Bought one - well actually two!

[DRabbit]

So I've got this thing for older film cameras lately and discovered the Yashica GSN and decided to give it a try. I bought one on ebay last night that seemed to be in decent condition and also came with a "genuine" Yashikor Aux Telephoto 1:4 and a Distance to Object Lens.

I had bid on a second one and ended up winning that too... That one is a little iffy (the seller didn't say much about it). But if it works, I'd like to give it to my daughter's friend who has been dying for an old film camera to learn more about photography with (she's 15 and aspires to be a photographer).

I did already buy two battery adaptor things, and I've read that sometimes the cameras need to be resealed. Is there anything else I should know? Can anyone tell me about the two "genuine" lenses? I know the GSN is a fixed-lens camera and these must be teleconverter type attachments, but anyone know more about them?

Thanks everyone! I'll share photos when I have some... and will take pics of the cameras when they arrive.

 

[Harlee]

The aux. lenses, a wide and a tele along with a eyepiece that slips into the flash shoe, are a lot of hassel and really don't add a lot to the camera's capabilities. The wide angle is roughly 40MM and the tele around 60MM. Once you focus the GSN, you must read the scxale on the aux. lenses and reset the didtance according to what the scale calls for; for instance, you focus your GSN at 10 feet, read the scale on the lens and you may have to refocus the GSN at say 13 feet. They are the same at infinity however.

Here's a trick I've used with say 400 film, where you can shoot at F11 or F16; set the GSN to one those two F stop settings at infinity, and just shoot away without focusing. Your actually shooting at what is called hyperfocusing distance, and as long as you have good light, you need not refocus for each shot. Just remember, the aux. lenses are F4 not F1.7 which your GSN is. As useless as the aux. lenses are, if you sell the camera the lenses will fetch you a higher price.

 

[DRabbit]

Thanks Harlee...

I'm not new to rangefinders so have become intimately familiar with hyperfocal distance and using the distance scale... I even use it on my E-P1 with M-glass these days! LOL 🙂

Thanks for the info on the GSN... I'm excited to run a roll through them when they get here! I hope they both work!

Amy

 

[b1bmsgt]

Hey, congratulations on your scores!! I think you'll like them...

Russ