I have the following Yasicas:
GSN
Lynx 14e IC
CC
Here's how I rate them:
1. Lynx 14e IC
2. GSN (very close second)
3. CC
Why?
1. The Lynx 14 has a "poor man's Summilux". It has the best lens - a 7element 5 group f1.4. Some say that it's only a 3rd of a stop away from the 1.7 GSN but remember, each stop lets in twice the light as the previous stop, and you would be surprised how often that 1/3 of a stop means the difference between being able to take a natural light pic - or not, when you need those precious photons.
With parallax correction, what I consider a very sharp (sharper than the GSN by a tad, imo) high-end "professional" level lens, and all manual operation, a leaf shutter enabling hand-held at 1/15th and flash sych at all speed, I consider this a professional-level photographic tool that gives the photographer complete control and accuracy. Downsides? Yup. It's a handful and the lens is flare-prone. A lenshood is a must. Not the brightest rangefinder or most contrasty patch but certainly servicable.
2. A very, very, very close second it the GSN. If you're of the Henri Cartier Bresson "decisive moment" school of street photography, there's simply no faster operating camera to capture that "decisive moment" due to its aperture priority operation (but shhhh, don't tell the Leicaphiles : ) Taking shutter speed settings out of the equation means you focus, quickly "check" aperture and fire, a semi-manual oeration that strikes a good compromise between control and speed of operation. It's shot for shot faster than - literally, any camera ever I've ever used, perhaps ever made. And, it accepts up to 1000 speed film. Doubt you need to shoot at 1600 with this camera. You would only be buying grain and lose contrast. How ever they designed the meter back then, it's very accurate to the point of spookiness. It is also unique in that the shutter will calculate and stay open up to 30 seconds, so you can take virtually no-light pics on a tripod and get a good exposure. Fun to play with, and unique, but it does drain the batteries. The shutter is barely audible, quiter than the Lynx IC.
I love how this camera's lens paints images. Very pleasing, sharp, and with a "painterly" quality with color film. In fact, I like how this camera does color so much, it's not one of my "black and white" cameras.
3. Yashica Electro CC. Very good street shooter. Small, unobtrusive, and the 35mm/1.8 is a bargain relative to the few semi-wides of that speed available. Sharp, well-behaved in low light. It has the same aperture priority operation as the GSN, so speed of operation also applies. But I find the max 250 shutter speed annoying. If you happen to have 400 speed film in the camera and are in very bright outdoor conditions, you'll need a ND filter or Y2 filter, absolutely. I also don't understand why film speed was capped at 400. The rangefinder, however, is the best ever made by Yashica, and the shutter might be quiter even than the GSN.
For these reasons, however, I prefer the Konica Auto S3 to the CC when I want to use a small rangefinder. The 35 vs 38 lens is negligible from a practical standpoint, but the S3 shutter speed goes to 1/650 and it accepts 800 speed film. I also like and use its fill flash capability. Both the CC and the S3 lenses are excellent - comparible, with the S3 maybe a hair better wide open. Thought about selling the CC, since I usually reach for the S3 but I can't bring myself to do it.
FWIW, Karen Nakamura on her terrific "Photoenthography" site calls the Yashica GX "the best" fixed lens rangefinder, period. But these are elusive beasts as are the GLs. I've got all the Yashicas I care to have for now, so I doubt I'll live to compare these.
