Yashica Electro 35 GSN - Opinions?

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

This is gonna sound kinda strange maybe.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a camera bag at a thrift store for cheap. It had a couple of lenses, a small flash and a winder. Also had a couple of instruction manuals. One was for a Yashica Electro 35 GSN. I'm thinking this must have been one of the best selling 35mm rangefinders of all time, due to its commonality. And it must have been built reasonably well for so many of them to have survived this long.

So, here I am with this instruction manual and no camera, and I'm getting the urge to bid on a camera on eBay so's I can have a camera to go along with the instruction manual. Does that sound a little strange? Maybe just an excuse to feed my GAS?

So anyway, I'm wondering what the camera is like to use. With its f/1.7 lens, how would you say it compares, for example, to the Canon QL17 GIII?

What about batteries? The manual shows a long 5.6v mercury battery. Are there modern replacements, and do they have the proper voltage? I'm thinking I could stack four 1.4v 675 hearing aid batteries and fit them if there's room. At least the voltage works out: 1.4 x4 = 5.6 exactly.

Screamin Scott · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:12 pm Post subject:

I've got one...It's quite a bit larger & heavier than the Canon Ql17 GIII...The optics are quite sharp however....You can get batteries from the yashicaguy on eBay...I prefer my Yashica Lynx 14 due to it's F1.4 lens...

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Yeah, the Lynx 14 is another Yashica Rangefinder I've been wondering about. Fish4570's got a thread going right now -- "work boat" -- that shows off the Lynx 14's capabilities pretty well.

How would you rate the lens quality between the two?

Screamin Scott · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:19 am Post subject:

Pretty comparable...I like the Lynx better not only because of the lens speed but also because of manual mode. What I don't like about the Lynx is the aperture stops don't click into place...

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Aha, well, I think I'd give the nod to the Lynx too, since it has a manual mode.

I've owned a couple Canon QL17 GIIIs over the years, sold the last one probably 15 years ago. And I've always kinda missed it. So, now I'm wondering, and this question is posed to anyone who's had a chance to use the QL17 or either of the above mentioned Yashicas -- which of the three do you prefer, and why? Or is there another that you prefer? I found a thread at flickr discussing which folks prefered, the QL17 or the Yashica Electro 35, and almost every one of the respondents gave preference to the Canon. One guy mentioned a Konica S2 as being another one to consider.

For me, I'd definitely lean toward a camera that has manual mode. I already have an aperture priority rangefinder in my Oly XA. The camera should also have a leaf shutter and a hot shoe, and preferably external flash pc x-sync contacts as well.

Still when all's said and done, I think I'm gonna look for a clean but cheap Electro 35, just so I can have a camera to keep my Electro instruction manual company. Rolling Eyes

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

Thanks to Andy, I've got an Electro 35 GS and honestly it is my favourite RF cam. I like this cam so much that I have sold several other really good RFs (such as Minolta HiMatic E and F, Konica S3, Oly 35RC ...).
I only have kept the Electro 35GS my Rollei 35XF and my FED3.

Banjo · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 75 Location: Oz (Near Adelaide)

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

I have it too, quality camera.

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

Still, I'd go manual ... Twisted Evil

Banjo · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 75 Location: Oz (Near Adelaide)

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Thanks for the battery info, Banjo.

Hey Fish4570, I'm with you all the way. But the Electro 35 GSN can be found cheap enough where I can probably afford it, so my instruction manual will have been reunited, as well as a cool manual RF. I'll have to look into the Lynx more. Does the meter work in manual mode? It's been too long since I owned a QL17, but I vaguely remember the meter not functioning in manual.

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

symphonic · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 550 Location: SE Europe, Croatia

OK, just got this camera (Yashica GS) and with it being a first film camera I use in my life, I'm puzzled by some things. Laughing

I put the film inside, rewind it a couple of times but the shutter counter does not go to number 1... Does that mean I put the film incorrectly? I put a new battery on and everything seems to work as it should..

Nesster · Expire: 2014-02-20

Most likely the film end didn't catch on the film spool - you should see the rewind crank turn when you advance film.

Re. alternates to the Yashica - I found a Konica Auto S-2 that I've ended up liking better than a GSN - I posted something about the comparison here somewhere.... I think Rolling Eyes

The Konica does shutter priority auto and manual metering; about the only catch is the battery voltage issue. I'm rating ASA 400 film at 100 to compensate, but there's an easy diode fix.

symphonic · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 550 Location: SE Europe, Croatia

Nesster · Expire: 2014-02-20

the auto set usually is done via a prong built into the back that goes into a slot in the camera body. If it or the back is slightly bent, it may not engage the mechanism fully - and therefore the counter keeps going back to 1. Or, it could be (more) simply just broken Wink