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From: kanner@tymix.UUCP (Herb Kanner)
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Re: Yashica Mat 124-G
Message-ID: <430@tymix.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-May-85 12:45:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: tymix.430
Posted: Wed May 29 12:45:43 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Jun-85 12:17:58 EDT
References: <981@peora.UUCP>
Reply-To: kanner@tymix.UUCP (Herb Kanner)
Distribution: net
Organization: Tymnet Inc., Cupertino CA
Lines: 52

In article <981@peora.UUCP> jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) writes:
>While buying my weekly supply of photographic materials at the local photo
>store yesterday, I saw a gentleman buying an unusual-looking camera.  This
>made me curious, so I also asked to see one of them; it was a "Yashica Mat
>124-G" twin-lens reflex camera.  I had seen these advertised before in the
>catalogs, but since it said something like "good for student or professional
>use," and since it was very low-priced, I always figured there wasn't much
>to them.
>
>However, this actually looks like a fairly interesting camera, especially
>considering it only costs $124.  Does anybody out there have one of these?
>What are they good for?  I see that there is a description of it in the
>December '84 Modern Photography's survey of cameras (page 107), which
>reveals that it is kind of primitive; unfortunately, the description assumes
>you already know more or less all about them.  Well, it looks vaguely like
>something from the 1940s or thereabout, and has a separate "focusing" and
>"taking" lens, and apparently some kind of magnifying glass so you can
>see the image projected by the focusing lens onto a waist-level viewfinder
>in order to focus it properly; it also has a mysterious "eye level sports
>finder".  What is this camera, anyway?  Does it make good pictures?

Back in the 40s, when the standard newspaper photographer's camera was a 
4 x 5 Speed Graphic, the standard magazine photographer's camera was a
Rolliflex.  The Yashica you saw is a "poor man's" imitation of same.  The
picture size is typically 2 1/4 in square (twelve pictures on a roll of 120
or 620 film).  They were popular in the days before there were small,
convenient single-lens reflex cameras around.  The problem of parallex
between the views seen by the viewing and taking lenses was partially
licked in the fanciest Rollei by gearing the mirror in the viewing system
to the focussing drive, so that as you focussed on close objects the mirror
changed its angle slightly from 45 degrees to compensate.  The automatic
Rollei also had very fancy film loading.  You just turned the crank until
it turned no further, and you were ready for your first shot.  After each
subsequent shot, you just turned the crank forward a partial turn as far as
it would go, and returned it to its home position.  After the last shot of
the twelve, the crank could be turned continuously to complete the winding
of the roll.

The camera had the drawback of all reflex cameras before the invention of
the roof prism for viewing: there was a right/left reversal of the image as
the result of one reflection.  This made it very difficult to follow a
moving subject.  In fact, almost all of these cameras have a way of popping
down the front of the hood that shields the ground glass from stray light,
giving you an open frame finder to use when chasing a moving subject.

Disadvantages are the camera's relative bulk and fixed lens.  It should make
very good pictures indeed, and the larger format does give an advantage over
35mm.  At the price, the Yashica version is one of the world's best bargains.
-- 
Herb Kanner
Tymnet, Inc.
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