Yashica FR1 - 10 years ahead of the competition!!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
- While browsing through an old copy of Practical Photography magazine, I spotted an advert for a Yashica FR1, claiming that is was 10 years ahead of the competition. Intrigued by this claim and also interested that it shared much of it's technology with the more expensive Contax RTS (built by Yashica for Contax), I got myself an FR1 to try out, and I wasn't disappointed.
The FR1 was introduced somewhere around 1977 and features an electronically controlled shutter and a good metering system, the Contax/Yashica bayonet lenses tend to be cheaper than many other systems these days, making it quite an attractive proposition.
There seems to be one common failure with the FR1 - the frame counter, which suffers from a split nylon gear. I show a little of how I repaired this during the video, but you could use the camera without a functioning counter just the same.
Here's a link to my previous video looking at Kodak Vision 3 500T film:
• Shooting Kodak Vision ...
and here's a link to the Photography Show website in case you're interested in visiting next year (I think it's moved to London for 2025):
www.photographyshow.com/
Start 00:00
Features and Controls 01:06
Battery 04:27
Viewfinder 04:46
Loading a Film 05:34
Gallery 1 06:26
Frame Counter Repair 07:30
Gallery 2 09:32
Summary 10:53
Outro 11:58
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Outro Music
"As Yet Untitled"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.bandcamp.com/
Gallery Music
"Fallout Zone"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.bandcamp.com/
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I have a Yashica J5 which I bought new in about 1968. Oddly enough, I am collecting it from a repair shop tomorrow!
Hi Michael, that will be exciting getting your J5 back from the repair shop - I need to fix mine sometime so I can use it again - I wouldn't have had the skill/knowledge when I was a kid, but I should be able to tackle it now.
Nice video as usual . I like the look of that camera and the potential for nice performance from that model. I may need to restrain myself from seeking one out though because realistically I DO NOT need another lens system to worry about. I already have M42, Pentax K, Exakta, Nikon F, Minolta MD, Canon EF , Minolta /sony A mount , canon FD and the M39 FED… I get a little too enthusiastic collecting cameras
Hi Conrad, Yep, I know what you mean, there's a few formats I'm avoiding simply because I don't need yet another lens system. I initially got a 24mm Contax/Yashica bayonet lens because I wanted a 24mm to use on mirrorless, and it was cheaper getting the C/Y mount lens and an adapter than getting a 24mm in the other mounts that I already had. Then I figured I'd get a couple more lenses to use with the adapter, and from there getting a Yashica camera body seemed logical........and so it continues.
I bought the FR1 when it first came out. used it for many years and loved it !!
Wow, that would have been very exciting Mike, if I could travel back in time I would have loved one of those, maybe slightly second hand in the early 80s.
I had Contax gear years ago but had reliability issues with the camera bodies. I bought a manual FR body which accepted the C/Y mount Zeiss lenses and never let me down.
Hi Kenneth, I think all makes of camera can suffer from reliability issues at times, and there's bound to be people out there who had issues with the Yashica FR cameras, but I'm definitely a fan of them. Glad your FR served you well.
If you want to glue nylon with c/a glue you should use an adhesion promoter on the nylon to promote bonding because nothing wants to stick to nylon.
Yashica - emphasis is on the first syllable - Yashi-ka, not Ya-shee-ka.
I always regard Nylon as un glueable, but on the odd occasion that I do have to glue it, I always make the surface as rough as possible to increase the chances of success. I haven't tried an adhesion promoter, I might get some one day. I can't believe how well my dramatic reconstruction repair worked - still haven't managed to get it apart!
@GrumpyTim Nylon and similar plastics are near impossible to bond because of low surface energy. That's where the adhesion promoter helps. I'm impressed that your repair has held up. I'd probably try to source a little brass pinion or have one 3-D printed out of polycarbonate.
you are superb :)
Cheers Joseph, I must get round to watching your Tractor Fest video soon, because that one will be great.
@@GrumpyTim Take your time to enjoy.
I'd forgotten the name until now, my first "proper" camera was a Yashica Minister D
I'm sure I'll end up getting myself a Minister D one of these days - I have a few Yashicas in the collection already, but there's always space for one more!!!
I was asking myself if you might know the answer to my problem. When cranking the shutter it just rattles, and the curtain at the back doesnt turn. The electronical button wont react either, thanks in advance.
Hi petruska, the first, and probably obvious question, is there a battery in the camera and does the LED light up when you press the test button? Assuming all that is ok, I have a few thoughts:
Sometimes when a camera gets jammed someone will attempt to force the film advancing crank, breaking it in the process - if your camera was faulty when you got it, that's always a possibility - I've received a couple in that condition (not Yashicas).
It could be as simple as a winding pawl on the film advance ratchet is sticking and not engaging (unlikely but not impossible).
There might be a problem that can occur on the FR-1 where something gets sticky causing the camera not to finish the complete cycle of taking a photograph, and until the cycle is finished, advancing the film cannot commence. There is a problem of this type with many Pentax ME Super cameras - something in the mirror box assembly gets sticky, the photo cycle doesn't complete and the film advance just keeps winding without cocking the shutter (I have an ME Super in that condition that I'll need to completely disassemble to fix the issue).
Can you tell if the shutter is actually in the cocked position (on the right) or the released position (on the left) (sometimes you can see a little bit of the curtain edge metal by peering into the side of the image frame in the back of the camera). Is the mirror stuck up or is it in it's rest position?
I haven't had to do anything more than the simple counter repair on my FR1, so I haven't examined the entire workings of the camera, but my guess is that there is something sticking, stopping the camera from completing it's cycle.