I have a Yashica Mat-LM that I inherited from my grandmother. She bought it new in 1961 and it still works perfectly although the stitching on the leather case has broken down and needs replacing. During the pandemic I spent a lot of time scanning family photos from the 1960s taken with this camera and I was blown away with the quality of images compared to those taken on 35mm or other formats. As for the square format, I like it but the benefit of the huge 6cm x 6cm negative size is you can crop without compromising resolution.
My Yashica D is a very solid feeling camera with metal knobs and a hefty feel. It certainly feels more solid than my Yashicamat 124G, but not quite as solid as a Rolleiflex. Operationally, the big difference between the D and the Mat is how the shutter gets cocked. With the D, you have an independent cocking lever. That eliminates the need for a shutter release locking level as found on the Mat. The camera gets cocked just before taking the photo. On the Mat, the film wind lever cocks the shutter. The D is very similar to the Rolleicord, and the Mat is similar to a Rolleiflex. If you find a good Yashica D at a price that works for you, grab it.
I have a Yashicaflex which I think was a predecessor to the "D," and a Seagull, a Chinese original design rather than a copy. There's something about these older cameras, the solid metal, the leather covering, and the large lenses that just shows an earlier time of manufacturing meant to last. I also have a Mint TL70 Plus, that shoots Instax square format, and is my "go to" camera anymore for film shooting as it's mostly the same experience but no need to send off for developing.
How's it like using the Mint TL70, if you don't mind me asking? I've heard potential issues about very de-saturated photos, mechanical failures, and inconsistent light meter (last one isn't a big problem for me imo, I can use an external one).
I have one of these and love shooting with it. Unfortunately the taking lens in mine has a lot of distortion around the edges at wider apertures (like f/11 and wider).
Please try the great east German WELTAFLEX with coated Meyer Gorlitz 3.5 75 Trioplan lens and please compare to French SEM FLEX 3.5 Oto Automatic and Royer Royflex III.
What kind of shutter cable release did you have to look for? i.e. What kind of thread / locking mechanism do I have to search for to find one? Just started researching medium format and TLRs, this looks like a great option. Planning to use it for artistic portraits and landscape shots, so the cable release is mandatory for me. Your response would be a great help. Cheers, great video!
What i found online didn’t give me any technical info other than “is the same as for the Nikon AR-2.” I bought one of those off ebay, and it is exactly the right thread and everything!
I have a Yashica Mat-LM that I inherited from my grandmother. She bought it new in 1961 and it still works perfectly although the stitching on the leather case has broken down and needs replacing.
During the pandemic I spent a lot of time scanning family photos from the 1960s taken with this camera and I was blown away with the quality of images compared to those taken on 35mm or other formats.
As for the square format, I like it but the benefit of the huge 6cm x 6cm negative size is you can crop without compromising resolution.
So true - i end up cropping the 6x6s all the time, love how I can do that
this is my new favorite camera! it’s so cute :)
i loved this review- it was shot beautifully… like you
My Yashica D is a very solid feeling camera with metal knobs and a hefty feel. It certainly feels more solid than my Yashicamat 124G, but not quite as solid as a Rolleiflex. Operationally, the big difference between the D and the Mat is how the shutter gets cocked. With the D, you have an independent cocking lever. That eliminates the need for a shutter release locking level as found on the Mat. The camera gets cocked just before taking the photo. On the Mat, the film wind lever cocks the shutter. The D is very similar to the Rolleicord, and the Mat is similar to a Rolleiflex. If you find a good Yashica D at a price that works for you, grab it.
Wow I was just about to look up how this differs from the 124, thanks for the explanation!
I have a Yashicaflex which I think was a predecessor to the "D," and a Seagull, a Chinese original design rather than a copy. There's something about these older cameras, the solid metal, the leather covering, and the large lenses that just shows an earlier time of manufacturing meant to last. I also have a Mint TL70 Plus, that shoots Instax square format, and is my "go to" camera anymore for film shooting as it's mostly the same experience but no need to send off for developing.
How's it like using the Mint TL70, if you don't mind me asking? I've heard potential issues about very de-saturated photos, mechanical failures, and inconsistent light meter (last one isn't a big problem for me imo, I can use an external one).
Fantastic
I have one of these and love shooting with it. Unfortunately the taking lens in mine has a lot of distortion around the edges at wider apertures (like f/11 and wider).
Aw dang thats a huge bummer! I really love the lens on mine, I wonder if theres a variety in lens quality with the D 🤔
Please try the great east German WELTAFLEX with coated Meyer Gorlitz 3.5 75 Trioplan lens and please compare to French SEM FLEX 3.5 Oto Automatic and Royer Royflex III.
I’ll have to take a look at those! Thanks for the suggestion!
What kind of shutter cable release did you have to look for? i.e. What kind of thread / locking mechanism do I have to search for to find one?
Just started researching medium format and TLRs, this looks like a great option. Planning to use it for artistic portraits and landscape shots, so the cable release is mandatory for me. Your response would be a great help. Cheers, great video!
What i found online didn’t give me any technical info other than “is the same as for the Nikon AR-2.” I bought one of those off ebay, and it is exactly the right thread and everything!
@@mavway02 That's super helpful, thanks!