Yashica GSN shutter and rangefinder question

[IK13]

Rangefinder newbie here.

I've always had SLRs/DSLRs. Well, got the bug the other day and bought a GSN last week. It had an old dead battery inside and there was some corrosion on the battery door, cleaned it if up, put a new battery and the camera is alive now. Today I also replaced the light seals using Jon Goodman's kit.

I'm hesitant to put a roll of film to try it out, before all the possible problems are worked out. Not that I'm cheap on film, just don't want to get disappointed right away and toss the camera.

Being not familiar with rangefiders at all (though I did a lot of reading on the Internet), I want to ask a few questions.

After playing around with the camera there is what I observed:

1. Shutter

The shutter seems to have a very long travel. I have to push it all the way in to get it to fire. There's a little crackling (and sometimes humming) sound before the shutter actually fires, then there's the normal sounds of opening and then closing the diaphragm.

I get the arrow indication somewhat a third or halfway down. Then as I continue to slowly press the shutter the arrow disappears and then there's a long travel down before the shutter actually fires.

When I mess with he ISO and aperture I do seem to get different speeds.

2. Viewfinder/Rangefinder

The yellow diamond is quite faint and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a hit and miss game big time if i can't make it more visible.
I understand that cleaning the viewfinder will improve it somewhat (how much?). Besides scraping the semi reflective mirror(s) (though some people say that they clean them too), can I mess up something else there?


3. Rangefinder accuracy.

I tried focusing with both the rangefinder and the slr on subjects at different distances and then compare the distance scales. Both were somewhat close, but what is the proper way to check the RF alignment? I'm assuming focusing on preset distances? What precision/accuracy are we talking about here?

 

[greyhoundman]

1) the long travel is normal. Generally the red light will come on at 1/3 travel, the yellow at about 1/2.

2) The RF/VF needs cleaned. It builds up a haze from off gassing from the bad foam under the top. If you use chemicals or scrub the beamsplitter, it can be ruined.

3) The RF is set at infinity. RF's are very accurate to focus if set up properly.

 

[IK13]

Thanks greyhoundman!


Good to hear the long travel is normal.

So, what makes the crackling/humming/buzz "electrical" sound before the shutter reaches the break point?

Speaking of "break point" - I was under the impression that the trigger on these cameras is very crisp. Might be I was reading about a different model, but I wouldn't use "crisp" for the one I have. If anything it seems to have a bit of stickiness to it (and I really have to push it way down to fire...might be I'm getting spoiled by the DSLR).

I was afraid that I might have a case of the infamous PAD (I understand it will happen at some point), and I'm not sure if I'm up to doing the repair myslef...

 

[Welsh_Italian]

I'm not sure what causes the crackling sound myself, but my GTN (just like the GSN but in black) makes that noise too when I fire the shutter.

There are some pics taken with it here http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=gtn&w=26096406%40N00 so your camera probably works well. The light meter on it (if working) is superb and rarely misses the exposure.

All the best,

Alan

Thanks greyhoundman!


Good to hear the long travel is normal.

So, what makes the crackling/humming/buzz "electrical" sound before the shutter reaches the break point?

Speaking of "break point" - I was under the impression that the trigger on these cameras is very crisp. Might be I was reading about a different model, but I wouldn't use "crisp" for the one I have. If anything it seems to have a bit of stickiness to it (and I really have to push it way down to fire...might be I'm getting spoiled by the DSLR).

I was afraid that I might have a case of the infamous PAD (I understand it will happen at some point), and I'm not sure if I'm up to doing the repair myslef...

 

[Pherdinand]

the crackling sound sometimes comes with the flickering red light. It means somewhere some contacts are less than perfect. I think somewhere deep inside under the bottom plate. This is rather normal after 25 years of working and one (or more?) batteries left to corrode inside the camera.
Mine did the same.
I still got perfect exposures on slide.
I say go ahead and shoot it. You might get pleasantly surprised.

Cleaning the viewfinder is not too complicated. You can take the top plate off after you take the asa dial, rewind button and wind crank off. You should clean the *inside* of the glass windows (vf and rf) that are built into the top plate, front side, as well as the *outside* of the viewfinder window that is behind this top-plate window, on the vf/rf unit, and the same on the backside where you peek into the finder. The inner glass parts might not need a cleaning. If you decide to still clean them, be extremely careful. Maybe a gentle blow from a pressurized air container is enough. Do NOT rub it strongly with alcohol or dry cotton swabs.

Watch the batt check button when you put the top plate back. For me it was the easiest to put this button into the hole in the top plate, stick it there with some water drop or such, or keep the plate horizontally in a way that the button does not fall out, and then carefully slide it back on the camera.

Set the asa dial to one of the extreme values before loosening its screw and then it's easy to put the scale back to its correct position. The scale itself is lose from the screw and also from the top plate.

 

[IK13]

Thanks guys.