Egads! I may actually have gotten a bargin!

Tom Harrell

Tom Harrell

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Yesterday I went out "junking" at some of my favorite antique stores! I found a Yashica GSN for $13 and bought it. I first gave it a good inspection. The lens was dusty and dirty and the rear edge of the bottom plate seems be slightly bent upward toward the film door. The bend is right in the center and slightly left of the tripod recepticle. The camera had a PX32A battery in it and I pulled it out to make sure it was not leaking and there was no corrosion. As luck would have it everything was clean inside the battery compartment. I replaced the battery, turned the camera on, cocked the shutter and fired it. But it fired at the default 1/500 of a second. I pressed the battery check switch and got no response. Just figured the battery was dead. I noticed that the battery check switch plate has a missing screw on the left side. I opened the film door and checked it out inside, seems clean. I did not touch it again until today. I took the battery out again and measured the voltage, it read almost 5 volts. I cleanded some sort of sticky goo off of the battery retention cap and put it back in the camera and the darned thing came to life. I have been playing with it every since. I cleaned the lens both front and rear optic. I put the lens setting on "Blub" tripped the shutter and with the film door open, shined a light through the lens and inspected it for scratches. There doesn't seem to be any that I can tell. I rummaged around in my camera bag and came up with a 55mm filter for it to protect the lens.

The remaining problem is to find out why the battery check doesn't seem to work, find a replacement screw for the battery check switch plate, and try to straighten the bend in the bottom plate. The bottom plate only appears to be held on by three tiny screws. Hope I can get it off okay! I think I can go ahead and run a roll of film through it though. I'm excited!

Just wanted to share my excitement with you,
Tom Harrell
 
Tom,
Feels great when you have a 'win' like this doesn't it!
I have had a few (and I mean only a few) finds like this and like yours all have come to life after a little TLC.
Easy to take top and bottom off but I first suggest you vist the yashicaguy.com and read up on the finer points. Battery check may just be a lose wire or dry solder joint - not uncommon As the camera appears to work well I cannot see it being a major problem.
I have a GSN that belonged to my father. These are a fine camera and you will be surprised and very pleased with the results.
let me know how you get on.

Regards
Peter
 
Greetings Peter,
Yes, ocasionally we do come out okay! Except for the slightly bent bottom plate the camera looks to be in good condition. I plan on tinkering with it somemore today and may load it and try taking some pix with it. I'll take your advice and read up on what the Yashica Guy has to say before I attempt to remove the top and/or bottom. I know he has a wealth of information at his site, wish there were more like him.

Looks like you have quite an array of nice photographic equipment there. I know you enjoy using them.

Warmest Regards,
Tom Harrell
 
Fire away!

Fire away!

Tom:

Considering that many of us have been burned buying Yashicas on eBay,you better believe that you lucked out!

Pix I shot in a jazz club (ISO 800 film at f:1.7) with one of my Electro astonished both the musicians and the house photo who shoots digital(young guy who never shots film)

Electros:first rate lens;spot-on exposure system,Retro look because;well the 60s is Retro!

Enjoyment to you.

Mikey GaGa
 
Be carefull Tom, Yashica`s are VERY addictive,it starts with just one. Then, almost overnight you are trapped in a vicious circle,GSN,GS,Electro`s,Chrome,Black and let`s not forget the accessories. Stop now, before you end up wander the the streets with a little black bag with Yashica stamped on it .
 
What film do you all prefer to use in the Yashica? Do they do best with black and white? How does color film turn out when run through them.

Regards,
Tom Harrell
 
I have a Lynx 5000E as well as the GSN I just picked up. The Lynx has a corroded battery wire in it, guess an owner let the batteries leak in the chamber. Some time I may attempt to disasemble it and see if I can replace the wire. It works manually but I have not run any film throgh it. I have a Retina IIa and a Leica IIIf that I use for RF picture taking. I suppose I should run some film through the Lynx as well.

Regards,
Tom Harrell
 
Jody, where did you get the seals from? Micro-Tools or some other source? I don't know if either of these Yashica's need seals or not. I got the Lynx at an antique store as well. The seals don't seem to be deteriated, they are not sticky nor are they coming apart. My guess is that if I put some film in them I will find out if they have light leaks or not.

Regards,
Tom Harrell
 
I'se the Bag man

I'se the Bag man

Jody's right!

Here's my sad tale. A few years ago,a friend of mine,knowing that I was a pro photog for 20 years(not any more,though)asked me about cameras. He wanted the same camera that he had bought in a PX while in Nam-a Yashica Lynx 14e.

We went on eBay(from which neither one of us had ordered anything previously)and bid on two Lynx 14e s-we won($45 and $56),both were in good shape.

After that,I remembered that I briefly had an Electro back in the early 80s,but swapped it.

Back on eBay,I got the whole deal-original model Electro 35,boxy case that hangs off the shoulder,table tripod,flash,filters,cockamamie aux leneses. I occasionally step out with,making a significant fashion statement,and actually shooting a roll of 400iso CN film.

Seriously,the Eledtro is a potent picture maker. Because I live in a rural area,and film and processing is limited,I usually shoot 400 CN film,but the Kodak 400B&W film is great for street shooting in the electro. The ASA/ISO dial on some of the early Electros only go up to 400,and I like to use 800 ISO for nightclub/jazz jam shooting. Jody,again is right about the bug- I grabbed an Electro 35GL(40mm/1.7)dial up to 1000 at a swap as soon as I saw it.

Also,the exposure system of the Electro is extraordinary-use it on a tripod for night photography-you will not be disappointed.

Mikey GaGa
 
Dfin said:
Be carefull Tom, Yashica`s are VERY addictive,it starts with just one. Then, almost overnight you are trapped in a vicious circle,GSN,GS,Electro`s,Chrome,Black and let`s not forget the accessories. Stop now, before you end up wander the the streets with a little black bag with Yashica stamped on it .
Click to expand...


Yup Just 1 year since I caught the bug, next thing I know, there are 10 Electro's in my possesion right now, and became expert at replacing the POD...lol... this bug is even more infectious than my primary obsession ~ Om/Zuiko ..
 
Addicted but stopping. I have a GSN, a GT, a GTN (all working) and a completely broken GS. I shoot only B&W, have used Tri-X but stick mostly to Ilford XP2 because I'm too lazy to develop my own stuff. No color to date.
 
Okay that does it! I'm convinced! I'm going to load the GSN up today and see what happens! This GSN goes up to 1000 ASA. Think I will load in some BW C-41 and see what kind of pix I get.

Regards,
Tom Harrell
 
Tom Harrell said:
Jody, where did you get the seals from? Micro-Tools or some other source? I don't know if either of these Yashica's need seals or not. I got the Lynx at an antique store as well. The seals don't seem to be deteriated, they are not sticky nor are they coming apart. My guess is that if I put some film in them I will find out if they have light leaks or not.

Regards,
Tom Harrell
Click to expand...

Tom:

Get your bargain GSN resealed whether it looks like it needs it or not-the foam is now too old. The new stuff is available from RFF member Jon Goodman's Interslice on ebay. foam, tool and instructions are included. The big kit is what I recommend and it's easy.

Bill
 
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