Yashica 635

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cargo

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Gary
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Hi all.


Each week I get a newsletter from our camera club.


Usual stuff, the next zoom meeting and what's coming up in the future.


This week someone had contacted the club to see if anyone would like some old camera equipment.


"Gratis"


I have never thought of owning a film camera before but this seemed like it might be fun plus it was free.


I registered my interest and have just picked the camera up.


There are 6 rolls of film too. Dated 2002 ?


So I'm here, cap in hand to ask where to start. Just had a quick look around it and it seems to work fine.


The guy said it worked but he had not used it many times whilst he owned it.


I'm used to shooting with a Canon 6d so loads of help with exposure. This does not have a meter.


Any pointers?


Would be very much appreciated.

DpsWTcW.jpg
 
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Get a film loaded, use Sunny 16 for exposures and, yes, I am jealous.

If you haven't used film before, you certainly haven't used a waist level finder before either. I find TLR cameras transform my composition - in a good way.
 
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It’s a very capable camera and it looks to have the 35mm adapter with it too.

If you feel comfortable working out the loading then just crack on or if you’ve got someone local that can walk you through it then at least you’re less likely to waste any film.

Its worth checking that the shutter, aperture and film advance are operating before you put a film in it.
 
I would suggest putting a roll of fresh film through it too. Putting the expired stuff in might give unpredictable results and there's nothing worse by being put off by poor results being blamed on the camera, when it could be the film.

I would also suggest Initially, using a lab service that includes scanning as part of their service. Poor home attempts at scanning can also often be off putting and it's good to see what the pros can get from your negatives before you start trying to DIY (if that's your thing).
 
@auntiemaryscanary Thanks for the link plus the inspiration to get started "Exciting" :)
@john.margetts Hiya. Just reading up on the sunny 16 rule. It's like a belated Christmas present. very luvky :)
@ChrisR Thanks Chris. Not sure how I missed that. Much appreciated.
@Andysnap Looks great. Would that have been edited to give it that contrast ?
Looking at the camera it all seems to work and looks straight forwards. Like I said earlier I'm just concerned over working the exposure out.
@Harlequin565 Hi Ian. That is a good point which funnily enough had crossed my mind. TBH i'm not expecting much in the way of quality. I'm sure I have been spoiled by modern cameras and editing.
I don't see myself doing anything other than taking the photos and getting them printed like you would have done back in the day. In fact I will be surprised if I shoot all those films. Then again you never know.
Is 400 hp5 good to get ? Going to stick with B&W as I shoot colour all the time "Digital"

ps:
Does everyone get them scanned too?

I will order some later.

Gaz
 
cargo said:
Would that have been edited to give it that contrast ?
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Probably, but it was a while ago. I think this was taken on Fuji Acros which I find is quite contrasty and has just been released as Acros 11.
 
cargo said:
I'm sure I have been spoiled by modern cameras and editing.
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Once I found the sweet spot for film, development and scanning, I pretty much exclusively shot film. However in the early days with a home made scanner and knowing nothing about development (I used Ilfosol 3 for just about everything) the results were quite significantly poorer than digital - to the point where I thought digital was just "better".

Shooting a low ISO, low grain film (Acros II, Ilford Delta 100) on medium format, in a fine grain developer (I use DD-X now for most film) with a half-decent lens; then scanning to a decent resolution whilst paying attention to sharpening, gives me easily as good results as 'clean' digital. (Prints to A2 in size viewed from a normal distance)

cargo said:
Is 400 hp5 good to get ?
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I've found that HP5 Plus (you have an older emulsion on there) is a great general purpose film, but depending on the developer, can give mixed results. In Rodinal I found HP5 to look terrible. In DD-X it looks fantastic. If you use a lab though, it's an unknown quantity as to which developer they use unless you ask. At 6x6, the grain is going to be much less pronounced (it's a bigger negative) too.
 
scook94 said:
Developed and scanned for sure, I've been using FilmDev, but only print the occasional photo myself at home.
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Cheers. I'll take a look at Filmdev. A recommendation is good.
 
@Harlequin565

l will be sending to lab. Wex have some hp5 so I'll nip down later. It's only 15 mins away from me in Manchester.

Thanks
 
Back again. This maybe a daft question ..... But !

When I change the aperture am I supposed to see the blades open. Or does this only happen when the shutter is pressed.

The blades do open when shutter is fired.

Gaz

Ps: I bought some film and taken my first photo too.
Hopefully...
 
Morning.

I have managed to find a mantenance video which show's that what I am actually looking at is the shutter and not the aperture blades.


So all being well the camera is working fine.


Gaz
 
IMPORTANT! @cargo Don't use the self timer! It may still work but if the flash sync switch has been set on (or accidentally nudged to) M instead of X, then using the self timer will permanently jam the shutter! It seems to be a design fault or quirk of the camera, so it's easiest never to use the self timer to avoid breaking the shutter as the repair cost would probably be more than the camera is worth.

I have 3 Yashica 635s plus a broken one I bought for spares, so I know a bit about these cameras. Yours looks like a fairly early one - if you let me know the serial number (it's on top of the name plate) then I can date it for you. The majority of these cameras have the Yashikor taking lens, but the last ones made (1970) were fitted with the Yashinon taking lens from the Yashicamat TLR. The Yashikor lens is still more than capable though, and should give very good, sharp results at around f/8.

A characteristic of the Yashikor lens is 'swirly' bokeh when shot wide open at f/3.5, which can produce shots that look like this (the focus point becomes quite critical with the aperture wide open though!):

43626267502_f7568662b3_c.jpg



Shot at around f/8 the bokeh looks more normal and the lens produces results like this (click on the image to view larger in Flickr):



You can find an instruction manual for the camera here: Yashica 635 camera instruction manual, PDF camera manual, Free yashica 635 instruction manual (butkus.org)

The 35mm converter is a bit of a novelty (if you have all the pieces there), it works well but it produces shots in portrait format, which limits the usability due to having to try and turn a TLR camera on its side to take landscape! I only used mine once just to test it. If you have any questions about the 635 feel free to ask and I'll see if I can help.

As for a light meter, if you have a smartphone then it's worth trying a light meter phone app. I use this one on my Android Samsung S7 phone and find it very good, I've also used it on a Sony Xperia T and it worked well with that too. If it's a little out then you can actually calibrate this light meter app to fine tune it, which is a useful feature: LightMeter - Apps on Google Play However, it's probably worth reading the reviews as it may not work on some phones. I hope this is useful and you enjoy using your 'new' camera.
 
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@Mr Badger
What a great reply. Lots of info to digest. Unfortunately I have played with the self timer. It worked and doesn't seem to have caused any issues. I'll leave well alone now.
So this should be left set to the X mark ? It was on M :-(
Serial number 5920729 I'm struggling to decide
whether it's a 5 or 3 first number as there a mark in the way.

Your images look great there.
I'll look when home on my pc.

Thanks
Gaz
 
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The advice not to use self times applies to all old cameras. Their mechanism is the weakest part of the shutter and usually the first part to fail. The rest of the shutter should be good for a century or more (my oldest is 109 years old and still fine).
 
Thanks John

I appreciate you sharing the knowledge you've acquired.

Gaz
 
I would agree that self-timers of old cameras are the shutter's weak point. I have had a few shutters jam becuase of the self timer. However, there wouldn't be as many faamily group photos from way back without the self-timer.

1625500455740.jpeg

Bridlington Summer 1949. Voigtlander Vito I, unknown film etc.
 
PeterSpencer said:
I would agree that self-timers of old cameras are the shutter's weak point. I have had a few shutters jam becuase of the self timer. However, there wouldn't be as many faamily group photos from way back without the self-timer

Bridlington Summer 1949. Voigtlander Vito I, unknown film etc.
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So true.

Happy times, lovely photo !

Thanks for your input.

Gaz
 
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cargo said:
@Mr Badger
What a great reply. Lots of info to digest. Unfortunately I have played with the self timer. It worked and doesn't seem to have caused any issues. I'll leave well alone now.
So this should be left set to the X mark ? It was on M :-(
Serial number 5920729 I'm struggling to decide
whether it's a 5 or 3 first number as there a mark in the way.

Your images look great there.
I'll look when home on my pc.

Thanks
Gaz
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The yellow dot marked lever with M and X is the flash synchronisation lever (see instruction manual for details). The self timer is the red dot marked lever - think red for danger and leave well alone! The green dot marked lever is of course the shutter priming lever.

Date wise, if it's 392**** I believe it's 1959, probably February of that year. The date numbers are apparently a bit confusing with the earlier cameras, so it's an educated guess based on received wisdom. The black leatherette inserts in the shutter speed and aperture setting dials indicate it's pre-1961 model, so 1959 would look entirely possible. There's loads of info about Yashica TLR cameras on this website if you're interested: Yashica TLR
 
@Mr Badger
Morning. Thanks for the link. That is some resource !
Seems you are spot on. Off the images shown the model I own is the earliest version, the logo on the flip up hood is quite different from the newer models.
I watched a video yesterday on cleaning the camera. I'm thinking of having a go after I have used this film

I'm generally clumsy but it looked doable.....

I took the camera to show a photographer pal yesterday. He his older and knows more than myself. The first thing he said when looking through the finder "it's filthy"
I must admit it's not the big bright screen you read about. I just thought it's what's to be expected of a camera of this age.
After watching the video it seems a lot can be done to clean the various elements.

Have you done the same with yours ?

Gaz
 
If I remember rightly there should be 4 small screws on the lip of the flip up top. If you carefully unscrew them the whole top should come off including the glass.
 
Andysnap said:
If I remember rightly there should be 4 small screws on the lip of the flip up top. If you carefully unscrew them the whole top should come off including the glass.
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Yes that's my understanding. Course I should have done this prior to loading a film.
Thanks
 
cargo said:
@Mr Badger
Morning. Thanks for the link. That is some resource !
Seems you are spot on. Off the images shown the model I own is the earliest version, the logo on the flip up hood is quite different from the newer models.
I watched a video yesterday on cleaning the camera. I'm thinking of having a go after I have used this film

I'm generally clumsy but it looked doable.....

I took the camera to show a photographer pal yesterday. He his older and knows more than myself. The first thing he said when looking through the finder "it's filthy"
I must admit it's not the big bright screen you read about. I just thought it's what's to be expected of a camera of this age.
After watching the video it seems a lot can be done to clean the various elements.

Have you done the same with yours ?

Gaz
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Do be very careful, it's an old camera and the parts are likely to be fragile and could be fiddly to take apart, realign and put back together. I'd be inclined to leave the job to a pro (particularly if you are on the clumsy side) is there a local camera repairer near where you live (the folks on here can probably help suggest someone if you draw a blank)? If so perhaps get a quote, it's not a big job for someone experienced in old cameras, so should only take an hour. Don't expect them to work for 'nothing' though, as they'll have their overheads to cover!

If you are determined to have a go yourself, a word of caution, I wouldn't touch the inside of the screen with the red lines on it, as they are easy to wash off and you'll need them to frame 35mm film. I imagine most of the dirt and debris will be on the mirror anyway. I'm not sure how robust the silvering is on those mirrors on early 635s, or which side of the glass it's on, hence my suggestion to leave it to a pro. If you damage the mirror a replacement will need to be found!
 
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Mr Badger said:
Do be very careful, it's an old camera and the parts are likely to be fragile and could be fiddly to take apart, realign and put back together. I'd be inclined to leave the job to a pro (particularly if you are on the clumsy side) is there a local camera repairer near where you live (the folks on here can probably help suggest someone if you draw a blank)? If so perhaps get a quote, it's not a big job for someone experienced in old cameras, so should only take an hour. Don't expect them to work for 'nothing' though, as they'll have their overheads to cover!

If you are determined to have a go yourself, a word of caution, I wouldn't touch the inside of the screen with the red lines on it, as they are easy to wash off and you'll need them to frame 35mm film. I imagine most of the dirt and debris will be on the mirror anyway. I'm not sure how robust the silvering is on those mirrors on early 635s, or which side of the glass it's on, hence my suggestion to leave it to a pro. If you damage the mirror a replacement will need to be found!
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All points taken on board. I think I will see what the results are from my first film and then decide if it is something I would like to carry on doing going forwards.
Course I'm expecting terrible results photo's as I'm guestimating exposure. I will look into repairer's locally.
I'm in Manchester. There must be a few dotted about.

Thanks
Gaz
 
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I had a battery die on my M-1 once and I guestimated exposure for a few shots (and got poor results) until I remembered I had a "light meter" app on my phone, got some great shots using it. Worth a try?
 
scook94 said:
I had a battery die on my M-1 once and I guestimated exposure for a few shots (and got poor results) until I remembered I had a "light meter" app on my phone, got some great shots using it. Worth a try?
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Hiya

Thanks for the help.

I will download one of those too. Probably take a few with the help of the meter and a few without.

Gaz
 
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