How to shakedown a Yashica 35GX?

[SYD_TRIBE]

I'm waiting for a 35GX to arrive. Its been years since I've even picked up a film camera. Something about film that makes me want to give it a shot again.

I want to shake the camera down when I get it. Appreciate I'll need to burn thru 1-2 rolls of film. Bought some 400 ASA today 24 exp to get a feel for it. Is 24 exp ok to use? I ask because manual says 12, 20 or 36 but not 24.

I need to figure out battery situation but have read up on that so feel confident about it.

What should I do to shake it down? To check its mechanism, lens, picture quality etc. Any suggestions welcome.

[Mikey_Rotten]

You got a great camera coming

24 exp is ok. It is as normal as 36, 20 or 12 mostly cheapo C-41 films have 24exp but can still get you great photos.

First you should check that the batteries are working. otherwise 35GX doesnt give you the right exposure.

Then just take pictures with it and then you can see from the pictures for possible light leaks and how the lens works.

[ColSebastianMoran]

I wrote an article about how to test a Yashica Electro.

Short version:
- Is the lens clean?
- With a battery, try different f-stop and ASA, check the under/over exposure lights.
- Get the under exposure light to come on... From there close the aperture four stops... Listen to the shutter. Underexposure comes on at 1/30th. Four stops slow should be about 1/2 second. You can hear the shutter close if things are working right.

Manual: Hard to find, but this link thanks to a previous posting here by Sally Shears http://35mm-compact.com/pdf/yashica-electro-35-gx.pdf

[ColSebastianMoran]

Oh... And, unless it's been worked on recently, you'll need to change the light seals.

If it works, then great... I bought one from Pakistan that mostly worked, except for over-exposure at some f-stops. Mark Hama put that one into perfect shape for me.

[PatrickT]

No real input here...but the GX is a fantastic camera and (IMO), easily the best of the Electro line.

[Mablo]

GX is a great fixed lens rangefinder camera. Just one word of warning; don't poke with the large viewfinder window in front. It might break loose quite easily.

[ColSebastianMoran]

Mablo, hope you didn't have to learn that from experience!

Frontman (Jeff) provided me a beautiful very late model black GX which has reinforcing to prevent this.

[SYD_TRIBE]

Thanks for all your feedback guys...camera is in transit so hopefully early next week I get to play with it although with work and all, probably following weekend before I get any serious camera time. I'll keep an eye on this and all Yashica threads for anything of interest.

[nikon_sam]

Originally Posted by SYD_TRIBE

I want to shake the camera down when I get it. Appreciate I'll need to burn thru 1-2 rolls of film. Bought some 400 ASA today 24 exp to get a feel for it. Is 24 exp ok to use? I ask because manual says 12, 20 or 36 but not 24.

The manual states 12, 20 & 36 because that how film was packaged when the camera was new on the market...film didn't come in 24 shot rolls then...
There are cameras with red exposure numbers marked at 12, 20 & 36...in fact my Olympus 35SP is marked this way...I just checked...

Good luck with your new camera...

I'm sure you've seen this site...if not take a look...

[farlymac]

Do a compass rose panorama to check for light leaks. Face North, then Northeast, then East, and so forth. If you have a leak, it should show up in two or three of the shots. Just remember what direction the shots were taken at, and then you can determine how the light was hitting the camera, which should help in any chasing down of a problem.

A lot of film camera manuals you read today will be full of blasts from the past. Certain ASA settings, types of films, and on and on, that have disappeared from the lexicon. It's like an archealogical dig finding out what it all means.

Have fun wringing out the cobwebs from your 'new' GX. It's an almost perfect camera.

PF

[SYD_TRIBE]

Thanks all, will advise how things go probably next weekend or 2..feel free to suggest any other shakedown tips however I'll give all the suggestions/tips above a shot

[fullbeam]

Hi all,

I was going to start a new thread but hopefully it's OK to jump in on this one...?

I paid a lot for my GX but I'm not 100% happy with it. The pictures I'm getting are not as sharp or well exposed as those taken on my GTN. The rangefinder needs calibrating for sure - I've looked everywhere online but can't find any instructions - should I get a specialist to do this? If so, I'm in the UK so any suggestions?

Many thanks,

Simon

[ColSebastianMoran]

fullbeam, have you done a basic test to see if the rangefinder is accurate?

What is the nature of the exposure problem? I had a GX (bargain, bought from Pakistan) that would intermittantly drop back to the default 1/500th. Does your problem sound like that?

[fullbeam]

Hi,

I've noticed that when the focus ring is set to infinity, objects in the distance don't line up like they should.

Furthermore, when it looks like an object is in focus about 50-60cm away, the lens reads 1m. About 1m distance reads 2m.
Should I go with the lens markings or the rangefinder?

In any case too many photos are out of focus!

Any tips on sorting this out will be much appreciated.

Regarding the exposure, it's not too bad - I just noticed a few over-exposed areas on a recent film shot in a forest - probably quite a hard scene to work out the best exposure for anyway, with sunlight streaming down through tall, leafy trees.

[ColSebastianMoran]

fullbeam, sounds like trouble. Of course we want all three in sync:
- Focus on the image plane
- Coincident image in the rangefinder
- Subject to film distance on the distance scale

Definitely needs adjustment. Saw this problem on one of my Yashica rangefinders (I have too many now). It was a routine adjustment for my local camera technician, but it may be hard to find one now days. Hope you can fix it; the GX is a great camera.

How to do it yourself? Sorry, beyond me.

About exposure... Sounds like your electronics are working; if they failed you would have gotten massive under exposure. I suggest a test. Camera on tripod, shoot the same wall at all f-stops. Look for consistent exposures.

[Frontman]

Unfortunately, there is no way to reach the rangefinder adjustment on the GX without removing the top cover. But removing the top cover is not that difficult.

To adjust the rangefinder, adjust the focus to infinity, and then turn the screw with the + slots on the top, as shown in the picture, until the two planes of the image line up.

[fullbeam]

Colonel - thanks for your advice.

Frontman - thank you - excellent picture! Is it tricky to get the top off/back on? Anything to watch out for?

Also, where were you when I was buying my GX? Everyone says they bought a great camera from you; it's not fair that I got ripped off! What's your trading name on eBay btw??

[Frontman]

Originally Posted by fullbeam

Colonel - thanks for your advice.

Frontman - thank you - excellent picture! Is it tricky to get the top off/back on? Anything to watch out for?

Also, where were you when I was buying my GX? Everyone says they bought a great camera from you; it's not fair that I got ripped off! What's your trading name on eBay btw??

Taking the top cover off is easy, you need to remove the winding lever, and rewind knob, then a lock ring under the wind lever, and a Phillip's screw under the rewind knob, the top will then lift off.

You can find my eBay store by googling "Japan Camera Exchange", my seller ID is sangetsu03

[SYD_TRIBE]

I'm in the process of slowly burning thru 1 roll of Fujifilm colour 400 ASA to see what the picture quality of my GX is like...

1. I don't get the set of parallax lines, I just see the yellow corner lines. Any ideas? The focus 'diamond' works fine

2. the camera came with a Kenko UV filter. I've shot all photos so far with it on. Good idea?

3. Taking the UV filter off, I've managed to get the red exposure indicator arrow to come up but its hard to see (no problem seeing yellow arrow). Something which should be looked at? Can I troubleshoot it myself or do I need to get my camera looked at by someone? If so, can anyone recommend someone in Sydney, Australia?

Note - this is my 1st film camera in a few years and I was always an 'auto' setting user on the digital camera so patience guys..

[ColSebastianMoran]

Syd, you have patience. With a new camera, I shoot a test roll quickly, a range of lighting, exposure, and focus.

Filter? Opinions vary. If the filter is clean, I think it will be very difficult to see any adverse effects.

[Bill58]

Take the UV filter OFF and only use it if you're in a sandstorm sometime, but get a hood. I use a rubber one on mine. The UV filter just degrades images from a great lens.

Originally Posted by SYD_TRIBE

I'm in the process of slowly burning thru 1 roll of Fujifilm colour 400 ASA to see what the picture quality of my GX is like...

1. I don't get the set of parallax lines, I just see the yellow corner lines. Any ideas? The focus 'diamond' works fine

2. the camera came with a Kenko UV filter. I've shot all photos so far with it on. Good idea?

3. Taking the UV filter off, I've managed to get the red exposure indicator arrow to come up but its hard to see (no problem seeing yellow arrow). Something which should be looked at? Can I troubleshoot it myself or do I need to get my camera looked at by someone? If so, can anyone recommend someone in Sydney, Australia?

Note - this is my 1st film camera in a few years and I was always an 'auto' setting user on the digital camera so patience guys..

[SYD_TRIBE]

Finally shot a roll of film (after wasting 2 because I didn't load the film right, don't ask!!! I'm a child of the digital generation, what can I say).

1st 5 exposures of 3rd roll didn't come out, I think because I was trying to work out how to load film and must have exposed the film by accident when working that out.

Very happy with some of the photo's that did come out…a step up in quality from my old Sigma dp1. After watching Bill Cunningham New York, itching to get out but wet weather in Sydney today's killed off that idea.

Waiting for refurb'd Epson scanner to arrive so can't scan anything yet.

Anyway, 3 questions

1. The accessory shoe is abit loose. How can I tighten it?
2. The frame in the viewfinder doesn't seem to move diagonally to compensate for parallax. How can I test this to see if it infect works or needs to be repaired?
3. Any recommendations on good hood? Rubber or metal?

[ColSebastianMoran]

Syd, the frame moving for parallax is a bit subtle. I had to look twice. Only noticable when you get up to pretty close focus.

[ColSebastianMoran]

Hood... It's 52mm, so lots are available. Trick is to find one that doesn't block the range/view finder.

Here's the one I found on eBay from a Chinese seller (seems to change names, but search 52mm vented slanted lens hood). It's not perfect, but very close, and doesn't vignette.

[Paolo Bonello]

Originally Posted by SYD_TRIBE

Finally shot a roll of film (after wasting 2 because I didn't load the film right, don't ask!!! I'm a child of the digital generation, what can I say).

1st 5 exposures of 3rd roll didn't come out, I think because I was trying to work out how to load film and must have exposed the film by accident when working that out.

Very happy with some of the photo's that did come out…a step up in quality from my old Sigma dp1. After watching Bill Cunningham New York, itching to get out but wet weather in Sydney today's killed off that idea.

Waiting for refurb'd Epson scanner to arrive so can't scan anything yet.

Anyway, 3 questions

1. The accessory shoe is abit loose. How can I tighten it?
2. The frame in the viewfinder doesn't seem to move diagonally to compensate for parallax. How can I test this to see if it infect works or needs to be repaired?
3. Any recommendations on good hood? Rubber or metal?

Well damn, I thought I was the only one roaming around Sydney with a GX. Ha, congrats on the acquisition. The GX is one of my favourite Yashicas for a free and easy walkabout camera. Put a wrist strap on it and a spare roll of film in your pocket and just roam around taking available light snaps of whatever interests you. It's quite liberating. The 40mm lens is also a really happy field of view for me.

My framelines were a bit skewed as well when I got mine. I adjusted it a little to straighten it up but I honestly can't remember how I did it. So many different models that I've had the top covers off to clean the glass. I think I might have adjusted the stamped metal frameline stencil itself on it's mounting point. Will check mine later tonight to see how much the paralax correction works.

If you're in doubt and want to do a CLA I recently got mine done by an old school repairer in Melbourne (originally from Japan) and can pass on the details. He re-calibrated it to within half a stop over the full range of apertures and light values. He also drew me a table of tested values to highlight at what values it was not possible to correct the meter after recalibration. (I have my doubts if it was ever more accurate. At least now I know exactly what it's doing). Yes I had a baffling light meter issue which I thought was batteries but turned out to be a calibration issue which would under expose and then over-expose at the opposite ends of the light values and apertures. That's where I draw the line and send it to a pro. He fixed it so that the small variation now is at a very acceptable level especially given the amount of lattitude you get with everything but slide film. Eventually I also want to try some slide film and test it out but for the moment I'm more than happy to get my GX back in good shape.