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| Meet my Yashica |
I long wanted to own a vintage range finder. Good thing I was able to get a hold of my Yashica Electro 35 GL at a low price. It's not really in mint condition; there are scratches and dents, it looks pretty used up but what the hell, the photo capturing capability is not lost (I must say still excellent) and that's what matters. My Yashica is one good bargain and I'm loving it.
This is the first camera I own that I have more control of since all of my cameras are toy cameras and point and shoot ones. I was a bit nervous with the first roll, thinking I might waste the whole 36 shots. Thank goodness, that didn't happen but there were only 24 frames exposed. I bet I wasn't able to load the film properly causing the film to not advance in the right way. That wasn't much of an issue though, since I made up for that mistake with the next roll.
The light meter is one efficient function that helps indicate whether there is less or too much light entering the lens when I press the shutter release half way. With that, I can adjust the aperture or find a better angle with sufficient light source. The viewfinder also provides an indicator if I have properly focused on my subject. When the subject is not focused well, there will be two images; as I adjust the focus ring, the images will superimpose into a single image signifying that the focusing is right. A bonus with this model is its ISO, which is from 25 to 1600. I heard this feature is rare in RFs for most only have ISOs up to 800. I have no problem at all with the shutter release, the rewind knob, nor the film advance knob. This camera is quiet and smooth in every click and crank.
The Yashica Electro 35 GL is a very easy and basic camera to use. The only inconvenience is its weight. Of course that's expected considering the kind of material it's made out of and probably because I'm not used to it after all the rest of my cameras are light weight.
I'm still in the process of mastering this camera and trying out different types of film. So far, I'm having so much fun and amused with the results.
Here are a few shots from my first 3 rolls:
