MG-1 owners?

[Al Patterson]

I have lusted over the black Electro 35s (GT and GTN) and as they go for big $$, I finally bid on a black MG-1 on the Evil Auction Site. And won.

So, other than a slower lens, anything ese I should look for?

 

[capitalK]

Well I don't use mine too much because it's full-time aperture-priority. No way to control the shutter speed, though it lets you know when you're under 1/30th.

Having said that, out of the few rolls I have put through the exposures have pretty much been bang on.

 

[zeca61]

I have lusted over the black Electro 35s (GT and GTN) and as they go for big $$, I finally bid on a black MG-1 on the Evil Auction Site. And won.

So, other than a slower lens, anything ese I should look for?

Works the exactly same way as the Electro.
Doing a side by side comparasion (and a little research) I can say the differences are:
1. the lack of "B" mode,
2. lowest speed up to 2 secs only (electro's 30 sec)
3. no pc connection for flash,
4. F=f 1:2.8 lens (electro's F=1:1.7),
5. 4 elements lens (electro's 6 elements)
6. close focus is limited to 3.5 ft(1m) (electro's 2.6 ft, 0.8 m)
7. The light sensor on the MG-1 is located above de lens. (electro's is on the body, inside a small window). Here, the MG wins, because it can automaticly compensate the presence of any filter.
8. ASA 25-800 (electro's GSN 25-1000)
9. No automatic parallax correction. (the electro's the frame moves as you move the focus ring).
10. The mechanics are similar and uses the same concept. But the electro has a more busy interior.
I think this is it. If I missed somenthing, please correct me.
Good luck.
BTW : I'm the original ower of 34 years-old Electro 35 GSN.
Recently I've started adquiring some old Yashica rangefinders just for fun.
I really like the brand and their lenses. Cool classic cameras.
Unfortunelly, after a while I've managed to get only two MG-1s fixed, after replacing the pad and a good cleaning. All the others had problems like: bad lenses, broken shutters or other issues, which I'm not able to fix yet. I have also a broken Electro 35 GT, in black, in very bad shape, dented filter ring, stuck focus ring, but w/ good electronics and lens. Despite the slower lens, the MG-1 can deliver well-exposed and sharp pictures. A good camera, and the only real limitation is your talent.
There are some amazing pics taken w/ a MG-1 at the flickr website. Look for these two users there: "Potatoe" and "Tropicalrips".
They have even more: just search for "Yashica MG-1"
Just make sure your MG-1 has a clean lens and you're ready to go.🙂
I've found much easier to replace the pad on the MG-1 than on the Electro, using the needle method. (just move away the brass piece, w/ holds the little switch and lamps.)

 

[zeca61]

Well I don't use mine too much because it's full-time aperture-priority. No way to control the shutter speed, though it lets you know when you're under 1/30th.

Having said that, out of the few rolls I have put through the exposures have pretty much been bang on.

You can "control" the shutter in some way.
Each f-stop you change, it compensate on the speed. This way is easy to guess the aproximate speed the camera is choosing.
Generally you can change the f-stop by 2 or 2 1/2 points and the camera will compensate automaticly. If you need lower speeds, use the highest f number possbile, before the yellow lights shows up. If faster speeds is your goal (up to 1/500 only) open the lens until the red light shows and then close it one point. (at this setting the shutter is programed to fire at 1/500)
Hope it helps.
Sorry if all have this info already, but maybe it can still help those not too used to it. It's pretty easy and simple after you understand this.
To be honest, I've found that any automatic camera can take perfect pictures in 99% of the situations.
In difficult situations like backlighting or spot, you can do the compensation using the ASA setting. Very handy.
I like manual cameras too, but sometimes in auto camera is better, because you can concentrate more on the subject and don't have too worry too much about camera settings. Just set the ring to auto, use a small aperture, pre-focus and you're ready to go.
:-D
Best regards,
Zack.