very pleased

[Ricohman]

Hello all. Long time lurker first time poster!
I have to say I am very pleased with the vast amount of knowledge that is shared on this forum.
And thanks a lot for getting me hooked on yet another Rangefinder!
I bought another e-bay reject last month (Yashica GSN) and since I read so many good things about it I decided to get the old thing fired up. So I disassembled the top cover and resoldered the battery wires. Adjusted the rangefinder and gave it an overall cleaning.
And I took some campfire shots with it last night.
Beautiful! For hand held shooting at night it is as good as anything I've used. And the sharpness edge to edge in the daytime is also excellent.
What a little jewel.
And to think I was just going to let it sit there til next winter! 🙂

 

[erikhaugsby]

First off, Welcome! and glad to hear that you like it here.

Though I don't own a Yashica, the wealth of information concerning any RF on this forum is immense and I'm sure that you'll start to like it if you haven't already.


Post some of those campfire shots, will you?

 

[luketrash]

In 2000, when I got my first two E35's at GoodWill, there wasn't a whole lot of easily accessible info about the cameras online. A couple of good reviews and whatnot, but nothing informative for the DIY fixer type.

I love the boost in poularity I've seen in these cameras on RFF and Flickr.

 

[sf]

That is a wonderful camera. I took some low light pictures with the one I used to have, and it produces very very beautiful color in certain light. It's a very solid performer considering its nice price.

Enjoy.

And welcome to the RFF. Post often.

 

[pesphoto]

The GSN is a favorite of mine. Great for low light shooting, and what a lens!

 

[JeffGreene]

Welcome! The GSN is a great camera. Got two of them. Another great Yashica is the 14e, although its 45mm 1.4 lens can be a bit flary.

 

[Pherdinand]

gsn is good stuff, its non-TTL auto exposure is capable of surprisingly good guesses!

 

[Ricohman]

Here are a couple of pics.
Both are untouched. What is most impressive to me about the night shot is that it is hand held while standing, and it picked up the kitchen light in the distance.
The scanner I used is far from ideal so a lot of detail is lost. But the edge to edge clarity is very good.

 

[kc0byy]

I agree with what Ricohman is saying. I'm also new to rangefinders and this forum, which I found useful and friendly information on the Yashica, Canonet, etc.

However, I am hoping to not repeat Ricohman's experience with eBay while trying to actually buy one that works 🙂

 

[Ricohman]

I no longer expect any camera I buy on e-bay to work.
That way I can just get on with the re-vitalization which I find very relaxing anyways.
The last Ricoh 519 I bought needed a complete cleaning of both sides of the leaf shutter. But it is now another beautiful (to me anyways) classic rangefinder. A nice thing is they never need light seals!
Unlike my Yashica GSN which was a gummy mess! 😱

I was using expired kodak 200 for my test shots with my new favorite, the Yashica GSN, and I now want to load some fresh film and get some spring time shooting in before all the leaves are out.

 

[kc0byy]

Not sure I can avoid eBay to buy a RF at this point. Everyone here seems to accumulate them rather than sell them 🙂

I'm not familiar with the Ricoh 519. Maybe I should consider one. Great, just when I thought I had made up my mind 🙂

 

[Ricohman]

Ricoh rangefinders are from the 50's, at least the models I like. I have been collecting and fixing them as a hobby since my father-in-law gave me the Ricoh 500 he bought back in 1957. I must have a dozen of them in various places around my house, I have to hide them from the wife!
I think they are beautiful to look at and use. The 519 is fairly rare and has a much better 1.9 lens compared to the standard 500 models.
But I know the GSN makes better night shots than any 519 I've used. But I feel the 519 is a better looking camera, and feels very solid and sturdy.
I should post a pic of that camera some time but there is no Ricoh forum here!