sfdgs Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I have the opportunity to buy a sealed, new in box Yashica 124G at a reasonable price from a local camera store. The store owner said the camera is approximately 30 years old. Due to the age and non-use of the camera, is there anything I need to be aware of or look out for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shambrick007 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Gummed up lube. Stick shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shambrick007 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Post some pix of it if you get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdgs Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Would I be better off buying a used one instead? I bought my first MF a few months ago (RZ67) and have had no problems, but I really want to try a TLR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken munn Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 If the price is right go for it. Using a TLR is a fulfilling experience in its own right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich815 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 One guy who fixes TLR's and such warns against buying perfect cameras that are old and never been used. And he's not all that keen on Yashica's either. http://ikonrollieflexrepair.com/page04.html I'd leave this one for a collector who wants to put it on a shelf. Or if the price is good get it and sell it on and then buy a good user. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kparratt Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Just buy it and get it lubed by a Yashica expert. Mechanically it will be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoresteen Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Buy it. Exercise the shutter. Send it to Mark Hama for a CLA. If you don't you will regret it two years from now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Buy it and let the collectors fight over it at auction. Then buy a shooter quality TLR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_janik Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I inherited a mint 124G that hadn't been used in years - works perfectly, in fact I used it last week. Great cameras, 6x6 and almost weightless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholaspoole Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 my 124g sat in a bag for 20 years and has worked great as an everyday shooter. exercise the shutter a bit, perhaps get a cla, should be good to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ_britt3 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Just curious.....what price, that would be the factor to make it a good buy or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumpton Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Bought a brand new Leica M4-P 25 years after manufacture. Most shutter speeds were off at the start, but after exercising the shutter at different times over three or four days all except the highest two speeds (1/500, 1/1000) have settled down to gving quite accurate speeds. The slower than indicated high speeds can probably be corrected. If you like the Yashica (the lens is good, if not exceptional) and the price is reasonable, I would go for it. At worst you wil have a small service cost of adjustment of functions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kparratt Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ... me again: The reason I suggested "Just buy it ...etc " is that, although the body feels a tad tinny compared to Rolleiflex, I was forever amazed at the quality of the lens. This first struck me back in the 70's when I projected a B&W negative up to 48" square on the darkroom wall. I didn't have paper or facilities to print that large, but I taped a few 10x8" pieces around within the image to expose samples - just to make sure I wasn't imagining what I thought I could see. The image detail really was amazing. I was the second owner, and it's film advance eventually became unreliable, so I shelved it. But I did get many years of good work out of it. (I still have it and wouldn't mind getting it fixed.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdgs Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 Thanks for all of the advice. This is my first experience buying a camera of this age, but for the price, there really isn't much of a downside. Worst case senario, it will be a conversation piece on my bookshelf. I'll definitely post some pics of it when I pick it up next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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