Avotius
Some guy
So ive been hit with the rangefinder bug ever since a friend gave me his old zeiss ikon contessamat, it was great, I loved the colors that tiny little lens gave me. I loved it so much I totally neglected my 3000 dollar pile of canon gear. After messing around with it, and other old cameras I knew I needed to get into the rangefinder game. I picked up a mamiya 6 and thought that was my answer, woops. I hated that camera and its lenses, they were sharp but they felt just like my canon gear....overly contrasty and sometimes very clumsy. So after selling that thing to I was ready to buy a leica, then some family stuff came up and all that money went away before I even stuck the thing on ebay.
So after groaning and moaning about leica for a while I finally picked up two GSN's on ebay and had my father bring them to me when he came here to China to visit a week ago. I was surprised by the new looking condition of the cameras and big piece of glass in the front. I didn’t care much for the cheap looking advance lever or the somewhat hard to make out focus patch (compared to the mamiya and the leica's, maybe im spoiled) but I thought what the hell and went on with it. After doing a little research and cleaning out the old foam seals in the door I decided to shoot a roll through it without light seals for the hell of it. Results are in the attachments:
So after shooting two rolls in the camera im happy I picked them up, even though I only have one working up to full spec now, ill be sure to get on the other one. That advance lever still makes me wonder but at least it knows how to stay out of the way. I only wish it had something in the viewfinder that was like a green "everything’s ok" light ala leica but cant have it all in a camera you picked up for 16 bucks eh?
Some words about the photos:
I spend a lot of time exploring the old roads and paths around where ever I am. New modern roads and the sterile building that pop up next to them like so many other here in China are of no interest to me. I like to take pictures of people in their environments; most of my photos have people, animals, or show some influence that people have had on something. These Yashica GSN's and I will get along well for taking these kinds of photos.
Photo 1: This old man sitting outside a gambling parlor on a hot day had to give me a good once over as I was wandering around his neighborhood, probably wondering what a foreigner was doing way the heck away from everything. Not many “lao wai” (loosely translated means foreigner) travel outside the touristy areas and many Chinese people will take great interest in you and strike up a conversation or simply follow you around for miles.
Photo 2: Its cooler to sit next to the door where the wind blows but even a little kitten can’t escape the heat of Chongqing city, one of China’s 3 “furnaces” where temperatures this year have reached the highest ever in the last half century.
Photo 3: In a lot of the out of the way neighborhoods the local barber is usually your neighbor and the local barber shop is his front yard. It’s really hot out these days so why not just take it all off the top?
So after groaning and moaning about leica for a while I finally picked up two GSN's on ebay and had my father bring them to me when he came here to China to visit a week ago. I was surprised by the new looking condition of the cameras and big piece of glass in the front. I didn’t care much for the cheap looking advance lever or the somewhat hard to make out focus patch (compared to the mamiya and the leica's, maybe im spoiled) but I thought what the hell and went on with it. After doing a little research and cleaning out the old foam seals in the door I decided to shoot a roll through it without light seals for the hell of it. Results are in the attachments:
So after shooting two rolls in the camera im happy I picked them up, even though I only have one working up to full spec now, ill be sure to get on the other one. That advance lever still makes me wonder but at least it knows how to stay out of the way. I only wish it had something in the viewfinder that was like a green "everything’s ok" light ala leica but cant have it all in a camera you picked up for 16 bucks eh?
Some words about the photos:
I spend a lot of time exploring the old roads and paths around where ever I am. New modern roads and the sterile building that pop up next to them like so many other here in China are of no interest to me. I like to take pictures of people in their environments; most of my photos have people, animals, or show some influence that people have had on something. These Yashica GSN's and I will get along well for taking these kinds of photos.
Photo 1: This old man sitting outside a gambling parlor on a hot day had to give me a good once over as I was wandering around his neighborhood, probably wondering what a foreigner was doing way the heck away from everything. Not many “lao wai” (loosely translated means foreigner) travel outside the touristy areas and many Chinese people will take great interest in you and strike up a conversation or simply follow you around for miles.
Photo 2: Its cooler to sit next to the door where the wind blows but even a little kitten can’t escape the heat of Chongqing city, one of China’s 3 “furnaces” where temperatures this year have reached the highest ever in the last half century.
Photo 3: In a lot of the out of the way neighborhoods the local barber is usually your neighbor and the local barber shop is his front yard. It’s really hot out these days so why not just take it all off the top?
Attachments
Last edited:
Avotius
Some guy
Photo 4: This dog seemed more interested in the fact that someone was paying attention to him rather then the fact that someone else just put a big bowl of food down in front of him.
Photo 5: Its hot…really hot. Everyday its hot. Its humid too. No need to stay in the house where you just cook, enjoy the slight breeze down the pathway outside your front door.
Photo 6: This little girl is playing with maize, but she is so embarrassed to have her photo taken that she dares not look at me, always shying away when she notices me still sitting there, but later her father takes her into their house and she comes back out with a white hat on to pose for my camera.
Photo 5: Its hot…really hot. Everyday its hot. Its humid too. No need to stay in the house where you just cook, enjoy the slight breeze down the pathway outside your front door.
Photo 6: This little girl is playing with maize, but she is so embarrassed to have her photo taken that she dares not look at me, always shying away when she notices me still sitting there, but later her father takes her into their house and she comes back out with a white hat on to pose for my camera.
Attachments
ndnbrunei
Established
Great photos - you can't beat the GSN for price and the quality is great too. I can't imagine many of todays cameras will be around in 30 years time.
I am curious as to why you didn't like the Mamiya 6 - it looks like a dream camera when you research it on the intenet.
Andrew.
I am curious as to why you didn't like the Mamiya 6 - it looks like a dream camera when you research it on the intenet.
Andrew.
jan normandale
Film is the other way
First off let me say most of the stuff I shoot is with my Yashica glass. The cameras are relatively inexpensive and produce great images. For the $$ they are unsurpassed. There is a thread for Yashica owners and images started by long time member Jon Flanders of Troy NY. Here is the link
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4392
The Yashica Lynx is another you should check out. Go to the Yashica Guy website or Karen Nakamura's site both go into detail on these cameras also. I like to refer to the "Yashica glow" that these cameras give their subjects. Colour film seems to be a little warmer from these lenses than my Canonet GIII QL17.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4392
The Yashica Lynx is another you should check out. Go to the Yashica Guy website or Karen Nakamura's site both go into detail on these cameras also. I like to refer to the "Yashica glow" that these cameras give their subjects. Colour film seems to be a little warmer from these lenses than my Canonet GIII QL17.
fraley
Beware of Claws
Hi Avotius,
I enjoyed your GSN pictures very much. Good handling of the subjects, beautiful color and detail. Is global warming discussed in China? We have had record-breaking temperatures here too, not just for a day but seasonally. And of course in Europe too. I would like to suggest you look at Yashica Lynx 5000 and 5000e also, they are small and compact, well built and with good glass.
I enjoyed your GSN pictures very much. Good handling of the subjects, beautiful color and detail. Is global warming discussed in China? We have had record-breaking temperatures here too, not just for a day but seasonally. And of course in Europe too. I would like to suggest you look at Yashica Lynx 5000 and 5000e also, they are small and compact, well built and with good glass.
michael.panoff
Established
fantastic photos
fantastic photos
wonderful.. I love everything about them, esp the subject matter and colors. What film are you using?
fantastic photos
wonderful.. I love everything about them, esp the subject matter and colors. What film are you using?
Bill58
Native Texan
Get a GX for a smaller Yashica--mine beats the pants off all my other 70s "name" compacts.
zuikologist
.........................
An excellent set of photos and photo essay. The Yashica lens and exposure system has done well and produced a gentle rendering of the subject. My favourite is the one of the old man at the gambling parlour - good eye contact and composition.
I too would like to know which film was used.
I too would like to know which film was used.
etgalim
Got a New GTN :)
New to Yashica
New to Yashica
Well, matter of fact I'm new to rangefinding, and I found your Yashica story very similar to mine... I'm yet to neglect my Canon EOS3, but I just found a perfect condition Yashica GTN in an old camera shop, and got it for $30, ran a film through after "fixing" the battery - and I was amazed!
I would say, without trying much more then this Yashica, that it's the perfect way to start rangefinding...
(Have to admit though, got a secret dream of owning a Leica M6 with a few lenses)
New to Yashica
Well, matter of fact I'm new to rangefinding, and I found your Yashica story very similar to mine... I'm yet to neglect my Canon EOS3, but I just found a perfect condition Yashica GTN in an old camera shop, and got it for $30, ran a film through after "fixing" the battery - and I was amazed!
I would say, without trying much more then this Yashica, that it's the perfect way to start rangefinding...
(Have to admit though, got a secret dream of owning a Leica M6 with a few lenses)
Avotius
Some guy
fraley said:
it is discussed here but not as much as in the states, for the most part the feeling here is "I cant do anything about it so its none of my concern"
Avotius
Some guy
zuikologist said:
that film there is fuji superia 400, a decent color film since my only choices here are that an the kodak stuff I dont like
Avotius
Some guy
etgalim said:
me too...but an m7
Avotius
Some guy
ndnbrunei said:
in the end I found it could not stand up to the harsh conditions im constantly in when shooting. For instance I never trusted it would stay together on my trip through the tibetan area of sichuan province where I was constantly bouncing around in buses and horses in the hot dusty chinese sun. Plus I had one fall to peices in my hands once after using it for only a few days, plus a lens that had a focus ring jam for no reason at all....and a film door that fell off a few times....and a film advance that didnt advance all the way....and the meter which was so all over the place that I gave up on it and started using a handheld which sucked since im a street shooter.
Avotius
Some guy
michael.panoff said:
ive been using fuji superia 400 in it, a cheap supermarket film that I find just fine for my purposes. Recently I ran some xp2 and 50 panf through it and am waiting to get those done up and see what this thing can do with bw
michael.panoff
Established
interesting.. isn't superia a negative film? I've always been under the impression negative color films didn't have that nice saturated look to them, colors that pop. Well your photos do. Good to know.
Are you doing any tweaking in photoshop?
Are you doing any tweaking in photoshop?
Avotius
Some guy
michael.panoff said:
I have found that the fuji superia color negative films work pretty good for me. Sure silde is the best but sometimes you just dont want to spend that much money do ya...
No tweeking in photoshop besides to usual post scanning brightness and contrast tweeks and a hit of usm.
jan normandale
Film is the other way
Avotius.. check Kodak Gold 200 .... if you like the Superia 400 you'll go crazy for the Gold.. trust me.
I shoot about 70 percent Superia 200 or 400 ISO colour neg and categorically do not change the colours or curves in PS. No need. The Gold remains untouched also.
I shoot about 70 percent Superia 200 or 400 ISO colour neg and categorically do not change the colours or curves in PS. No need. The Gold remains untouched also.
James Brannan
Established
Wonderful photos. A very interesting post. In one way I'm in the same boat as you. I've got thousands of dollars in DSLR's, SLR's, and lenses just sitting around. Other than for work the only camera I still use regularly is my F100 and only with my favorite lens for it, a 45mm 2.8P. I've got a pile of Yashica's now and by the time they are all rebuilt I'll still have less money in them than my Nikon 17-55mm! I just love the 45mm focal length, the look I'm getting from these old Yashica's, and just the RF experience in general.
Now if I can get some interesting subjects like you when I go to China I'll be set.
Now if I can get some interesting subjects like you when I go to China I'll be set.