Yashica Mat 124G battery and light meter question

[mcblue]

<p>Hi, I bought a Yashica Mat 124G to play around with. The meter is funky and when I opened the battery compartment, I found out there was an alkaline battery, so I have a few battery questions:</p>

<p>1. Is there any way to obtain the original mercury battery that's supposed to give a better reading and should I even try to do that (given the environmental issue)?</p>

<p>2. How long will the Wein zinc battery that will supposedly perform as well as the outlawed mercury battery?</p>

<p>3. Is it possible that the alkaline battery ruined the meter? I think it's 3 to 4 stops off.</p>

<p>4. Should I forget about metering on the camera and just use a separate light meter?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

[Andrew in Austin]

<p>#4 is my preferred option - unless the said camera has a TTL meter - which the Yashica lacks. Any mercury oxide that you may by chance find will hopefully have been sitting in a fridge for almost a decade. In other words, mercury oxide cells are history.</p>

<p>Even when the meters were new on these Yashica TLRs, I found that a good hand-held meter to be more reliable than the on-camera meter. In lieu of a Wein cell - stop by your local pharmacy and pick up a couple of hearing aid cells. Make your own adapter our of card board, plastic or rubber o-rings. Then test the meter against a known camera with a reliable meter.</p>

<p>I doubt if the alkaline cell ruined the meter, as it may have other issues - such as corrosion under the battery contacts.</p>

[mcblue]

<p>Thanks Andrew. It doesn't look like there's any corrosion but the alkaline battery's probably on its way to dying anyway.</p>

<p>I have a Sekonic L-358 which I use in the studio. I could just bring that and I'm also looking at a 208 ($99) but I've heard that once you drop that meter once it's most likely broken. It would be nice to have the built-in meter that more or less works though.</p>

<p>I'm thinking of looking for the Wein zinc air batteries that I read about but I also heard that they're quite short-lived and hence can get quite expensive over time.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Marvin, it's been awhile since I owned a 124-G. I highly recommend you contact Batteries Plus (.com, I think). They are experts on matching batteries, and have just about heard it all. They can no doubt recommend an affordable alternative that may work better.</p>

[mcblue]

<p>Michael, thanks. I'll check out batteriesplus.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>3. Ruined meter? Get the corrsoion brushed out, and it'll probably be fine. My guess is that the alkaline wasn't a good match. Mine works okay; I still often use either my estimate or a handheld meter with Yashicamat; the meter is just a photocell on the frame, as you can see; just keep that in mind; it'll work okay, but it's basic.</p>

[mcblue]

<p>Thanks John. Do you mind telling me what hand-held meter you use? I can use my Sekonic 358 and was considering the small L-208 for or a similar Gossen (slightly more expensive, I think). Just not sure if it's worth it.</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>About mercury batteries, the other day I found an 8 pack of Sunbeam alkaline 76 (357) pill batteries and noticed the odd warning on the packaging "Warning, contains mercury". </p>

<p>Next, unknown to most people, mercury batteries are used in manufactured products like toys. In particular, a few years ago, Kelloggs cereals came with a SpiderMan wrist toy that had the notice "contains mercury battery". Another instance, a fuzzy squirrel stuffed toy I have uses a mercury battery to power its giggle. That toy is almost 9 years old and it still giggles. Spooky but no doubt it has a mercury battery sewn up inside of it keeping it alive. One day, I'm going to cut open that toy squirrel and get the battery for an old camera. </p>

[gary_watson]

<p>Hardcores stashed PX625s and other merc cells after their production ended(sic) in 2000. I was one and kept finding/buying Varta and other name brand cells for a year or two later. There were occasional Chinese-made merc cells that surfaced for a couple of years more but they've all but vanished. Point is: don't lose sleep dreaming about finding them. The 124G meter was never killer accurate, so I'd skip the Wein rip-off and the tiresome zinc-air hearing aid bandaid. Why bother with a clip-on reflected meter? You have an excellent meter--the Sekonic 358-- that will deliver consistently precise incident/flash readings, so why not use it?</p>

[mcblue]

<p>[sigh]<br>

I suppose I'll just bring the Sekonic. Everyone I know who knows about the Mat seems to prefer a land-held meter. Thanks guys.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>If you can get it cleaned up, an MR-9 adapter would be good. I use these in many old cameras. When I used a 124G I would tilt the camera downward if I thought I was reading too much of the sky.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I use a Minolta Spotmeter F. One of the unsung advantages of a separate meter is that I use it with more than camera body; I have several older cameras; it also does flash; it's a convenience that's been extremely helpful. Overall, I'd say that a used handheld meter is a good accessory. Any well made one that works will do. </p>

[mcblue]

<p>I just picked up the first test roll of film (color) that I shot around the city and everything looked fine. Of course, they probably made the best adjustments possible. Still, I'm quit amazed, given I merely guess-timated the exposure.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Don't waste time and money on the Yashi meter. Just stick a wet finger into the wind and think of a stop and a shutter speed - it'll be more accurate.</p>

<p>Seriously though, the 124G that I briefly owned had a meter that was influenced by shading the lens of the meter from a distance of about 3 feet. above it; that's the sort of thing that just shouldn't happen with any even halfway useful lightmeter. And even if the meter was designed properly you'd be stuck with the near-useless average reflected light method. Get a decent handheld meter capable of incident-light measurement and it'll pay for itself in less wasted film.</p>

[patrick_stack]

<p>Your hand held meter is far more accurate than an on board camera meter, even my M-6 TTL is a good bit off when compared with my Gossen digital. Just make it your habit to always include it as part of your gear for the day, you'll be pleased with the accuracy improvement. My transparencies are considerably more consistent, now that I exclusively use the hand held.</p>

<p>Patrick</p>

[lee_calkins]

<p>I used the 24G for years and I cant remember ever using the meter.<br>

Lee</p>

[rodrigo_pizarro]

<p>1. Is there any way to obtain the original mercury battery that's supposed to give a better reading and should I even try to do that (given the environmental issue)?<br>

No. but I've been using <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Wein-PX625-Battery-1-35Volt-Yashica-Mat-124-Mat-124G_W0QQitemZ270317295662QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item270317295662&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50">these</a> successfully.<br>

2. How long will the Wein zinc battery that will supposedly perform as well as the outlawed mercury battery?<br>

I'm still running on the first one, which was installed a couple of months ago.<br>

3. Is it possible that the alkaline battery ruined the meter? I think it's 3 to 4 stops off.<br>

I don't think so. It's only a 0.15 V difference.<br>

4. Should I forget about metering on the camera and just use a separate light meter?<br>

I've had consistent results with negative print film. I wouldn't use it with slide film. I use the meter of my Pentax MZ-5n instead, which is dead-on.</p>

[mcblue]

<p>Hi Thanks for the feedback suggestions.</p>

<p>Yesterday after I got off work, I tried ignoring the meter and just go by Sunny F16 rule and then I noticed that the 124G's meter actually followed suit.</p>

<p>The interesting thing is that during the first day of testing (the day I bought it) the meter would not move at times like it was stuck and then it would just worked. Lately, it just always works.</p>

<p>So, I think that despite the inaccuracy of the meter (and I would not use it with slide film, I guess), I would probably be guided by it anyway (at least outdoors) -- especially with the results I've gotten the film I've developed (though some were just rough estimates).</p>

<p>Quite happy with this camera as I've barely tried TLRs in the past. Nice to walk-around with as it's a lot less threatening to people. :)</p>

<p> </p>