I recently sold mine... for about $65, so you did get a very good deal! Mine just didn't have any of the fancy footwork of yours, but it worked fine. Can't remember whether it was a Yashica 35 GS or GSN, but, in any case, it was not a whole lot different from yours as the differences between these models aren't very deep.
(someone correct me here, please!!!
)
These are nice cameras, with the meter cell outside and next to the rangefinder window, so be careful not to block it accidentally. Their lenses are very good and fast, and the only drawbacks the camera has (to me) are: relative battery dependence (their moniker "Electro" came from the fact that their leaf shutters were electronically controlled, not just mechanical), they don't have any manual override other than re-rating the film, and their having AE makes it impossible to know the shutterspeed you used, only the aperture. Besides, the batteries for these cameras have been discontinued for a while, but you still can get an adaptor from a guy who loves these cameras and whose website happens to be (gasp!
)
www.yashica-guy.com
He can fix you with an adaptor of his own invention, which you can use in conjunction with a regular battery (the type called SR44L I believe...).
Other than that, their filter size (55mm) makes it really easy to get filters and work well with them. Usually, despite their age, their meters are accurate, so trust them. They have a light system similar to a traffic light: green is a "go ahead and shoot", yellow is the camera saying "try shoot but don't blame me for your mistakes" and the red spells doom, as in "don't you dare, dummy!"
Let's hope I helped... Good luck and congratulations in your entrance to the rangefinder world!!
