John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>It's an old Yashicamat with Lumaxar lenses. At some point in it's life it has acquired a Rollei viewing hood, perhaps the original one was damaged and they couldn't get a Yashica replacement, or there may have needed the Rollei hood to get correct focus with the 75mm Lumaxar.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>One problem was flare and poor contrast whenever there was a bright light in front of the lens. Inside the camera seened very smooth, almost shiny, so I decided to add some light baffling. I cut some strips of balsa wood and glued them inside, clear of the light path, and two pieces of corrugated cardboard to fill the void either side of the lens. Then masked it up and sprayed inside with matt black. It may not have improved the value of the camera but it definitely helped image quality.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>These were done at Leicester's Caribbean Carnival a few years ago. I soon learnt that a TLR is not the best choice for moving subjects.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Second one.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Last one - thanks for looking.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis_vernon1 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Great looking shots.. your improvised method of reducing flare seems to have worked: simple and elegant..I've heard that the Luxamar lenses are far sharper than the 3 element Yashikors and a tad better than the other Yashica/Tessar variants..As far as your Rollei hood, it's good to know that in a pinch a Rollei hood is interchangeable with a Yashica body...I wonder if the reverse is true.....Keep up the good work..</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_foreman1 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Wow.. Excellent color saturated photos! I can't really seem to see the difference in the camera interior photo. I have a Yashica MAt 124, and it too flares badly. I preferred the Yashica D I had over this for just that reason. I just thought I should be using a lens hood (I do have one in some drawer somewhere) Anyway I will open mine and compare to your photo... If I can fix the flare maybe I'll keep it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_eckberg Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Good for you, John! Your simple solution has provided some great images with vibrant color! Modifying equipment is an old and revered photographic tradition, congratulations for your courage to do so and on its successful implementation. More of us should act on ideas like yours. I'm glad you got out the tools to help you produce better, more interesting images. We should all follow your lead. Heck, the vintage stuff isn't worth anything today anyway.</p> <p>Now where's that old Argus 75 and my screwdriver set?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Please note, I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any damage caused ...<br> Thanks for the comments!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou_Meluso Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Nice pop on those, John.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou_Meluso Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>repeat</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>That vivid colour really captures the spirit of the carnival, gives almost a "painted" quality. Great innovation and ingenuity!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwb Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Nice pics John and it's nice to know that at least those parts are interchangeable.<br> I am presently rescuing a Rolleicord Va with contributions from various parts bodies.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis_hizer Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>I had a Yashica 24 with the same problem - too much flare, non-existent internal baffling (unlike my Rolleicord IV which has something almost like a metal bellows-effect inside.) I glued black "flocked" fabric inside, which is a material like the "velvet" stuff that they do "paintings on velvet" of Elvis with. It worked pretty well.<br> The problem was really noticeable with color film but didn't seem to hurt my B&W work - the flare seemed to raise detail in the shadows, giving me better contrast effects on sunny days. (I was printing with a condenser enlarger.) But with color film I could never get intense colors like yours seen here.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julio Fernandez Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 <p>Great pictures. For moving subjects it may be easier to use the frame viewfinder instead of the standard reflex one.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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