Yashica GSN Electro 35 Rangefinder
There was a flea market on South St on Saturday morning. Lady and I walked through it on our way to do some tabling for Neighborhood Networks at Kahn Park. I was hoping to find a table full of old cameras and I hit the motherlode.
I found a table full of 8mm movie cameras, Brownies, twin-lens reflexes a bunch of junky point and shoots and a few newer autofocus 35mm cameras. But the gem for me was the Yashica GSN Electro 35 Rangefinder [pictured above and below] which I had to have. Lady bought it for me for $25 bucks – thanks Lady! It looks like it's in perfect working condition, but I need a battery to be 100% sure. I gotta get a 6V battery and a spring to make a rig to make it work since they don't make the old mercury based batteries anymore. This ~30 year old camera, complete with the original molded two-piece case and vintage strap has me very excited. I'm gonna call around in the afternoon to see if the local shops have any 6V batteries around, which they should. Then, I'll go get me some film and shoot. I can't remember the last time I shot film.
This camera's not your run of the mill SLR, it's a rangefinder. I have a feeling I'll be emailing Tony a bit in the near future with questions. This camera is also a bit of a toy camera. It's aperture priority only with ISO sensitivity from 25 to 1000. I'd have to do a little math [I hate math] to fool it to work with 1600 speed film. I think it also has a top shutter speed of 1/500 so I think I'll be sticking to the slower stuff for now. The stepless Copal 45mm f/1.7 lens is supposed to be quite nice. The focus feels nice and smooth, but weird to see the lens jut into the frame as it does. It's a fixed lens so no further lens purchases available other than a telephoto attachment which screws onto the 57mm filter ring.
The shutter click is a barely audible click and the metal feels nice all over. I'm gonna be taking photos on the run with this camera and jotting down the info by hand, no easy access to EXIF info on this body.
Explore posts in the same categories: Gadgets, Photography
September 11th, 2006 @ 2:34 am
Ooh, that's exciting! I can't wait to see the pictures you get with this (assuming you scan them and put them online – sounds so ancient these days). f/1.7 combined with 35 mm film should provide some really nice shallow depth of field, right? And with your love of street photography, I imagine you'll have a lot of fun with this camera.
(And did that funky strap come with it? Very nice.)
September 11th, 2006 @ 10:51 pm
My name is Tony and I approve this purchase. "…weird to see the lens jut into the frame as it does." Yeah. Paul Ross wrote, "A great chunk of the bottom right corner of the viewfinder is blocked by the lenshood. Once someone asked me how I visualised a particular photograph. 'Like this' I replied covering the appropriate part of the print with my hand." It's all part of the rangefinder's charm. Hope you can get this thing powered up soon.
September 20th, 2006 @ 10:47 am
You got yourself an outstanding camera. This camera has a cult following that has been earned simply by its ability to take outstanding pictures. The top shutter speed of 500 will work fine. Only on the brightest days will you ever see it, only if your outdoors with 800+ speed film. If you like to shoot outdoors with high speed film, get yourself a 55mm ND4 filter.
I put 1600 speed film in the camera and rate it at 1000. Works fine. It actually works better, in fact. We're talking a fraction of a stop.
This camera is excellent for street photography:
1. Has parallax correction (note the frameline shifts as you focus)
2. Perhaps THE quitest shutter ever put on a camera
3. Can hand-hold at much lower speeds than an SLR because it's a leaf shutter design without mirror vibration like an SLR
4. This camera will calculate exposure and automatically keep the shutter open for up to 30 seconds, unheard-of for any camera
5. Shutter syncs at all speeds. Leave the camera on "auto" and with a manual flash set the aperture for one speed smaller (if 11 then use f16) for outdoor fill flash or back-lighting.
A lot more on this camera here:
http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/chrono.html
http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/yashica_gsn.html
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/YashicaElectro35GSN.html
And a whole forum about the camera here:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com
The Yashicanon is a "legendary" lens. And few cameras top this for candids and low-light photography. It was one of the most successfull Japanese rangefiners lines, being produced over 15 years with 8 million (don't quote me) produced, which is why they're so cheap. I don't consider this one a toy, rather an excellent photographic tool.
Try it and you'll see.
December 10th, 2007 @ 8:40 pm
hi
when i push the shutter button i will hear a click but the shutter is not fully closed till i move the lever about half way then the shutter will fully close is that normal, this is while there is no film
ted
May 31st, 2010 @ 11:25 pm
Hi dear,
I have this model one but I have problem of using flash, it doesn't work when I mounted flash. Could you instruct me how and what kind of flash? I like its image quality, it's supurb quality. Reap