? It isn’t cheap for a junk-bin chance, but it is clean and a Yashica…OK, I will do it.
According to this reviewer, it was produced in 1964. As you can see, it has a selenium cell light meter and a f1.7 lens. It has zone focusing with an image scale inside the viewfinder that has the regular mountain, people, and person symbols. On the right side of the viewfinder is a needle scale that tells you the speed. So you can choose the aperture and check what speed will be selected by the camera. Or everything can be automatic. When you press the shutter button halfway, the needle moves…and this one did, which let me know the selenium cell was working 🙂 A good sign. Here are a few more details.
So I plonked in a film and went for a wander…
…and out of 72 photos, these are the ones with an image 🙁
On a closer inspection, the shutter blades moved very, very slowly. They seem clean, but must be sticky. I do not have the skills to take this apart and clean the blades. Plus, as it seems quite a rare camera, I don’t want to spoil such a good example. Therefore, I am going to send it to a Yashica expert and hope he can bring new life into it…or at least love it.
To be honest, I didn’t mind so much. I still do not like half-frame cameras.
Awww thank you for the link and your kind comment! It’s a pretty little thing – having a working meter is at least “half” the battle. I’ll see if I can get the shutter to behave and see if we can get all 72 images out of it. I’ve never used a half-frame before so it should be fun to give it a go. I like the dog(?) image but can’t tell what it’s for. If you don’t mind I’d like to Reblog this. Thanks a bunch!
Sure no worries, reblog away 🙂
Oh and the dog image was on a train that had a character for each carriage…I was in hachiko carriage.
Oh cool. I didn’t know the meaning of the random dog on the train.
Reblogged this on Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic and commented:
Always interesting camera and equipment reviews with excellent photography to boot!
I’ve not enjoyed half-frame shooting either. The roll of film takes forever to get through!
True, so if your hobby is trying cameras..then it takes forever to get to the processing stage.