EdipisReks1

For it only being half a stop brighter, the finder on the Yashicamat LM is a lot more usable than the Yashicaflex C, especially since it has a grid and a focus circle. Surprisingly the light meter seems to be about right, which I’m happy for as it doesn’t have a cold shoe for my little Reflx Labs light meter (I would otherwise just use my phone, but it’s less fun to have to pull something out of my pocket to use). I’m looking forward to running some Portra 400 through this.

Not terrible for a camera with focus issues (that was the N8008; half my shots are super soft; F100 hopefully doesn’t have a similar issue). HP-5 definitely wants more exposure: this shot was taken in bright sunlight at the box ISO, and I would have gone at least a stop faster in hindsight.

Accidental double exposure and accidental cat.

I’m looking forward to it! Everything I’ve read suggests it’s perfect for my needs, and the prices are right. Just need to figure out what lenses I want.

Picked up a Yashicaflex LM with working light meter. And a Bronica 645 ETRSi body and metering finder. Will be a while before I have Bronica shots, as I don’t have lenses yet, but I think that will work. The LM has a much brighter finder, supposedly, than my Yashicaflex C, with better optics on the taking, and a ground glass with a grid. It was $100, so I’m not to worried if it’s no better than what I have.

That is way too organized for me! I guess I need a digital back on my F100. Or a moleskine. That’s a good pic, BTW! Got the indoor portrait setup set up. I have a bunch of AI lenses, but I find the 50 f/1.4 to be great indoors. I’m in the same boat. It looks like any of the 14” capable printers are good, but they are pricey and take up a lot of room. Why I haven’t gotten one yet.

Me too! Speaking of Cartier, a medium Santos came my way. I’ve had the large for years now, and love it (it was my everyday watch before the Apple Watch), but the Medium really has a totally different character. It almost feels vintage, whereas the large feels thoroughly modern. Almost feels like an old Galbee. On my 6.75 inch wrist, anyway. The large wears like a Speedmaster. Definitely larger than my 40mm round watches, as it should. The medium wears more like my 35.5mm cushion Seamaster, and definitely wears smaller than a 1675 GMT.

I wish I had EXIF: I wanna go back and shoot this whole cemetery with the same setup. I know I was shooting HP-5 in a Nikon; maybe my 35mm f/2?

This is my favorite candid portrait taken with the Yashica: it looks like it should be 1994 (even has an ashtray!). Critical focus isn’t bad if you nail it, but it’s a bit of a chore with the waist level. I wish the darkroom scanned medium format at 36 like the 35mm, instead of 20 (it’s probably 24 or something at 6x7): I feel like I’m focusing a lot more resolution than the scans give.

For the Yashica? Split focusing would be great on any TRL; I dunno how many have one. I guess that’s what you mean: consider a third party screen. Probably not for the Yashica, it isn’t very good, but I could see it on an Autocord or Mamiya C3! I see myself with either a Mamiya 6 or 7, in 2025. I haven’t shot 6x7 yet, but I like 6x6 a lot.

If I’m spending Rolleiflex money I’m just going to save up and get a Mamiya 6! Minolta Autocord with meter is likely my next purchase, and I’ll just get more practice with composing. I really do think the incredibly dim viewfinder on the Yashica is the biggest problem for me. I picked up a variable diopter for the FM2. Cheaper than getting new glasses; I find critical focus very hard to get if I’m even a little bit off, of course, so it’s great being able to dial in with my imperfect corrected vision. Oatmeal Johnny was made for the camera. A combination of methods and equipment, but the same cat.

Shots back from The Darkroom. If I didn't know better I would think I had found some old pics in the bottom of a long forgotten box. HP-5 400 is way too grainy for daylight candids, but I love how it looks like the 90s. The shots from the Yashica (well, the in focus ones) look very much like they were shot on a camera from the 1960s. This was with new Kodak Gold 200. I definitely want a better medium format camera (the viewfinder is very dim on mine), but I can't say I'm too mad about the ones that were in focus and had decent composition (I'm still not used to things being backwards).

I couldn’t be happier with the Q fix. It is clear that “general cleaning” involved disassembling the lens, as there is zero dust now (there was a little dust in the lens before, but the main issue was the fungus on the sensor). A great camera and hopefully one I’ll get a lot of use out of.

Got the Q back from repair. Of course I managed to not have any batteries with me (I’m out of town), so I can’t test it. They returned my lens cap, which is a good sign. Generic batteries and charger arriving tomorrow. If it works properly, even with the repair cost, I got a good deal. If not, well, in for a penny in for a pound and I send it to Leica for their replacement parts, and thus I will have gotten a very bad deal. Q2 money, then.

I have the Yashica working: that was some fiddly work, but it came down to cleaning and lubricating the shutter release. I have five rolls of Kodak Gold and three rolls of Portra 400 in 120, so I’m eager to get snapping with the Yashica. Q is in repair now, so maybe I’m 2 for 2 after all (results pending). Having put a couple rolls through the FM2 lately has me looking at the DF: surprisingly pricy by DSLR standards in 2024, but lots of low shutter count examples in Japan.

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I’m getting better. It’s hard being even on both sides of the cup.

Great pics, Ric! The Leica has fungus amongus, so repair is a bit more expensive. But less than Leica wanted. The Yashicaflex also has already failed, so I’m 0-2 this week. I *think* I got some decent shots on the Yashica over the weekend, at least.

Leica didn’t open the camera, so it goes to Video Cam Repair dot Com for cleaning. $220 seems reasonable.

Received my F100. It’s unused as far as I can tell. Not bad for $235 with a 35mm f/2. It operates like a modernish camera, certainly very similar to a Nikon DSLR. I doubt it’ll still be working in 100 years, like my beloved FM2, but I think this is my go to 35mm, now. It’s really nice! Massively more modern than the N8008 (which is a perfectly good AF body). Going to run some long expired Kodak Gold 400 pushed a couple stops. From what I’ve seen Kodak Gold maintains color, it just gets less sensitive.

Kodak Gold 200 120 loaded. Kentmere should be here before the trip this weekend. I’m looking forward to taking a portrait of Heather in her new hometown on medium format.

Found a place in California that’ll clean it with a week turnaround for $200. All will be well when it ends well, just have to get the camera back from Leica.

It’s just frustrating that they wouldn’t even consider just cleaning the sensor. I’m 99 percent sure that the sensor is just dirty.

I'm not even mad. This is like dealing with Rolex or Montblanc. They wanted to replace anything that showed wear, including the leatherette covering, which does *not* need replacing. I have found a third party to clean the sensor, if it arrives still dirty (I bet I just got a sensor cleaning for free).