Yashica Electra 35 Gx Shutter

[badhairday]

Hi Folks,
I am a newcomer to the site and would appreciate some advice.
I got lucky today and picked up a black yashica electra Gx for £1.50. I didn't realise until I returned home and did my online research that it is a rare and desirable little camera. The battery chamber show very slight signs of corrosion but nothing that can't be put right. What does concern me however is the fact that the shutter doesn't open when fired. Is this possibly because it is an electronic shutter and therefore requires insertion of batteries first? If this is not the case and it is a faulty shutter,is it likely to be expensive to correct.

 

[btgc]

Hi man, you first post here - welcome!

For 1.5 you can't go wrong!
Though, it should fire at default 1/500 even without battery. One possibility is that shutter blades are stuck (oily residue - is it seen on blades? Sometimes one can't see it, anyway). I'd remove retaining ring around front element (carefully - wiring under it), unscrew front element and carefully touch blades with cotton bud. Maybe they really are just stuck...doesn't seem to be common problem with Electro series RF's.

Oops, don't know your background, but when I saw leaf shutter firing at 1/500th for first time, I had to look closer to see movement. Best to open film cover and check against light - before you open lens.

 

[bawang]

Best to open film cover and check against light - before you open lens.

That's a good advise. It was exactly what I did when I got my GL after being told that the shutter was bad. You just cannot see it, it's too fast to look front the front on the lens.

 

[Clark.EE]

Swap?

Swap?

Dont suppose you want to swap it for a silver GX that does work?
Chris.

 

[badhairday]

Hurray!

Hurray!

Thanks, you were absolutely right about the speed of the shutter. I did exactly what you said, opened the back and viewed from behind and was delighted to see light when I fired the shutter. Just need to sort the battery problem now. Thanks again.

 

[badhairday]

Exposure meter.

Exposure meter.

Ok, managed to clean battery compartment of residual corrosion and set off looking for batteries. Could only find the LR44's, which I packed in with foil and managed to get things working. I am struggling however to understand how the exposure meter works as its not very clear in any documentation I have read. Does the red arrow signify overexposure and the yellow under and if this is the case, are we correctly exposed when neither arrows light up on the top of the camera? And what is the arrow that lights up in the viewfinder because this didn't appear to logically correspond with what was going on with the red and yellow L.E.D.'s on top. I am not very technical so if anyone could explain in simple language that would be great 😕

 

[Bruin]

LR44s work fine; SR44s are better if you can find them.

Red means the meter wants a shutter speed faster than 1/500s, so it will fire at 1/500 (and overexpose) unless you close down the aperture. Yellow means the shutter speed is below 1/30s, so camera shake might be a problem but it won't underexpose unless the shutter speed is longer than around 8s. No arrow means the selected shutter speed is between these two. The VF has two arrows that correspond to the top plate ones; you have to deliberately look upwards to see them.

For all GX owners I highly recommend recovering the body with Cameraleather Griptac - it makes a huge difference in handling for a small camera. The lens is also prone to flare, so a hood is also a good idea. I use a UV filter and two extension rings on mine to create a short hood with minimal VF intrusion.

 

[.Lucifuge.]

What is the slowest shutter speed in GX ? For test i released shutter with the lens cap on and following the GX user manual should be 30 sec before shutter closes. My GX closed the shutter after 5 sec. It happens no matter what ISO factor I set.

Greets 🙂

 

[Bruin]

I've timed mine to about 6 sec before. I wonder how accurate the meter is at those EV levels, and you can't easily bracket shots in light that low with the GX. I use a camera with bulb mode and a Gossen Luna Pro F for those shots 😉

 

[btgc]

working black GX for a peanuts....guys, I'm going to bed.
Have a good light!

 

[badhairday]

Thanks Bruin, thats really helpful. My camera already has a leather cover/grip.

 

[badhairday]

Pleased to announce fist roll of Hp5 gone through my electro 35 gx and boy are the results good. Negatives look really crisp and sharp.
On the battery issue, Bruin you mentioned using SR44 because they are better than LR44's. I havn't heard the SR44's mentioned by anyone else so wondered if they were safe to use? In which way are they better than LR44's, are they a better fit?

 

[btgc]

SR44 are same dimensions, though silver oxide batteries have better voltage curve over lifetime. Alkalines have sloppy curve, this means significant part of their life voltage is below nominal. That's why mercury and silver oxides were used before. This days circuits are built to accommodate voltage drop.

Say, Electro MC natively use silver oxide 6V PX28 shaped battery - 4SR44?, and alkaline 4LR44 substitute can be used if silver oxide isn't available. Similarly, many SLRs can work on alkalines if SR's aren't available.

 

[badhairday]

Thankyou 🙂

 

[gm13]

Just received an Electro 35 pro and I think it might be having shutter issues.
I performed the above test- saw no light and when set at bulb no light either.
Shutter cocks fine. when hitting release button only a very slight click is heard, re-cocking there is the clunk. Battery is good. Any ideas?