This is the third Yashica Mini*** I have tried and the third one with issues. But again, the camera worked despite its faults. In this example, the light meter didn’t work, which wasn’t an issue as it could be used in manual mode.

It was introduced in 1963. If it worked as it should, the selenium cell around the lens would give a reading on the top, uncoupled light meter. You could then set the camera to the correct exposure value (EV) on the barrel. After that, you could change the shutter speed and the aperture would automatically change, keeping the overall EV the same.

Unlike the first Minister I tried, this one’s second rangefinder image was very clear. Usually, I don’t care for EV-based cameras, but for some reason, I didn’t mind this one…maybe because it was a Yashica.

I loaded an expired roll of Agfa 200 and took the set-up on a camping/cycling near Chirk Castle.

Well, the Lime 2 to the rescue again and look at the sharpness of those images. It was a lovely holiday, with great weather for a change. I camped in a lovely place along the canal that had a milk hut, I have never drank so much milk in my life. It was glorious.

Back to the camera…Unfortunately, when I tried to rewind the film I found it was jammed and it refused to move. I put the camera in a dark bag and rewound it manually. I could feel that the film was torn at the end. I put the camera to one side for a while, until I had time to look at it.

One quiet afternoon I picked it up and determined to have a look more closely. Honestly, all I did was pick it up and it started working again. I didn’t clean anything or touch a single screw. I have a feeling the first film I used got right to the end and the advance did not go through the full cycle. Some cameras are like that, they jam if you try to shoot the 25/37th frame.

Oh well, I decided to check it properly and loaded a half-used roll of Analogue Wonderland’s Wonderpan and took it to Chester. Then I developed it in 510-pyro. Here are the results…

The results seem fine to me and the camera has continued to work. I think I will keep this camera and recover it somehow, make it a bit more interesting…seeing as it is slightly faulty 😉

You can read more about this camera on the links below:
https://austerityphoto.co.uk/yashica-minister-iii-review-back-to-the-60s-in-style/
http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/chrono2.html