Advice needed on Yashica 35GX

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laurentb

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Good evening,

I'm quite tempted to enter the RF world, and one of the options at hand is a 35GX.

I am concerned about the auto mode with no overriding, as this would be the first time I'd use such a camera (in fact I used a Canon Sureshot WP1, but this one is worse as it does not give ANY control. The 35GX would at least offer aperture and focus controls)

So my main question is : in general, do you trust the meter, and do you get proper exposure from it ?

I'm 99.9999% of the time using B&W film, so this might help...

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

P.S. in the other options there's a Canont 17 QL GIII...
 
All the Electro 35GSN's that I owned metered perfectly. I don't know if they have the same meter, but if you want proof of the system working, just hop on over to FlickR and look at the Yashica images.

You won't be let down.
 
The Electro GX is a great camera, and in my experience (I sell many of these at my eBay store) the meter is quite accurate. The aperture priority automatic system is simple enough, and exposure compensation is adjustable in half-stops by using the ASA/film speed adjuster located on the lens body.

Compared to the Caonet QL-17, I think the GX takes better pictures. I have numerous examples of both cameras, and experience using both. The GX is easier to use, simply set the aperture abpnd shoot. The Q-17 is a shutter priority camera, set the shutter speed and the camera picks the correct aperture. The viewfinder is brighter in the QL-17, but the mirror is more fragile, and is fogged in many of the examples I have come across. I have yet to find a GX with this kind of problem. Both cameras feature parallax correction in the viewfinder.

The only other recommendable option is the Olympus SP, which has the same mechanical manual operation as the QL-17, but which has a much better lens and meter. For me it would be a coin toss between the Olympus SP and the Yashica GX, for street photography the GX would be better, but the spot meter function on the SP make it the right camera for tricky lighting situations, and simply more control.
 
I shot about a roll and a half before it seemingly gave up on me. It's a great camera and the metering seemed spot on. Even with the night shots.
 
Laurent -- The GX is a terrific camera, the meter is excellent, and the whole package is light, compact. Image quality is excellent. I like the 40mm perspective. Frontman provided mine; he has a knack for finding these and putting them into very good operating condition.

If you really want manual control, then the QL17 III is also good. I have both and prefer the GX. For auto-exposure, I like Aperture-preferred because you control the depth of field which is what I usually want.

My advice: For cameras this old, buy one that someone has worked on. I've had zero luck with the cameras listed as "looks good, haven't tested."
 
Thanks for your advices again !

Richard : when you say "buy one that someone worked on", I understand "buy one freshly CLA'ed", am I right ?

I could have one at the moment, which I'll be able to see/test before, but the price seems a tad high : is 150€ a common price for these (this one is reported to have a missing collar around the battery test button) ?
 
Laurent, yes, that's roughly what I mean. Specifically, a camera that's been put into good working order by someone with skills and tools in the past several years. Once in good order, these should last for years.

150 Euro is US$200. Yes, seems a tad high. That, IMHO, would be right for a camera in perfect working order and very spiffy cosmetic condition.

Also... Sending you a PM.
 
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