problems w/ light meter on mat 124-G

[brian_turner]

The light meter on my recently purchased 124-G seems to work only after I have had the view finder open for a while (the light meter is supposed to come on as soon as it opens). Sometimes if I open and close it several times in a row, that seems to do the trick. Sometimes it just doesn't come on at all. Is this a common symptom in these particular cameras? Does anyone know what might be causing this, or how I can fix it myself before shelling out the bucks to have it fixed? thanks, brian turner.

[mel_brown1]

Brian, it is not normal for the Yashica meter to hesitate when opening

the viewing hood. It should come on after raising the rear of the hood

only a few millimeters. The innards are easy to get to; just remove

the two screws on either side of the hood, then lift it out. You may

need to remove two more screws securing the meter cover. The hood

switch is on the left side, in the camera body. If it's not the

switch, the needle is probably sticking. Try setting the shutter speed

to 1/4 or slower. That rotates the meter block to the right and may

give you a clue.

 

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Good luck,

 

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Mel Brown

[keith_l_wiebe]

My Yashica 124 did the same thing. Wasn't the g for gold contacts on the light meter switch or was it a gold contact on the flash sync? I just tapped on it slightly or raised and lowered the hood until it came on. I would think about getting a handheld incidident meter.

[trace_dibble1]

I heartedly second Keith's thoughts on the matter. I owned a 124G at

one time or another, and while it's a lot of camera for the money, I

found the meter to be practically useless. Even when it's functioning

perfectly, it is:(A)of the selenium variety, and:(B)impossible to

ascertain or control just what portion of the image it's "looking" at.

I did better by applying the "sunny 16" rule, but you'd do better

still by investing in a handheld meter.

[bob___8]

The problem could be a "simple" cleaning of contacts.

 

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By the way, this is a CdS meter, not selenium (selenium meters did

not use batteries), and it reads about 30 degrees. Pointing the

camera straight ahead can "fool" the light meter by reading too much

sky. One general recommendation was to tilt the camera toward the

ground slightly to read the area between the subject and camera, and

not so much sky.