Yashica M (Minister) very dim rf patch?

Greyscale

Greyscale

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I got my Yashica M in the mail today, overall, it seems to be in fairly decent condition. The lens rings seem a little stiff, but seem to be loosening up as I exercise them. The lens is clean and clear, if a little yellow-tinged, it may be slightly radioactive? The shutter fires nicely on all speeds, the blades are clean as a whistle and the light meter works. Besides having to use a jeweler's loupe to read the ASA speed through that tiny little window, it seems like a very nice camera.

But the rf patch is dim to the point of almost being nonexistent. I have tried the black-tape trick, that seems like it will work out, but that circular patch is so tiny that I am having some trouble getting a small-enough piece of tape in exactly the right position.

I have seen it mentioned that putting a small piece of yellow acetate over the viewfinder window may also brighten the rf patch. This seems as if it may be an easier fix for this particular camera, I am curious if anyone here has tried that trick?

I will take the top of the camera off later tonight to check the state of the rangefinder. Also, the viewfinder glass is slightly askew, but I don't know if that has any effect on the rf patch visibility.
 
I bought one recently too. It finished out my complete collection of the Ministers. Of course I cheated a little bit; this one is the f1.9 model, so maybe not quite a Minister -- but it's close enough to the f2.8 model for me :)

Yellow tinge is just because it's single coated.

RF patch is toast on mine too. Really, the only fix for it is to replace the half-silvered mirror; it will have desilvered itself. Cleaning it will wipe it off completely. Anything else is just a temporary hack, and will make it worse in very low light when your viewfinder becomes completely dim.

I'm still trying to find a good supplier of 50% silvered mirror in NZ. I have enough cameras now with this issue!

The M is an interesting model. Very slow focus, almost like an SLR. Feels very solid and well built compared to the later Ministers (although mine has a non-working aperture, will have to pull it to bits). I love the little rewind handle that pops out on the bottom.
 
Mine is also the f1.9 model. I like the solid feel of this camera, compared to the Electro G series, it is built like a tank. Maybe an accessory shoe-mounted rangefinder would be the best solution?

One question ... what is the little "A<--->R" dial on the bottom of the camera for (I haven't found a manual on this model yet)?
 
:eek: A<-->R = "Advance/Rewind". A "d'oh" moment.

Now all I need to figure out is what the little dial with the red dot on it above the viewfinder is.
 
A-ha, Yashica guy solves the little red dot mystery...
Note the round indicator to the left on the top view, which confirms that the film is moving when the advance lever is activated. This indicator is required so that one can tell if the film is taking up, since the tell tale turn of a wind lever is absent.
Click to expand...
 
Have not heard about Minister with 1.9 lens, only very rare Minister-700 with 45/1.7 lens. I can't remember any Yashica fixed lens RF having lens with max aperture 1.9 (such were Konica Auto S, Ricoh Five-One-Nine...)
 
btgc, Yashica Guy describes this camera on this page:

http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/variations.html

I had no idea it was this rare when I bid on it. It is a beautiful camera, and everything seems to work on it. I almost feel guilty that I only paid $2.00 for it. Almost.

I might not mess with this one at all myself, I should send it off to Mark Hama for a thorough CLA; I don't want to accidentally break it.
 
Uh, that's 35 not Minister so my search algorithm skipped it :)

I like shape of body, and that cut corners. I use Ricoh Five-One-Nine with 45/1.9 lens and body of similar appearance, must admit, like it more than full-sized Electro 35 variations; small bodies are OK for their dimensions.

Your 35 deserves to be revived and used. Hope you get it in shape when focusing isn't painful hit or miss.
 
btgc said:
Uh, that's 35 not Minister so my search algorithm skipped it :)
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I don't think you scrolled down the page far enough, the M is on the page after the YL, they are the only two models with the rewind crank on the bottom.

Apparently, everyone else's search algorithm missed it too, which would explain why I was the only bidder. :D
 
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I took the top off of the camera and cleaned the dust off of the rangefinder, and cleaned off the interior of the glass, (it was very dusty inside, I will need to fabricate a more substantial cover for the rf, the original seems to have been replaced at some point by black construction paper and scotch tape). I also re-glued the loose front viewfinder glass, and I now may have a usable (albeit still rather dim) rf patch. The half-silvered mirror will need to be replaced, though, it is at best a third-silvered mirror at this point. This is a solid, very well engineered camera, elegant in it's simplicity. They certainly built them to last back then.
 
Greyscale said:
I don't think you scrolled down the page far enough, the M is on the page after the YL, they are the only two models with the rewind crank on the bottom.
Click to expand...

You are damn right here....

Greyscale said:
Apparently, everyone else's search algorithm missed it too, which would explain why I was the only bidder. :D
Click to expand...

Apparently, you are right again :D I believe lens isn't too different from other Yashinons of era, though camera is rare, indeed.

Thanks for clarifying this to me :)
 
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