Any tips on a electro 35 GT

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d_ross

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I just purchased an Electra 35 GT, and wondered if there were any little tricks I should know with these cameras ? Also would like to know if anyone has used the wide angle and tele adaptors for them as the one I got has them.

Cheers
 
Nothing special, get a lens shade, shoot for shadows with negative film and yes the aux tele and wide angles work, approx 35 and 65 mm.
 
d_ross said:
I just purchased an Electra 35 GT, and wondered if there were any little tricks I should know with these cameras ? Also would like to know if anyone has used the wide angle and tele adaptors for them as the one I got has them.

Cheers
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The wide angle and tele adapters work, but not that well (yeah, I have them too). There is only about 10mm of effective focal length difference from the normal lens, each way, and I think they are usually more trouble than they are worth. If you google Yashica Guy, you'll find a website that probably has more than you really want to know about the G-Series.
 
Learn to use the ISO dial for a little exposure compensation when needed occasionally ... and don't automatically put 400 speed film in it like the rest of the speed demons around here! :p I never realised just how good the lens was on mine intil I put some real film in it. Even in poor light if you have a steady hand this camera will take tack sharp images with ISO 100! :eek:

Also a soft release makes the shutter button travel a lot easier to deal with accurately. :)
 
Pitxu said:
Hi Keith, about shutter button travel, it is quite long and mine lights the red arrow with only a short travel but the orange arrow needs longer travel before it lights up. Is this common ?
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One arrow indicates over exposure the other under exposure. Which ever arrow lights as you press the shutter release ... rotate the aperture dial in that direction until it goes out. It's a reasonable way also of estimating what shutter speed the camera's electronics may be selecting and allows you some control over it by travelling to either extreme (over or under) and taking a step back. The red arrow is for over exposure and is activated in the first part of the release movement and is the one to avoid because it means the shutter is at it's fastest speed (1/500) and you must reduce aperture if you want to avoid over exposure. The orange arrow can be ignored to a point because it just means that you are in the very low shutter speed range and camera shake/blur may be an issue.

They are a fantastic camera and you do have some control ... to a point! :)
 
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Pitxu said:
Thanks Keith, I understand the functioning, my point was more that I can't have the two arrows light up with the same presure on the release button. So sometimes I end up "pumping" the button to find out where I am.
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Yeah ... and occasionally I've tripped the release doing that! :p Less so now with a soft release though ... it gives the whole movement a lot more feel!
 
Pitxu said:
Sorry.

So its normal then, I thought mine might have been faulty.
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I've discovered that with the soft release you can feel a solid resistance at the end of the travel where the orange arrow lights and a little more pressure triggers the release. Couldn't sense it at all before and it's made the camera a lot easier to use ... it was the only thing I didn't quite like about the Electros ... I could never quite tell when it was going to fire the shutter sometimes.

I hope d-ross is listening to all this! :p
 
Pitxu said:
Iv'e heard only a little about these "soft releases" How does they work, and do they take up a lot of space?
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It's just a little mushroom shaped gizmo that screws into the cable release hole in the shutter button. I don't normally like them because they make the camera more vulnerable to accidental shutter release in a bag etc ... but because you can lock the Electro shutter it's not a problem! :)

I've seen cheapies on eBay for a few dollars.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Soft-Shutter...ryZ29965QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
I just discovered on my GTN that if i press the shutter release down and rotate the lock I can have locked metering. This also makes it so I don't need to press the button so far down. Now to get that lens collimated....
 
d_ross said:
I just purchased an Electra 35 GT, and wondered if there were any little tricks I should know with these cameras ? Also would like to know if anyone has used the wide angle and tele adaptors for them as the one I got has them.

Cheers
Click to expand...

You will probably need to replace the light seals and the "pad of death" right away. Both of these operations are pretty easy to do.

This guy makes the best light seals, and they are inexpensive: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZinterslice (all you need is the $6 kit).

Here are instructions on replacing the "pad of death": http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/repair.html
 
Yes I am listening to this :) I did get a battery adaptor from yashica guy, thanks.
I have shot a few rolls of film, mostly APX100 and a roll of Kodak Technial pan! I just made some 16x20 prints from the APX100 and I'm really impressed by the lens! it is very sharp but not too contrasty and gives a great tonal range to print with. The camera is easy to use, and the meter surprisingly accurate. I use the ISO dial to underexspose and the 30th sec flash shutter speed setting if I want to overexspose.
Not long ago a friend gave me his M6 to play with, this opened my eyes to the ease of use of 35 mm rangefinders, but I wasn't really impressed enough by the M6 to want to spend that kind of money, admittedly the film I used in it was Kodak 400 B&W C41 process. But I cant see any reason to want more than the Electro offers for the type of photography I use it for.
 
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