the yashica mat 124g is here...

[back alley]

...and i am out of my element.

it looks in good shape but i'm not even sure what to check! lol!

it looks like a camera that was well used but not abused. some scuff marks but no great harm to the body. the lens is very clean and there are marks showing where filters had been put on & taken off.

i'm not sure how bright the finder is supposed to be. my canon p is much brighter.

is there a way to take the finder unit off for a cleaning?

the seller said it was 'overhauled', not too sure what was involved in that though.
it came with a working battery (alkaline) but i need to figure out how/if the meter is working. the seller said it was.
time to read the instructions i guess.

joe

 

[sockdaddy]

wish i could offer some useful advice - my Yashica D TLR doesn't have a meter, so i'm not sure how it's supposed to operate.

the finder / ground glass isn't very bright in less than sunny conditions, but i find it to be very useable. mine has a matte glass focusing screen, which i think makes it hard to find focus sometimes, though.

saw some nice info on your model here: http://www.csi.uottawa.ca/~debruijn/4107/yashica_124G/

 

[kaiyen]

.
it looks like a camera that was well used but not abused. some scuff marks but no great harm to the body. the lens is very clean and there are marks showing where filters had been put on & taken off.

What you'll care about is:
-is the film crank smooth? These are the most fragile part of the 124g
-does the focusing mechanism work? Is it smooth? Is it accurate? The entire front of the camera basically moves in and out for focusing.

i'm not sure how bright the finder is supposed to be. my canon p is much brighter. is there a way to take the finder unit off for a cleaning?

You can take the whole top off of the unit, I believe, to clean the mirror. Most likely, the ground glass itself is just fine, but the mirror might have gotten dirty. However, be careful as you can damage the mirror pretty easily.

Most people just use the little flip-down magnifier built into the hood. That, plus a bit of zone focusing works very well.

it came with a working battery (alkaline) but i need to figure out how/if the meter is working.

the meter should come on when you flip the hood up. I think the red needle should respond to light, and you adjust the shutter and aperture to get the yellow needle to line up. If you are going to use the meter, though, spend some time aiming it at different light sources, from different angles, tilted up, down, etc, and comparing it to a known-working meter with a known metering pattern. The 124 and 124g meter pattern is pretty funky.

allan

 

[back alley]

thanks for the link daddy, i'm starting to collect them.

all the controls operate veeerry smoothly.
focus is like butta🙂 really smooth.
the toughest control is the shutter speed selector and it's not even close to hard.
the winding arm movement is also smooth, with no film in it so far and the shutter itself is almost noiseless.
this could be fun to play with and offer a challenge at the same time.

joe

 

[rover]

Once you get used to it you will be surprised at how much like a RF it handles. Quiet, unobtrusive, and it handles like a small camera. Just enough to fill your hands.

 

[wlewisiii]

Beware of the self-timer on this camera. NEVER USE IT UNLESS THE FLASH SYNC IS ON X! In fact, it's not a bad idea to take some balsa wood and push it alongside the lever so that it can not be moved off of X. It's a very nice camera, but that is a bad design flaw that will jam the shutter hard.

It's the only camera I regret selling. I hope you enjoy yours, joe.

William

 

[back alley]

thanks guys.

i never use the self timer on a camera. there's a reason i can be found BEHIND the lens.

joe

 

[hjfischer]

"the yashica mat 124g is here... "

I've got a set of instructions for the 124G which I can send you if needed. It originally required a mercury battery no longer made, so look for a replacement of the same voltage. (The alkaline battery that came with your camera may not be correct). I believe one is made by Wein. This is an excellent camera that will get you into MF at a bargain price.

 

[back alley]

i happen to have a mercury battery that sorta fits in there, but no movement from either needle so far.

i found a set of instructions on the net but a hard copy would be great.
is it an extra or one not in use now?

joe

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Congrats Joe, a very cool camera often called the "Black Beauty", post some results when you get 'em!

Todd

 

[RayPA]

I shot with a YashicaMat 124 back when I was in photography school. It was my primary camera. One thing I've always enjoyed about TLR's is how they force you stand when you take a picture, with your head down. It's a very different experience, especially when photographing people, for both the photographer and the subject. I just picked up a Rollei and I'm looking forward to shooting more with it.

🙂

 

[back alley]

i just looked over the internet instruction book and it show the film speed of the meter going from (asa) 10 to 800 but mine only has 25 to 400.
did they have different versions of the 124g?

no real worries as i plan on continuing to use a handheld anyway.

joe

 

[hjfischer]

i happen to have a mercury battery that sorta fits in there, but no movement from either needle so far.

i found a set of instructions on the net but a hard copy would be great.
is it an extra or one not in use now?

joe

I can make a copy and send it if you'll pm your address.

 

[back alley]

on it's way.

many thanks
joe

 

[back alley]

the meter is working. i put the original back in and opened the hood and voila, the needle moved.

now, if i had only remembered to buy some 120 film when i was at the camera shop on saturday.

doh!

joe

 

[hoot]

I didn't know there were different versions of the 124G... Yashica built this model for a very long time, but I'm not aware of any variations during this process. Mine uses regular alkaline batteries (not mercury) and goes to ASA 400. It takes both 120 and 220 roll film (you have to rotate the pressure plate), and allegedly there is an expensive adapter for 35mm. The winding crank has a loud, sharp sound that is not wholly unpleasant. The camera comes with a black leatherette everready case that will stain your shirt if it's mint and you're sweating. Other YashicaMat everready cases will not fit the 124G because of the meter's bulk. Rolleiflex filters and hoods may not fit a YashicaMat (and vice versa), so make sure to get the originals or at least try before you buy. TLRs are especially prone to flare, so do treat yourself to the hood.

The meter should come to life as soon as you open the waist-level finder. It is perfectly usable in daylight situations, and for those, I've stopped comparing readings with my handheld meter even though still carrying it with me. What I like to do is set the aperture and shutter by estimation (sunny 16) while the finder is closed, then flip it open and watch the red needle spring to attention just under the yellow bar (meaning your exposure is correct). The meter is located on the top of the front panel of the camera, rather than behind one of the lenses (remember to compensate for filters). Compared with a good handheld incident meter, I find that the 124G's meter is more precise than the TTL metering of many a good camera. Nevertheless, as with any other camera, you should probably use a handheld meter for low-light situations, especially since the 124G's meter only goes to ASA 400.

This is a lovely camera, which I've used for commercial 30x30cm prints. Its strength lies in photographing non-moving subjects (great for portraits, for example). I would still recommend a 35mm rangefinder for Winogrand-style street photography due to greater focusing speed and the small negative's greater error margin for camera shake.

Enjoy!

 

[rover]

I am going to have the shutter on mine fixed.

 

[kuvvy]

Beware of the self-timer on this camera. NEVER USE IT UNLESS THE FLASH SYNC IS ON X! In fact, it's not a bad idea to take some balsa wood and push it alongside the lever so that it can not be moved off of X. It's a very nice camera, but that is a bad design flaw that will jam the shutter hard.

William

Wonder if that's what happened to mine. One minute firing okay, the next won't fire at all! If it's too expensive to repair (not got the know how to do it myself) it looks like it's off to TLR heaven.

Paul