My new toy, rescued from the bargain bin

[AzzA]

Hi all. Up until now, my entire rangefinder collection has only consisted of 3 Olympus Trip 35's. They're great little cameras, and have produced some terrific photos for me. But i felt a need to move onto some other cameras to try something different.

Yesterday i went to a local camera market and gave myself a challenge of finding a camera for less than $10 (I know... Im a big spender.. The truth is i actually bought another camera the week before and have been trying to cut back on spending money on cameras.. Obviously i failed).

It was the first time i'd ever been to a camera market/fair before, so looking through the masses of cameras and equipment was a little overwhelming. I almost ended up buying another little Trip 35, until i saw something out of the corer of my eye.
Amongst a pile of dusty old camera bags, and some scratched up plastic point and shoots, i saw Yashica GTN that was saying "buy me... rescue me" 😛
It was covered in dust to the extent that i couldnt even see if the lens had fungus or scratches on it etc. But it looked awesome, was black, and the guy sold it to me for $5.
When i got home i was dying ot find out if i'd just bought $5 worth of fungus and corrosion, so i started cleaning it straight away.
To my surprise the lens was immaculate, so was the viewfinder, somehow not having one piece of dust in it. The body is pretty close to perfect also.
So obviously i was quite happy with how it turned out. I have a pristine looking Yashica GTN for only $5 😀
The next step is seeing if the thing actually works. There might be a couple problems in that department however, so i was wondering if anybody could help me.

I dont have any batteries for the camera yet, so im trying to test it without.
Film winder is good, shutter button seems to work, timer works perfectly. But i dont know if the apeture blades in the lens are working properly. They seem to move a little when the shutter button is pressed, but harldy anything. Not enough to let any light in atleast. I've been doing a litle bit of reading and the best i can come up with is that it's a P.O.D (pad of death) problem, or maybe the blades are actually stuck? Does this sound alright?
I just wanted to confirm this with someone who knows more about these cameras than me. Any help is appreciated 🙂

*Oh, heres a quick picture of it after i gave it a quick clean. Still needs a proper clean though.

​

 

[Spyderman]

Congratulations... great looking camera. A well spent $5. Remember - it was a rescue mission 🙂 Now comes the resuscitation 😀

 

[larchen]

congrats-it looks very nice! whereas the shutter is concerned, just try winding on and firing the shutter for a while-this has worked for me when ive bought a rescue with a sticky shutter, it might not have been fired for 20 years!
regards

 

[KameraKev]

Yashica GTN

Yashica GTN

Hi;
I recently picked up a used GTN for exactly the same price you did at a thrift store. Mine is also pristine, and is also suffering from the same problem as yours. Greyhoundman on this forum advised me that the shutter requires cleaning and a lube, which I have not done as I do not have a lens spanner. I am currently trying the wind and shoot method in hopes that the shutter blades spring back to life.
Regards,
Kevin

 

[photobizzz]

http://www.yashica-guy.com/

Check out the yashica guy website, lots of good info and a great battery adapter for $15. I have one in my GSN. I am not sure about the GTN but the GSN will not operate without a battery and the shutter is electro-magnetically controlled so you will not get shutter movement without power. The camera will wind and the button will click without power, but do not expect the shutter to open.

 

[jolefler]

I'm pretty sure that those Yashica's fire at 1/500 of a second without batteries if they are in working order.

 

[AzzA]

hi all, thanks for the replies, its very much appreciated 🙂
It's always fun when you find something nice for just pocket change!
I think i confused myself before, as i've now discovered that the apeture blades are working perfectly. They move very smooth and are very clean.
Also, when i hold the camera up and look down the lens with the film door open, i can see a very quick flash of light when i fire the shutter. Thats a good thing i guess?
I guess the only real way i can figure out if the shutter is working properly is when i put some batteries in it and check if the shutter times change? Then i guess the next step is taking some photos.

 

[Wayno]

Yep, 1/500 is the default speed without batteries. If you're seeing a brief flash of light when looking through the lens, then so far so good. A great score for $5 - I love bargains from the cheap bins at camera fairs.

 

[JL Oliveto]

Hi AzzA...Congratulations !!!

You will really enjoy that toy....I think you will forget your Trip 35 for some time....

Actually the Olympus Trip 35 is not a "real" rangefinder....just to be purist....but indeed it's a fantastic camera...I once had one....here in Brazil you can buy a nice one for 30 US$ or less....I'll buy one some day just to keep close.

The Olympus Trip 35 is the best sellig camera of all time....more then 10 million sold in 17 years of production !!! Do you believe a digital camera could beat these number nowadays?

Congrats agais and have fun out there!

JL Oliveto

 

[KoNickon]

There are a lot of envious folks here reading this (I am, anyway!) -- you got a camera that could sell for 20 times what you paid for it.

Easy battery solution: get a PX28 or A544 cell, and place it in the battery chamber sandwiched between two wadded up balls of aluminum foil, perhaps 15mm in diameter or so. (The spring inside the chamber gives you plenty of flexibility in the size of the foil balls.) Just be sure there's good contact between the battery, the foil, and the contacts in the chamber. The camera has a voltage regulator and so can handle the difference in voltage between the PX28 and the original battery, a PX32. If somehow you find one of those, congratulations -- but I highly doubt you will. They've been out of production for years.

 

[AzzA]

thanks again guys.
All this info is very helpful indeed.
@ JL Oliveto, yeah, i was really using the word "rangefinder" for the little Olympus Trips quite loosely hehe 🙂

I'm going out today to try and find one of the batteries you suggested KoNickon. I have a small spring i might try to use instead of the aluminium foil.
Will let you guys know if it ends up working 🙂
cheers

 

[Peter_Jones]

You did well there - hope it works OK, I used 4xSR44 in a heath-robinson type battery holder in my bargain boot-sale GTN, have a few frames to finish off then I will see if it's ok or not.

They feel great to use, and with the leaf shutter probably hand-holdable at very slow shutter speeds. 🙂

 

[gb hill]

Buy the adapter from Yashica guy. You won't be sorry. Great find!! Oh! and get the light seal kit offered on ebay by a member here I think. I forget his name, but GTNs are easy to seal with his kit.

 

[AzzA]

Ahh thats good to hear Peter, hope they turn out nice.

Yeah, i think i will consider getting that adapter from yashica guy that has been mentioned in the thread a couple times. But im in Australia so it'll take a little while to get to me, and i'm dying to try this beast out 😀
Will get a battery today and try to rig something up for a short term solution.
Oh yes, as far as light seals go, i think i should have enough light seal material left over from a couple OM bodies i did some months ago. I bought the kit off the user "interslice" on eBay. May not be the same person you're talking about gb hill, but hopefully it's sufficient for the time being.
Fingers crossed everything works! =/

 

[Keith]

Congrats on the GTN ... I picked up a GT recently for $50.00 and I was pleased so you are obviously extatic.

I just read through your blog also and thoroughly enjoyed it! 🙂

 

[gb hill]

I bought the kit off the user "interslice" on eBay. May not be the same person you're talking about gb hill, but hopefully it's sufficient for the time being.
Fingers crossed everything works! =/

Yep! thats the guy. Resealed my GSN when I got it. It was a breeze.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Black one definitely! Even worth the extra money of having someone work on it.

 

[AzzA]

hmm well theres good news and bad news.
I replaced all the light seals easily and the camera looks top notch. I went out and bought the only 6v battery i could find that might fit, a PX28L which wasnt exactly what i was looking for, but was my only option. I put it in and rigged up a temporary solution using aluminium foil like Konickon suggested. Pressed the battery check and the green light went on so all was good 🙂
Pressed the shutter button and it opened properly for alot longer than before so that was another good thing.

But...
The damn shutter doesnt close 🙁 I have to pull the rewind lever back a little bit until i hear a "click" and the shutter will go back to the closed position. (Pad of Death? Or maybe just stuck? Seems to close perfectly when i dont have the battery in it)
Plus the Exposure control ring at the end of the lens barrel doesnt seem to move at all which is strange, its stuck on the "A" setting. The focusing and apeture setting rings move perfectly smooth, but the exposure control wont budge...
Oh, and last but not least, the red and orange exposure lights seem to flicker on and off quickly when i half press the shutter down. I guess its good they're atleast turning on, but they're pretty erratic, and dont seem to show up in the viewfinder at all. Could this be an issue with the battery? Maybe as a result of it not being the correct one?
I'm determined to get this thing working now 🙂
cheers

*Oh, and to Keith, thanks for reading my blog, glad you liked it 😉

 

[Dfin]

GTN Rescue

GTN Rescue

Azza,you lucky duck!! I payed $10 for a GT at the same camera fair last year, some one had a GTN for sale at $100, which I almost bought. Good job I didn`t go this year, may have been rugby scrum for the GTN. Seriously, get the battery adapter from the Yashica Guy, you won`t be disappointed. I have a couple of GSN`s, OK several, all fitted with his adapters,all work a treat. You will blown away with the results, try and pick up a lens hood and a UV filter. I have just shot a roll of Fuji 100 superia, excellent results

 

[machineboy]

The damn shutter doesnt close 🙁 I have to pull the rewind lever back a little bit until i hear a "click" and the shutter will go back to the closed position. (Pad of Death? Or maybe just stuck? Seems to close perfectly when i dont have the battery in it)

I think I had this problem with my original electro 35. After I replaced the POD it seems to be working, but I haven't pulled film through it yet.