Give us a sample picture from your Yashica

[douwe]

I had a yashica electro GX. A fine camera, certainly. But with more difficult lighting came the need to set aperture and shutter time manually. So now I use a konica hexar. That camera was a little more expensive though! For a manual cheap rangefinder, I would pick the Konica auto S2 over everything else.

 

[pesphoto]

For manual control the Yashica 5000e is my go to camera

 

[imokruok]

From my first roll on a Yashica 124G, which I had for five years and never shot on it until last summer. Film was five-year-old expired Velvia 100 bought at the same time as the camera. Developed and scanned at crappy Swan labs.

 

[bundok]

My particular GSN has this one little over exposure issue. I think it's due to a mis-calibrated asa dial. I've taken the top off a couple times now and the dial just sort of floats on top snug enough not to move randomly, but sometimes it follows the ring as I adjust it. On top of that, I don't really know where the dial should be positioned exactly.

That should be easily fixed. Unscrew the dial and take off the disc with the ASA-numbers. There should be a washer which is bend at four sides. Bend them a little more with a plier, turn the dial to the far right, put on the ASA-disc and align the smallest ASA-number (25) with the red line of the dial. When you tighten the screw you have to keep the ASA-disc in place to keep it from turning, for example by sticking a needle or small nail into the little hole on the ASA-disc (marked with a red oval on the picture below). That should do it.

 

[bundok]

Not that it matters, but just for clarification, those aren't apples... they aren't oranges either, 😀 they're Citrons,... melons that grow wild out in the field. (...) They're non indigenous/foreign melons that likely found their way here from Africa...

I smell a new horror movie coming up: 'Attack of the Killer Melons'! 😱

Can you tell a difference besides composition and/or maybe some PP tweaks?

Aside from the composition I only see a difference in contrast (is this due to the post processing?) and the depth of field. I like the one taken with the Yashica better, mainly because of the higher contrast. It has a more crisp look to it which fits perfectly to the chrome and the water.

 

[bundok]

Here's another from the same roll as the previous shots of Kodak BW400CN.
I'm really not familiar with film and its various characteristics, so I'm surprised by the amount of color in B/W film.
Maybe I shouldn't, but I've been de-saturating via iPhoto most of these shots because they show an almost dried blood red in the shadows. Is that normal? But then, what is the point of buying special (more expensive) B/W film if I'm going to de-saturate it once it goes digital?

The Kodak BW400CN is not a 'real' B/W film but a film that can be developed like any other color film in the C-41 process. Therefore developing the film is much easier because you can give it to any laboratory that developes color film and pay the same amount as for color prints. Google tells me there can be at least two possible sources for the color shades you encounter in your prints: for one the base of the film is orange like with a normal color film. When the prints are made on paper usually used for color prints you can get some color shades in your prints. Another reason might lie in the automatic of the printer. If the printer doesn't 'now' that the prints should be just B/W the same effects can occur.

But you should google that for yourself. It's a little bit difficult for me to describe the problems with this film in English.

Anyway - other people have also encountered the same problem and maybe someone has a good tip which true B/W film to use in order to get real B/W prints.

 

[JoeV]

Kodak's BW400CN film has an orange tint to the film base, designed to permit it to work best when being printed onto RA-4 paper in mini-lab machines.

If you try enlarging these negatives onto MG silver paper in your home darkroom, you won't be able to get good tones because the orange base acts as a severe contrast filter for the MG paper. Hence, Kodak's C-41 B/W film is not "amateur-friendly".

OTOH, Ilford's XP-2 Super, also a C-41 B/W film, has no orange tint to the film base, and prints nicely onto traditional silver paper.

You can tell which of these two companies understands the photo-enthusiast market, and which one doesn't.

~Joe

Post Script: In the future, try using the Ilford XP-2. But to salvage whatever images you've already exposed on the Kodak film, try using graded printing paper, which shouldn't be as color-sensitive to contrast as would MG paper. Select a medium-high contrast grade, maybe grade 3. Just guessing; I haven't done this with Kodak BW400CN. I prefer to give my money to the company that supports us amateurs.

Post-Post Script: I've studied Kodak's website over the years; they don't officially recognize the enthusiast amateur as even existing. It's either "pro" or "amateur" for film; amateur implying quick printing on minilabs, with dumbed-down color film that doesn't even have an ISO rating. They don't recognize that there is a potential customer base (who have subsequently given their business to others, like Ilford, Adox, Foma, et al) who are as sophisticated in technical knowledge as the "pro", but still prefers to print at home, but may want a mini-lab to process the film for them. Plenty of niche markets here that they've totally ignored. That, and in 2005 when they ended their B/W photo paper business.

 

[Jack Conrad]

Wow, people, all this information is truly appreciated.
I followed your directions, bundok, and it was a piece of cake. The asa dial is in the correct position now, although I have no idea why Yashica made those dials to float like that when a simple tab or pin would have solved the issue.

Anyway, thanks.

And JoeV, I guess I have a lot to learn about film. Back in the day, I never bought prints because slides were cheaper... and today I've been forgoing prints and developing straight to CD's. Why? Because it's cheaper. Same reason I shoot with a Yashica and an XA. They're cheaper. Olympus e-520? Cheaper. Manual lenses? Cheap. Scotch? Bottom shelf cheap. Women? Why else would I be so cheap?🙄

 

[Frontman]

Here is a shot taken from my CCN. I shot this using Acros, I probably would have gotten better results with Neopan 400.

 

[nathanp]

A colleague in work recently brought in his father's Electro 35 GSN to see if I was interested in buying it so I loaded it up with some expired Tri-X and went out in my lunch break to try it out...

I think I'll be keeping it! (event though the frame counter didn't advance).

 

[Gradskater]

Electro GTN, legacy pro 100 - larger

 

[Dan Grisez]

From my Electro 35 GSN...

Dan

 

[Dan Grisez]

From my MG-1...

Dan

 

[pesphoto]

Yashica CC test run

 

[Penzes]

No Photoshop, just old fashion look of film without ICE.

22th., February 2010, at home
Yashica Electro 35 GSN
Color-Yahinon DX 45mm 1,7 @ 1,7
Kodacolor 400 VR plus
Coolscan 5000

 

[martin-f5]

No Photoshop, just old fashion look of film without ICE.

22th., February 2010, at home
Yashica Electro 35 GSN
Color-Yahinon DX 45mm 1,7 @ 1,7
Kodacolor 400 VR plus
Coolscan 5000

so nice!
congratulation

 

[Penzes]

Thanks Martin. I was just shooting with the Yashica to try it after the CLA. I'm quite pleased with the results so far. I need to pull a b/w film through it. Lucas loves the camera to!

No Photoshop, just old fashion look of film with ICE.

22th., February 2010, at home
Yashica Electro 35 GSN
Color-Yahinon DX 45mm 1,7 @ 1,7
Kodacolor 400 VR plus
Coolscan 5000

 

[Carterofmars]

 

[Papercut]

nice visual pun! 🙂

Yashica CC test run

 

[ampguy]

here's an old one with Reala 100, and the GSN here