Hello, my name is Richard, and I have a Photography problem!

[getmoresoon]

Ok, so maybe not so much of a problem, as a bad eBay habit, LOL.

Looking for a nice father / daughter thing to do together, and re-learning the film habit with some decent glass seemed like a great idea, so with that thought and a little (ok lot!) of research I decided on getting a Yashica rangefinder.

Darn that eBay... I've just purchased 2! 😀
An Electro 35 GSN and a Lynx 5000e. Showed my oldest girl pics of the Electro this morning and she's giddy! The 5000e was an impulse... I really wanted a 14e, but the 5000e turned out to be a good price, and I was surprised I actually got it for what I bid! Hopefully no major (undisclosed) issues with them that a cleaning and littel TLC can't fix.

Really looking forward to using a rangefinder..... these will be our 1st.

The kids are so used to point-and-shooter's and my Panasonic FZ20 digital, this will be interesting I think!

Hope you folks won't mind us asking silly questions once in a while.

Cheers!
R. Little (Getmoresoon)

 

[JoeFriday]

welcome to RFF, Richard! the GSN is a great camera.. that was my very first rangefinder, too.. one of the sharpest lenses you'll find.. there might be some issues with the over/under lights and possible POD, but usually they're in good shape and can be put back into commission pretty easily

the FZ20 is certainly a nice digital.. I've got one, myself.. but you'll immediately notice the lack of shutter lag with the rangefinders.. you won't miss any shots because of the camera.. except when you forget to take off the lens cap 😉

 

[wlewisiii]

The Yashicas are an excellent way to start. I've got a Lynx 1000 that I need to get off to Mark Hama to be repaired for when my son is old enough to use it and got hooked on RF's myself by a GSN. But look out for your wallet - they may lead you to much more expensive places... 😱 🙂 (says the guy who ended up with a Canon 7, Graflex Speed Graphic & Leica CL because of this place... :bang: :bang: :bang: )

On the GSN, you'll want a battery adapter from Yashica Guy. It just makes life _so_ much easier. http://www.yashica-guy.com/ Other than that, welcome to the looney bin. We're friendly nutcases here...

William

 

[wclavey]

getmoresoon, I was watching the same Lynx 5000e you won. I was going to bid against you, but I'm not really familiar with that version and what the value is. I, too, have been watching for a Lynx 14e so I hope I don't end up bidding against you.

I got a GSN for my son as his first camera, which he used for 2 years, then put on the shelf and moved onto bigger things (4x5), so I have been using it again. I have read about the 14e and thought it would be a good addition.

Good luck with the new Yashicas.

 

[getmoresoon]

Thanks for the kind words folks!

Oh, and thanks for not bidding on that 5000e wclavey 😉 I *do* appreciate that! It's funny, I went back and checked the going prices on the Yashica's and all seemed pretty low, with few people bidding. Then I started, and it seemed like a little mini bidding-war started on every camera I bid on! Go figure. I'm done for a while (or else my wife will kill me I think!), so you should be safe from me on a 14e 😀

All bets are off if I find a reasonable Electro 35 CC tho 😛

The 5000e seemed like an OK compromise over a 14e.... pretty much the same camera 'cept for the f1.4 lens on the 14's vrs the f1.7's on the 5000's. I do suspect I may hunt one down to replace my 5000e further down the road.

JoeFriday, yes, I have to say I really like my FZ20. It's my go-everywhere camera right now.... recently picked up an Olympus TCON-17 for it as well... sharpness and CA suffers quite a bit, but it does let me take some pretty far off things that otherwise would be out of reach of the stock lens.

Now I just need to get my fingers access to a film scanner.....

Ack! It's not a hobby... it's a freakin obsession! 😀

Richard

 

[anandi]

Yup Richard, "it's not a hobby it's an obsession" is right on the mark. The Yashica Electro GT was my slippery slope (back) into the world of RF and film in general. I have a pretty nice Canon G2 with a battery that hasn't been charged in months.