interested in yashicaflex comments and info.

i ran across a yashicaflex at an antique consignment store and bought

the thing on a whim for 85 bucks! it appears to be in like new

condition. it has a brown leather case, yashikor 80 mm f3.5, shutter

speeds 1 sec thru 1/300. the serial number is just a bit above

575,000 (stamped on the "yashicaflex" nameplate above the lenses on

the front). haven't run any film through it yet.

i bought an immaculate 1959 rolleiflex 3.5T a few months ago and have

taken a dozen rolls of film with it. i like that a lot. wondering

what you people think of the difference between these two cameras, or

any particular issues the yashica may have that i should be aware

of. does anyone know the date of manufacture of the yashicaflex? it

seems like it's from the '50s. also, does anyone know where i could

get a manual for the yashicaflex? thanks.

Some interesting notes can be found here:

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/YashicaTLR.htm

 

The Yashikor is a three-element lens. That plus build quality would be the most apparent differences between it and your Rollei.

Bob...Thank you for the Link to the "Frugal Photographer." The Blue Fire police film and developer sounds interesting.

 

I personally think the Yashicas, both with Yashikor and Yashinon lenses are one of the better TLR units available along side the Minolta Autocord. Yashicas tend to have brighter viewfinders than Rolleis of the same period and genre, in my opinion.

Yep, all of the yashica stuff back then is junk! I've had 3 yashica cameras that all feel apart.

These types of cameras are very under-rated instruments in general, although, I would caution you that you actually did not get a spectacular price for your camera, just a fair one. On the famous big auction site, I recently picked up an excellent, fully working Yashica Mat 124 for $100, which is better than the older Yashicaflex in most every way, especially the lens, which is a 4-element Tessar-copy 80mm f3.5 Yashinon, quite a bit better than the 3-element Yashikor on yours.

 

Mainly, the Yashinon lens on my Yashica Mat 124 will be close to the Tessar on your Rollei 3.5T in quality, while the Yashikor on yours will be much softer, especially at f-stops from f8 or wider. But for $85, it is an excellent way for a budding photo student to get familiar with Medium format, and it should be put to that type of use. It's lens will not be worthy of the type of pro-caliber results that your Rollei can deliver, however.

I would agree with Douglas - but point out that even the Yashikor will probably produce better prints than ANY 35mm camera, simply because of the increased neg size. Indeed, even the horrible Seagull can outperform 35mm for sharpness. The Yashinon is indeed of very similar performance to the Tessar, and not far behind the Xenar. And that's good enough for most people, in truth, and at a more than reasonable price

Clark, there seems to be two different versions of the Yashicaflex. About a year ago, I purchased one from eBay (with "Yashicaflex" in script-type writing and a Heliotar taking lens) and then enjoyed some conversation with noted vintage camera buff Bo Hultburg, who gave great information. Here are the specs:

 

1) Yashicaflex "S" Taking lens: Heliotar 1:3.5 80mm, Shutter 1-1/300 sec. Exposure meter.

 

2) Yashicaflex "AS" Taking lens Yashimar 1:3.5 80mm, Shutter 1/10-1/200 sec.

 

Both versions I believe, are from (around) 1955 and were the first Yashica TLR's. The "S" was reported to be the first Japanese TLR with a built in exposure meter.

 

Yashica TLR's junk? That is plain ignorance. Most are in fact, quite durable and well made, especially the knob film advance models. Rollei quality? No, but that doesn't limit their usefulness. Again, don't let anyone convince you the Yashimar lens isn't worthy of serious photographic endeavors, because it is. In fact, the Yashimar is probably a better available light portrait lens than the Tessar in your 3.5T. It will render a very smooth, creamy texture in skin tones that is very flattering to older adults and glowing results with children. I'll go as far to say you have a great pair of TLR's to work with, ones that will give different results for different types of shooting assignments. A Tessar for razor sharp, corner-to-corner sharpness and the Yashimar for warm, contrasty portraits or interesting landscape scenes. It's also a great wedding camera. As for the manual, well, you probably don't need one as much as you need to send the Yashicaflex in for a CLA before giving it much use. After that, you'll be able to use and enjoy it for years.

I have used a number of tessar lens: Rolleiflex (T and a pre-war flex), Zeiss Contessa, Contax SLR, and Rollei 35. I have to admit I am not a tessar fan.

 

Lately, I am enjoying the 3-element lens more and more. (Rolleicord, Contax RF, and Rollei C35). The 3-element lens produce smooth tone, and somehow a more 3-D feel. And the lens has different character at different aperture. Yes, it is softer in the corner, until F/11. And more distortion. And the plane of focus is not flat.

 

The best thing is the smooth and natural in-focus to out-of-focus transition, almost linear. The opposite are the Planars: The transition from in-focus to out-focus is very abrupt. The saving grace is that the Planars renders the out-of-focus into a creamy smooth blur.

 

Although I like the triotars, somehow I am disappointed at the near-distance performance (under 10 feet). This is where the Planar shines. The Yashikor maybe perform differently.

<p><img src="../photo/9045961" alt="" /> This photo was done with the exact Yashicaflex you speak of.</p><div></div>

<p>thomas, that is a really nice looking photo!<br>

i see it's been over six years since i started this thread... in 2005 my house was burglarized and both the 1955 yashicaflex and 1959 rolleiflex T were taken. i have since acquired three other TLRs -- a meopta flexaret 5; 1951 rolleiflex automat and a 1970s yashica 124G.<br />the rollei is a bit rough, a light leak due to a bad latch, and it got water damaged in my care. even had a maxwell screen put on it. the meopta has a cranky winder, sometimes the shutter doesn't fire and it puts long scratches on the film. it's sort of a fancy holga, but charming in its own way. the 124G is fabulous! a little clunkier and less smooth than the rollei but the images are first rate. have been using fujichrome velvia pro and seems like a winning combo.</p>