Recommended Film for Yashica Electro 35 GSN

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actorlife

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Hello! I'm new here and found this forum to be great. I recently broke down and got a GSN which is on it way to me next week. Had everything checked and the camera is in great working condition(phew). I was recently told that the Fuji Reala and Kodak 400UC were really good film. Any other recommendations? Thank in advance! Joe
 
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I have several Yashicas but my favourites are the GSN/GTN and CC. The choice of film is not so much linked to the camera but more what type of film you like... Personally I use Fuiji Reala - I like the slightly smoother and more gentle colours in Reala compared with many other films.....

/Jon
 
One other consideration is if you are using an older rangefinder with older batteries where the meter reading is off a little, you may want to use c41 instead of slide film because it is more forgiving. But that shouldn't be a problem with your GSN. I suggest shooting a roll of slide film to check both the meter and the lens so you see what you shoot.
 
I've been shooting Yashicas for over 35 years, and they'll do a great job with just about any color or B & W film. I personally like the cheapest negative film I can find, but lean a lot toward Fuji 200. The colors are bright and sharp. Slide film is also a good choice, but unfortunately pretty much obsolete now a days.
 
Color: Spring for the extra couple bucks and try to find some Kodak UC professional 400.

For low light: Fuji Superia 800. Cheap, fast, good, and easily found. With that you can take advantage of the GSN's low-light capabilities and ability to meter up to 1000.

Black and white - if you're not developing your own, either Kodak or Ilford's C41. You'll probably go with Kodak, since it's everywhere and quite good. I like the Ilford a little better but I also bulk load it from 100' spools. Kodak's is nice too, many prefer it.
 
I don't know if it was more the processing or if it was the subtle relationship between the way the Yashinon 45mm handles colours and the manner in which the film records them, but I shot a few rolls of that old Konica VX film (100, I believe) that had a special something to them which I haven't been able to replicate since...

Oddly enough, the prints were on Fuji Crystal Archive (I used to get REALLY lovely results with Konica film printed to Konica paper back in "the day").

As far as what's good now goes... I don't know, my Yashica's been kind of uneven in its performance lately, so I've not shot much with it these past few years. I'll put in another vote for Kodak's Ultra Color 400, though -- truly one of the great films of our age (or any age, actually).
 
You mentioned that this will be your first roll with your yashica. I think the best way to try a simple and cheap film because there is no guarantee you have a working camera.
After the test roll you can use anything you like, the lightmeter of the yashica is so good, there is no problem with slide films or professional films. For example for black and white photography I like ilford for colour I prefer fuji, in general.
To be honest I bought a yashica electro professional a month ago, almost in mint condition (this is my third yashica) and after the test roll I realised it is a non working one... :( But no problem I'm going to shoot again with my marvellous GSNs and this black pro yashica will be repaired! ;)
 
Fuji Superia 400 and the 45mm Yashinon,deliver brilliant true too life colours, that will gobsmack you. Make sure the rangefinder patch is clear and bright and ALWAYS take the battery out, if storing for extended period. I have also read that it is a good idea to lock the shutter until ready too shoot, possible slight battery drain??
 
Al beat me to it. XP-2. Worth the extra few bucks. For cheap decent color, Fuji Superia Extra 400. Reala's good, but I find slower film too slow for me.
 
I just want to take issue with something Harlee said about slide film being "obsolete" these days. Why is that? Slide film is the best way to test the "true" performance of your GSN, from metering to color reproduction. With slide film, what you shoot is what you get, with no developing/printing decisions made for you by the one-hour photo lab. You also end up with often stunning transparencies.
 
JonR said:
The choice of film is not so much linked to the camera but more what type of film you like... /Jon
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Well, it can be if you want to use the longer autoexposures. I find that mine will autoexpose most accurately in low light with T-Max 100 and Tri-X. I haven't experimented on long exposures with color film yet, but I bet there is one or two that will work best there too.
 
sooner said:
I just want to take issue with something Harlee said about slide film being "obsolete" these days. Why is that? Slide film is the best way to test the "true" performance of your GSN, from metering to color reproduction. With slide film, what you shoot is what you get, with no developing/printing decisions made for you by the one-hour photo lab. You also end up with often stunning transparencies.
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I think he just meant that, on the consumer level, nobody much uses it these days. You are probably not going to find it in the local grocery store. It is still a great film for professional use.
 
Many Thank You's for all of the suggestions. I wrote all of them down and will purchase all of them at BH this week. Good thing these films are reasonably priced.:D
 
$5 for a roll of Ilford XP2 is "reasonable?" Well, I guess it's not outrageously expensive, but I was just remembering my days in the late 60s when Tri-X was a bit over a buck a roll. (sigh)
 
januaryman said:
$5 for a roll of Ilford XP2 is "reasonable?" Well, I guess it's not outrageously expensive, but I was just remembering my days in the late 60s when Tri-X was a bit over a buck a roll. (sigh)
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This is very true, but as I have a digital I can use both and hopefully it won't get out of hand with film. I have another question What film should I use for weddings, sports events and concerts(no B/W)?
 
actorlife said:
This is very true, but as I have a digital I can use both and hopefully it won't get out of hand with film. I have another question What film should I use for weddings, sports events and concerts(no B/W)?
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Color print films:
With good lighting -- Kodak Portra 160NC or Fuji Pro 160S
With dim or tricky lighting -- Kodak Portra 800 or Fuji Pro 800Z

Color slide films (only use slide film in good lighting):
Fuji Astia 100F
Kodachrome 64 Professional Film (PKR)

Generally speaking, I think most Fuji Films lean just marginally more toward green than they should and most Kodak films lean just marginally more toward blue than they should. Bear this in mind when selecting your film and use it to your advantage. Personally, I think Fuji usually works better for outdoor photos and Kodak usually works better for indoor photos. These are their best color fims for duplicating skin tones. Both companies also make films that are hypersaturated, for punching up the colors in floral photography and landscapes. When it comes to color film, only Kodak and Fuji films are worth talking about -- no one else has had enough time and money to develop a good product (no pun intended).

You will see that I have included a slide film and a print film from each company (Kodak and Fuji). Generally speaking, slide film is better for making more grainless prints. However, it is much more difficult to work with. It has much less exposure latitude than even the most unforgiving of print films, and can't be pushed, pulled or otherwise manipulated anything like as much. Getting a good exposure is critical with slide film; print film is far more forgiving. In addition, some slide films, including both of the ones I have listed, require special development processes (wherever you take them to be developed, they will almost certainly have to send them out to a specialty lab). If you don't mind the extra wait and can get good exposures, slide film is often worth the extra trouble though.
 
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