Yashica Electro 35 Mirror replacement

[GWT]

Apologies if this has been posted before.

I have a Lynx 14 and have just picked up a early Electro 35, both have extremely weak RF focus spots - Can this be fixed?

I'm wondering if there might be a modern replacement/solution to this issue?

Can new mirrors be brought or made?

 

[Keith]

I had an Electro that had that issue and I cleaned the RF mechanism including the mirror very carefully and it came back to life. I cleaned the mirror itself with a dry cotton bud ... apparently that coating is very fragile!

 

[GWT]

Cheers for that Keith. I haven't taken the top plate off yet so I'm not sure what I'll find but that cleaning solution sounds like a perfect start.

 

[Greyscale]

Some have had luck using the "black-dot" trick:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-165.html

Also, covering the viewfinder window with a piece of blue acetate can also increase contrast on a dim rf patch.

 

[ssmc]

I had a mirror (beamsplitter) custom-cut to size for a Yashica 35YL by Knight Optical because the original was uncleanable, and was replaced during a "CLA" with one from another camera that was 3mm too short, so you could see the mirror support clip through the VF:

http://www.knightoptical.com/php/browseCategory.php?cat=407&catClr=

They did a great job even if it was a bit pricey (the shipping cost as much as the mirror). Unfortunately I cannot find any info on how to adjust the RF itself which is still wildly out of whack (and seems different from other models of silimar vintage - the YL was not made for very long) so I'm just guessing off the distance scale on the lens 🙁

BTW the other posters are not wrong about the coating on the original mirrors being delicate - I've never seen anything like it for fragility.

HTH,
Scott

 

[Frontman]

The mirror on the Electro 35 should be easy to clean, but the mirror on the Lynx is probably a goner, the reflective coating on the earlier Yashicas is very fragile. The mirrors are not hard to replace if you can get one cut to the correct size.

 

[GWT]

The mirror on the Electro 35 should be easy to clean, but the mirror on the Lynx is probably a goner, the reflective coating on the earlier Yashicas is very fragile. The mirrors are not hard to replace if you can get one cut to the correct size.

Sounds promising.

So this might be a daft question but are the RF mirrors just ordinary mirror?
😱

 

[GWT]

Some have had luck using the "black-dot" trick:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-165.html

Also, covering the viewfinder window with a piece of blue acetate can also increase contrast on a dim rf patch.

I've just quickly tried the "black dot" trick using some electrical tape and I'm pleased to say that it's worked shockingly well!

Brilliant!! 😀