Yashica 635

[seany65]

Hello all,

Has anyone got any idea about what distance the parallax correction marks on a Yashica 635 focusing screen come into play?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[DownUnder]

Hello all,

Has anyone got any idea about what distance the parallax correction marks on a Yashica 635 focusing screen come into play?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Is there an actual focusing screen on the Yashica 635? I had one a long, long time ago (I recall I didn't particularly care for the 35mm kit it came with, but that's an altogether different story) and IRRC there wasn't a separate screen for '35 - only a black slip-on mask with a cutout for the 24x36 cm area covered by the lens, which went on top of the viewing screen. And it didn't move.

This to me was the main fault of this otherwise okay (just okay, for my needs) camera. It didn't give exact viewing for closer focusing.

A Rolleicord I bought years later came with a 35mm Rolleikin. When using 35mm film the WLF was removed, the viewing screen assembly was lifted up, and the 35mm mark was securely placed on the mount frame, which moved up and down for short distance focusing. Which was far better. I still have this kit, but I've rarely used it as it converts the lens to a telephoto, and I'm not big on tele photography. Good for portraits, not so for landscape or other general use.

I reckon you will have to trust to luck, and maybe a small upward tilt of the camera, when you focus to say 1-2 meters from your subject. Which didn't suit me, so I quickly disposed of my 635, which with 120 film was as good as any Yashica of the period (circa 1960).

 

[mdarnton]

If there are parallax marks, and I can't remember that, they're virtually always for the closest focusing distance, and then you interpolate between there and infinity.

 

[seany65]

Thanks for the replies.

DownUnder, yes, the normal focusing screen has a 35mm frame in the middle, (dunno if this includes or excludes the sprocket holes in the 35mm film - probably not) and usually has two short horizontal lines with a space between them, below the top and again below the bottom of this frame, though I have seen one camera with no space between the horizontal lines which I think would've made the thing harder to use. I think the cutout mask was actually meant to be used in place of the "sports finder", so you'd open the hood, push the front panel down and hook the mask onto the two little knobs that are on the front of the hood. This would be a little awkward if you wanted to focus the camera and then use that hood-sports-frame-finder.

mdarnton, Thanks for the info.

 

[DownUnder]

Good post, sean65. It brought back many memories of the too-brief time I had with my 635. Which BTW I sold to someone who liked it more than I did, and used it well, and went on using it for several decades. So like an unwanted kitten, it went from a not-so-good home to a life home.

Now I recall the 35mm frame on the screen, and the two small hooks (if that's what they were called) on top of the screen, to hold the mask in place.

Somewhere in one of my film boxes I have the first roll of '35 I ever used with that 635. A 36 exposure Kodak Plus-X Pan. My Yashicas D and 635 made many images of the detested religious boarding school where I was stuck for two and a half miserable years. For many reasons to do with that unhappy time in my life, I've put all those negatives well out of my consciousness. Now I'm curious again. Off I go to find them.

So in retrospect, maybe the 635 wasn't such a bad camera as I have memories of it. Certainly the Yashikor and Yahinon taking lenses - I've forgotten which of the two was the 'premium' one but both were certainly sharp enough for 8x10 prints to be easily made - were not quite up to the quality of Rollei Zeiss of Schneider lenses, but they were on the whole, entirely okay performers.

Now and then I see Yashica TLRs on offer, usually on Ebay. Rarely if ever see one in action in the field. Recently someone was trying to flog off a well-worn-looking early model Yashcamat, supposedly the worst of the entire brand, for AUD $1200. Good luck to that...

For all those small advantages in the 635 I still prefer my (more expensive but better built) Rolleicord Vb. If you ever find one that is affordable, buy it.

 

[CP93]

I would check mine but first I have to remember which bag it’s in. 🙃

 

[jbielikowski]

at the infinity your image is the middle part plus the top one, at closest distance it's middle plus the bottom, guess anything in between.

 

[seany65]

DownUnder, I see some of the memories are coming back. Glad it ended up being well used. The Yashinon is the "better" lens but some prefer the different image qualities of the Yashikor. If the Yashikor is as good as the Coral lens on Airesflex tlrs (there's a thread about them by another member in which I posted a link to a website that had a review and it has some good pics taken by the coral), then there shouldn't be any complaints. I recently bought a 635 hence the need for some info. I'm also looking at getting a Rick Oleson screen for it as I need the focusing aids and the full width/height lines to help with preventing slanted images, but there seems to be a slight question of how delicate the top surface (the fresnel rings etc.) is, so I've asked Rick for some info on that. If the new screen works as well as I hope, I'm looking to get a D with a Yashinon and then a new screen for it.

So cp93, precisely how many bags do you have, and do they all have cameras in them?

 

[Retro-Grouch]

DownUnder, I see some of the memories are coming back. Glad it ended up being well used. The Yashinon is the "better" lens but some prefer the different image qualities of the Yashikor. If the Yashikor is as good as the Coral lens on Airesflex tlrs (there's a thread about them by another member in which I posted a link to a website that had a review and it has some good pics taken by the coral), then there shouldn't be any complaints. I recently bought a 635 hence the need for some info. I'm also looking at getting a Rick Oleson screen for it as I need the focusing aids and the full width/height lines to help with preventing slanted images, but there seems to be a slight question of how delicate the top surface (the fresnel rings etc.) is, so I've asked Rick for some info on that. If the new screen works as well as I hope, I'm looking to get a D with a Yashinon and then a new screen for it.

So cp93, precisely how many bags do you have, and do they all have cameras in them?

If you're a careful sort, I wouldn't worry too much about the delicacy of the Oleson screen. I have his screens in several TLRs and SLRs with waist level finders, and have never damaged them. Canned air will take care of any dust, and if something proves really stubborn, a soft camel hair brush will dislodge it. Of course, I always keep the finder closed until I'm ready to use it, as Rick recommends, but that's something I do anyway with any waist level finder.

 

[CMur12]

The Yashinon lenses are Tessar-types and the Yashikors are Cook triplets (Triotar-types).

I have several TLRs with Bay-1 Tessar-type lenses. I even picked up a Rollei soft-focus filter. Nevertheless, it didn't make sense to me to degrade a sharp lens for portraiture (even though Tessar-type lenses are "optimized" for portraiture at wider apertures), so I bought a Yashica D with a Yashikor lens specifically for a softer effect wide open. (As luck would have it, I never did get around to doing that with it.)

- Murray

 

[Retro-Grouch]

The Yashinon lenses are Tessar-types and the Yashikors are Cook triplets (Triotar-types).

I have several TLRs with Bay-1 Tessar-type lenses. I even picked up a Rollei soft-focus filter. Nevertheless, it didn't make sense to me to degrade a sharp lens for portraiture (even though Tessar-type lenses are "optimized" for portraiture at wider apertures), so I bought a Yashica D with a Yashikor lens specifically for a softer effect wide open. (As luck would have it, I never did get around to doing that with it.)

- Murray

The Yashinon on my Yashica D beats the Tessars on my Rollei 3.5's by a long shot in terms of sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity. Nevertheless, old crank that I am, I prefer the Rolleis. There's an ineffable something in the look of the Zeiss Tessars that I prefer, particularly for color work. YMMV.

 

[CMur12]

The Yashinon on my Yashica D beats the Tessars on my Rollei 3.5's by a long shot in terms of sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity. Nevertheless, old crank that I am, I prefer the Rolleis. There's an ineffable something in the look of the Zeiss Tessars that I prefer, particularly for color work. YMMV.

You were lucky to find a Yashica D with a Yashinon. As I recall, it was a very limited run. It's also a much more rugged camera than the Yashica-Mat.

I really like the rendering of the Tessar in my Rolleiflex T. Minolta also aced the Tessar formula in its Autocords.

- Murray

 

[seany65]

You were lucky to find a Yashica D with a Yashinon. As I recall, it was a very limited run. It's also a much more rugged camera than the Yashica-Mat.

I really like the rendering of the Tessar in my Rolleiflex T. Minolta also aced the Tessar formula in its Autocords.

- Murray

According to Yashica Serial Numbers, The D changed from Yashikor to Yashinon at some point in 1970 and finished Japanese production at some point in 1971. They started and finished production in Hong Kong at some points in 1971.