Yashica Minister D

[swanseadave]

Saw one in a charity shop for £15 but on checking over the shutter didn`t work.
Anyone got one of these?
http://www.cameramanuals.org/yashica..._minster_d.pdf

[GoneSavage]

I don't have one myself, but I've always thought its name/nameplate was the COOLEST.

[xwhatsit]

Yes I have one! My first rangefinder. I had to free up the shutter with some lighter fluid, it was a little bit of a sad case, but it's a very solid and reliable camera on the whole. The lens isn't the fastest (f2.8), at least compared to my Lynx 1000 and Electro (but the Electro doesn't feel anywhere near as nice in your hand as the Minister D); however the camera is solid, shutter is light, you can easily hand-hold shots at 1/15s.

The cool thing about the Minister D is the CdS meter (just use a hearing aid battery) which reads much lower light than the selenium meters on the other Ministers and the Lynx 1000. You get a LV number off the meter which you then set on the outer ring on the lens; this gives you a aperture/shutter combination which you can vary all the different combinations, whether you want a fast shutter speed/wide open lens or a slower shutter speed/big depth of field. Some people whinge about these types of meter setups but I find it very useful, it doesn't lock or anything so it's very fast and you can bracket just by moving the LV ring. I find the CdS meter quite accurate and it seems to have a narrow-ish angle of view for its type which is helpful in certain circumstances.

I think it's great and aside from the slower f2.8 lens I reckon it's a far better camera (esp. build quality and `hand feel') compared to the Electros.

The stuck shutter could likely be fixed very easily with some q-tips and Zippo fluid, just unscrew the front of the lens with an old mousepad or something. Easy!

[b1bmsgt]

Along with the lighter fluid, get yourself a can of compressed air to blow the excess fluid out of the shutter.
Once you have the lenses out, put a liberal amount of fluid on a Q-Tip and dab it onto the shutter blades. Cock and fire the shutter numerous times to work the fluid in. Take the air and blow around the perimeter of the shutter away from the center of the shutter. Then let it sit for a day or two to evaporate the rest out. Test the shutter every so often during the evaporating time. When you first spray the stuff in the shutter typically works immediately, but may freeze back up as it dries, so use more fluid if it does. You may have to repeat the process a few times before it stays operational. The air blow is an important part of the process as it tends to blow debris away along with the fluid.
After you are satisfied that you have a good shutter, you will have to clean the front of the rear lens element of lighter fluid residue. Just set the shutter to "B" and clean the lens with a puff of your breath and a CLEAN Q-Tip. You may have to do this a few times as well until it looks good. Use a new Q-Tip each time you clean a lens. Then carefully clean the front lens before you reinstall it.

Hope this helps...

Russ

[swanseadave]

Thanks for the replies guys.I`ll go back today and see if it`s still there.
If it is may be worth a DIY job on it.

Cheers