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Yashica Mat 124G
- Thread starter freecom2
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- Nick
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I've got one I shoot occasionally, nice to use, fairly easy to focus, meter pretty accurate.
A pretty decent TLR all round really, anything in particular you wanted to know?
OP
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I've currently got an original Yashica Mat, and a Rolleicord Vb.
What I dislike on the Mat is the lack of parallax correction (the Vb fixes that), the hood is incredibly flimsy (partly because one of the springs has gone). The Vb is built far better, but changing aperture and speeds are far harder than the Yashica's wheels, which makes me slower.
Both of them don't have meters, and I'm finding having to use an external meter and transferring the settings slow to the point where I feel like I'm missing the shot.
So I'm basically looking for a well built, metered TLR, which leaves me with the higher end Rolleiflex models (very very expensive, meters have reliability issues) or a 124G (the meter again doesn't have a very good reputation), but I'm wondering if a good 124G with a good functional meter might solve my problems?
What I dislike on the Mat is the lack of parallax correction (the Vb fixes that), the hood is incredibly flimsy (partly because one of the springs has gone). The Vb is built far better, but changing aperture and speeds are far harder than the Yashica's wheels, which makes me slower.
Both of them don't have meters, and I'm finding having to use an external meter and transferring the settings slow to the point where I feel like I'm missing the shot.
So I'm basically looking for a well built, metered TLR, which leaves me with the higher end Rolleiflex models (very very expensive, meters have reliability issues) or a 124G (the meter again doesn't have a very good reputation), but I'm wondering if a good 124G with a good functional meter might solve my problems?
OP
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Ed, your post only came up after I wrote mine - I've ruled out all the Mamiya TLRs, I don't need interchangeable lenses and their weight is far too much considering I have it around my neck for the whole day, for comparison:
Mamiya C33 = 2040g
Mamiya C330 = 1700g
Rolleicord Vb = 940g
Mamiya C33 = 2040g
Mamiya C330 = 1700g
Rolleicord Vb = 940g
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I am wondering why using an external meter is such a chore?
To be honest all the meters in TLRs are of little value, they are wide view reflected light meters, you would be much better off with a small external meter which measures incident lighting. With experience, once you have taken an incident light reading and set that on the camera you should be able to judge any approximate changes and alter the settings accordingly.
I used to do weddings with a Mamiya C330f and I would only take about half a dozen light readings over the period of the whole wedding. Unless there were substantial changes in the light why would you need to?
To be honest all the meters in TLRs are of little value, they are wide view reflected light meters, you would be much better off with a small external meter which measures incident lighting. With experience, once you have taken an incident light reading and set that on the camera you should be able to judge any approximate changes and alter the settings accordingly.
I used to do weddings with a Mamiya C330f and I would only take about half a dozen light readings over the period of the whole wedding. Unless there were substantial changes in the light why would you need to?
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It's a mix of both - there was the time to read the meter, and then the time to change the Rollei's aperture and shutter speed settings. By that time, the shot is almost certainly no longer there. I've worked on trying to read light and settings a bit better, but I'm just wondering if the 124G is a more elegant solution really.
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I've never really had a problem with the meter on the 124G, it's only useful as a guide but with a little practice it does the job.
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I have a Yashica 124G and think it is great.
I do use the meter and have shot with Kodak Ektar and found it to be pretty accurate but a handheld meter is the more accurate way to go.
True they are not as well built as the Rolleis but then again they were a copy and cheaper than them.
I am about to go on holiday for a few days and I am packing the Yashica.
I do use the meter and have shot with Kodak Ektar and found it to be pretty accurate but a handheld meter is the more accurate way to go.
True they are not as well built as the Rolleis but then again they were a copy and cheaper than them.
I am about to go on holiday for a few days and I am packing the Yashica.
StingerNikon
nice shot!
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Hi recently I bought one and passed two rolls of film trough it.
I have both Yashica Mat 124G and Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar
In general I think Yashica Mat 124G is very good piece of equipment taking into account its price - it is 6x times cheaper than my Rolleiflex.
I bought my Yashica on Ebay for £125.
Perharps its not as good wide open as Rolleflex but starting from f/5.6-f/8 is should be sharp enought.
Examples form Yashica Mat-124G:
f/8
f/3.5 or 4
f/4 or 5.6
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that shot of the lilies is just gorgeous 