cleaning rear of lens and viewfinder on a GTN

[fer_fdi]

Hi all,

I could get a well priced GTN locally which is in very good condition and with new seals
BUT the rear glass of the lens has fungus, could be an easy clean? (I'm waiting for pictures of the rear of the lens)

And, how easy is to clean the rest of the windows? Viewfinder, etc.

I don't think the POD was replaced though...

I'd like your help to decide if I get it or not

Many thanks in advance

 

[Fixcinater]

Do you have any tools? Any experience in doing work on cameras? Likely not, given the fact you are asking.

It may be cheaper to find a good copy without fungus instead of paying for a service on this one to (hopefully) eliminate the fungus and clean everything up.

On the other hand, the fungus probably doesn't affect images as much as you might think (unless very thick) and the top plate isn't too difficult to get off and back on without breaking anything.

Decent camera to learn on, especially since you can buy another for relatively low amounts of money if you screw something up.

 

[fer_fdi]

no special tools or experience... I can do accurate works with instructions, to a point.

I asked because I see many bought their GSN/GTN in thrift shops and I imagined the condition of the cameras was far from ideal, so I wanted to know if it worth the risk...
I mean, I know from M lenses which are prone to haze and that certain haze will appear again or that certain stains or fungus can etch the glass...
So wanted to know what others did with this particular camera when finding fungus on the rear glass and try to evaluate if I can take the risk...

The guy says it does not worth for him to make new pictures, so I'll decide if I take the risk or not...

thanks for answering

 

[fer_fdi]

I assume the POD is not replaced, I'm doing a search to see how hard is to replace it myself...

What is everyone doing re. the POD? Just cross fingers?
It is better to buy a camera with the POD replaced?

Right now for me the cheaper the better... I'd like to have this camera because I like very much how the lens draw AND because I can't buy a CLE yet to use with my M and LTM lenses...

 

[02Pilot]

None of what you're describing is difficult to fix, but without tools you're not going to get very far. Getting the top cover off and cleaning the VF is pretty easy with the right tools, and the POD is not a major challenge once you're in there. The fungus, however, may be a real problem, depending on where it is - on the rear surface of the last element, or on the front surface, and thus requiring partial disassembly of the lens to rectify. That's a larger challenge.

 

[btgc]

Good condition and fungus don't go well together. I wouldn't pay much for common camera with fungi in lens. Just as a learning project.

 

[fer_fdi]

yes... you all are right...

the thing is the cameras I can find in vintage markets are all in bad condition and untested so it is a worst start and tested/new POD ones are around $100

this one is around $50 and tested

 

[fer_fdi]

The seller sent me a picture of the fungus.
They are on the inside of the back element. It is a small colony on the border of the lens along one centimeter aprox. at the lower right corner... (lower left in the picture)

the rest of the pictures are detailed and good but not this one, oh well

 

[Fixcinater]

I'd buy it and shoot it and forget about the fungus. With a lens hood, you'll likely be fine.

Put it in the sun for a couple days or get a UV light to kill the fungus until you can get in there to clean it out.

Actually, I'd take a chance on the cheap flea market cameras but I've got the confidence of hindsight and having pretty good luck overall taking chances on "unknown" cams up until this point.

 

[f16sunshine]

I'd buy it and shoot it and forget about the fungus. With a lens hood, you'll likely be fine.

Put it in the sun for a couple days or get a UV light to kill the fungus until you can get in there to clean it out.

Actually, I'd take a chance on the cheap flea market cameras but I've got the confidence of hindsight and having pretty good luck overall taking chances on "unknown" cams up until this point.

This is good advice. Just use the heII out of it. Get your $50 worth.
A tiny dot or two of fungus will make little difference in most cases. Especially out on the edge of an element.
There are a lot of tutorials on maintaining the Electro online.
Google the Yashica Guy for starters.
Yoi will need a few tools though and a light touch.

 

[fer_fdi]

thanks for your help
I'll tell you how it ended

 

[Frontman]

The GTN seldom has a bad POD, they were produced more recently than the GT and GS, and the POD was made with a better material.

To clean out the fungus you need to remove the front lens element group. Unscrew the lens name plate with a rubber plug, or spanner which can reach the slots, then you can unscrew the front lens group with a large pair of needle nose pliers. Put in a battery, set the camera to B, and the aperture to 1.7, then clean the element with a cotton swab and lens cleaning fluid. Fungus rarely etches the glass in Yashica lenses.

The viewfinder can be cleaned easily enough. Turn the film speed dial to 1000, and then remove the screw with a sharp pair of tweezers, remove the screw which holds on the winding lever, and remove the rewind knob. Then remove the screws around the top cover, including the two on the battery test button panel. Lift the cover off, and then remove the glued on metal cover over the viewfinder. Clean everything with cotton swabs and lens cleaning fluid. Squeeze the cotton swabs flat with pliers so you can clean in the corners and edges.

Good luck

 

[fer_fdi]

thanks a lot.

I didn't bought that one at the end but this useful info is great for the next option and for everyone.

 

[tbhv55]

The GTN seldom has a bad POD, they were produced more recently than the GT and GS, and the POD was made with a better material.

Interesting... is this also true of the GSN?

 

[sevo]

Interesting... is this also true of the GSN?

Two out of four Yashica Electros I have owned were GTN/GSN, and both had a bad POD, while the oldest, a G, had a good one. I suspect that storage conditions (maybe humidity, ozone or some other atmospheric pollution) are far more significant than the version of the camera. It was not until the CC and FC that the mechanisms were redesigned - and that they are not as subject to POD issues probably is due to the redesign that relieved the pad of most strain and relevance (and finally made it replaceable by a metal bumper in the final incarnation in the Yashica Electro GL/GX), rather than a improvement in its material.

 

[tbhv55]

Two out of four Yashica Electros I have owned were GTN/GSN, and both had a bad POD, while the oldest, a G, had a good one. I suspect that storage conditions (maybe humidity, ozone or some other atmospheric pollution) are far more significant than the version of the camera. It was not until the CC and FC that the mechanisms were redesigned - and that they are not as subject to POD issues probably is due to the redesign that relieved the pad of most strain and relevance (and finally made it replaceable by a metal bumper in the final incarnation in the Yashica Electro GL/GX), rather than a improvement in its material.

Ok, I see - thanks for the information.
My own GSN appears to have no problem (so far). I've owned it for a few years now, but it had been in storage for many years before I got it. However, I presume that the PoD problem is caused by decay of the material over time, rather than the amount of actual use that the camera has had?

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

I did a thread about how to test a Yashica rangefinder camera. Look in particular at the comments by Jeff Guthrie, he does a lot of these and has supplied me several excellent cameras.

Jeff says he discards lens elements with fungus. The issue is the fungus etches the lens, leaving imperfections that can't practically be removed.

I've bought and had fixed up several of these. Most need cleaning and/or work. Most need the POD done. I think of these as great $100 cameras. I don't want to try for a $20 bargain and wind up with something unreliable.

 

[Frontman]

Interesting... is this also true of the GSN?

I service Yashica cameras, and have worked on 30 or 40 this year, only one had a bad POD. And yes, the this is true of the GSN as well.

But with the old Electros, it is the opposite, most have bad PODs, and with the GS or GT, many have bad PODs.

The POD is not that hard to replace, if it is necessary; it can be done without having to remove the lens/shutter assembly.

 

[tbhv55]

I service Yashica cameras, and have worked on 30 or 40 this year, only one had a bad POD. And yes, the this is true of the GSN as well.

But with the old Electros, it is the opposite, most have bad PODs, and with the GS or GT, many have bad PODs.

The POD is not that hard to replace, if it is necessary; it can be done without having to remove the lens/shutter assembly.

Thanks... perhaps mine has a chance of lasting a while. 🙂

I must say that the on-line tutorials that I have seen for replacing the PoD made it look... if not difficult... then at least a little fiddly! 😱

 

[Pherdinand]

The pod gets smashed prety hard every time you cock the shutter. That's the clunk sound.
SO yes, it DOES depend on how much the camera was used, IMO, more than on storage conditions.

It's no biggie to replace it. You need some patience, a pair of small tweezers AND you need some good replacement material too that can be glued on metal.

Cleaning the back lens element of fungus is not that easy even if it's on the outside lens surface, you need to reach in there carefully AND you need to know how to clean coated optics without messing them up irreversibly. The second aspect many people ignore (or overestimate themselves), and end up selling a camera with "some light scratches that does not affect image quality" 🙂)