yashica electro gsn exposure meter question

[carlol]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of getting my first rf and i have a question regarding the exposure meter of the yashica electro gsn. I have read somewhere in the net that explained the exposure meter as ATL or "above the lens", not ttl. My questions:

1. is the meter incident or reflective?
2. being "above the lens", if im in a shaded area and the subject is under bright sunlight will the meter reading still be accurate? Or do i (and the camera) have to be in the same lighting conditions as the subject?

I know its minor, but its been bugging me and I figured you guys would know. 🙂

thanks in advance.

 

[Roger Vadim]

1. is the meter incident or reflective?

Reflective (like all built in camera meters)

2. being "above the lens", if im in a shaded area and the subject is under bright sunlight will the meter reading still be accurate? Or do i (and the camera) have to be in the same lighting conditions as the subject?

Same as with any other (camera) meter: you'll have to adjust -in this case via the ASA wheel for shooting against the light/ into the darkness... It measures the reflected light, so no problem if you're in the shadow...

While the meter on the GS is very accurate, you don't have any AE lock - which is the only design flaw of this otherwise great camera. It's definetely my favorite fixed RF, feels and handles like a real camera (unlike the Canonets), nice VF and the very nice feature of of aperture priority. No manual mode though. But I never missed it.
Go for it!

Cheers, Michael

 

[john neal]

Answer to 1 is easy - reflective, as to the second, it should be ok providing there is no huge backlighting invloved - the sensor is at the bottom of a short tube, so acts a bit like a spot meter - covering the centre of the frame.

Given the age of these cameras, and the various types of sensor circuit used over the years (I know of 3), there will be some variation between examples. Still a good camera though, providing the Pad of Death is in good order.

 

[Pherdinand]

it has a surprisingly good working meter. And that is somewhat important for an aperture-priority, battery-only camera 🙂
But trust it. If it works as it should, it exposes film VERY accurately - even slides...

 

[carlol]

thanks guys, that cleared up my questions. Looks like I will be getting my hands on one.