Yashica Mat
While I’ve owned a very fine Rolleiflex TLR for many years I wanted to find a camera that I could use as more of a daily shooter. Enter the Yashica Mat.
I was fortunate to pick up a practically pristine one at a nearby camera show for a very good price. A price which was actually pretty close to what it cost when the model was released in 1957
Looking at the four cameras above you can see that the defining difference is the film advance crank rather than a winding knob. This feature makes it all the more like the Rolleiflex it displaces. The four element 80mm Yashica lens is fantastic and with the large 6x6cm negatives there is a ton of detail recorded. Additionally the out of focus areas are nice and smooth. Its just an all around great performing camera and lens for the money.
The first roll I shot through it I did make the mistake of starting to shoot too soon and cut the first image off. It’s important to actually align the arrows on the film backing to the arrows inside the camera
I used Portra 400 and was very pleased with the results. The next roll I shot was Cinestill 800T. All the frames from this film had little purple spots on them. I cant say whether its from the film or from the processing. (I sent this roll out as I was between chemistry).
Aside from the film issue the camera performed perfectly and I was otherwise pleased with the images.
I now have a TLR I can comfortably take anywhere that gives results that I am pleased with so now its just a matter of shooting more with it.
