Yashica MC
The Yashica MC is like a miniature version of an Electro 35 with nearly half the weight and twice the charm. It has the same type of infinitely variable electronic shutter that goes from 1/500 second to 4 seconds as the larger variants and its 40mm f2.8 lens while not as fast is still a decent performer.
The electronic shutter shouldn’t be confused with the modern idea of integrated circuits and processors its still a very analog system that essentially opens the shutter mechanically which also energizes the shutter circuit. An electromagnet holds the shutter open as long as current flows through one of the transistors but when the charge that is building up in a capacitor, controlled by the resistance of a CDS photo cell reaches a certain level another transistor turns on de-energizing the electromagnet and therefore closing the shutter and switching the circuit off again. This is why without batteries Yashica’s like this default to their maximum shutter speed, there is nothing holding the shutter open. There are other factors in the circuit as well such as the aperture which changes the resistance of another part of the circuit or the ISO setting. Okay when I started typing I thought it was going to be a simple explanation.
To sum it up: Wind film ,Press shutter, light on CDS and aperture determine shutter time, repeat.
My Electro 35 MC is stamped with ‘Hong Kong’ on the bottom so I can only presume that is where it was assembled but the 40mm F2.8 4 element lens is labeled as made in Japan
You can see a previous post about the Yashica MC Sept 2015 here
