Yashica Electro 35 GSN Review

As someone that has been around long enough to remember photography prior to digital, my interest in film photography was re-ignited back in 2017. I, like many others, switched to digital in the early 2000’s when I was able to save enough money to buy my first DSLR, the Canon 20D. I sold the few film cameras I had and off I went. When I started to get back into film, I tended to gravitate towards the type of camera I used for so many years, the good old SLR.

After using my SLRs for a while, I read a few articles about rangefinders and they peaked my interest. As far as rangefinders go, Leica seems to dominate the the market with their M cameras. Unfortunately a Leica M camera is a little beyond what I was, and still am, prepared to spend on a film camera. This is not a knock against Leica by any means, but their cameras have a fairly high price tag and then if you want to get an actual Leica lens, it may end up costing more than the camera body itself. I am sure they are great, but it is not currently an option for me.

So, I started doing research on affordable rangefinder cameras and that eventually led me to the Yashica 35 Electro GSN. The older Yashica’s had a good reputation as far as image quality goes, they are reasonably priced, and I was able to find a good copy. I found my camera at Japan Vintage cameras. The store is a one man show and the gentleman that runs it has a very good reputation. He performs CLAs on most, if not all of his cameras and has 2 online stores, which I will post at the end of this article.

The Yashica Electro was made from 1966 to 1977, with several upgrades introduced as the series evolved. It comes with a good quality, fixed 45mm f1.7 lens that is sharp and has good contrast. The camera works in Aperture Priority mode only, which I personally don’t mind since that is the mode I tend to use most of the time if the camera has the option. The maximum shutter speed is 1/500 of a second and there’s even a Bulb mode too for long exposure shots. On the GSN there is a flash mode, but I have never used it.

The light meters up near the viewfinder on the front of the camera, so it is not TTL metering. There are two indicator lights on top of the camera and also arrows that are visible from the viewfinder. If it lights up yellow, then you have too much light and red means too little. When the red light is showing it means that you are below 1/30th of a second. The camera does not prevent you from taking the photo if your shutter speed is too low. One of the downsides of not having TTL metering is, that you will still get a light reading even if you have a lens cap on. It something I have accidentally done myself so just be aware of it.

I had never used a rangefinder before, but it did not take long to get used to. There is a bright focusing patch in the center of the viewfinder. You will see a double image and when both images line up you are in focus. Sometimes the range finder needs to be calibrated, but if it is adjusted properly you will typically have sharp images. The focus throw is pretty short and you can quickly focus on a subject, which is why a rangefinder cameras are used by a lot of street photographers that still shoot film. Another option is to leave your aperture at f8 or f11 and zone focus, which is also a method commonly used by street photographers. I tried zone focusing and I personally have had mixed results. It is one of those things that take practice.

Yashica Electros can be susceptible to the so-called pad of death, which is indeed fatal to the camera if left un-repaired. However, with some small tools and just a little knowledge, it can be fixed. There are plenty of videos that show how to do the repair. Or, you can find someone to repair and CLA the camera if you do not feel comfortable. I always recommend getting maintenance done on a camera. Just realize that the service may be more than you paid for the camera depending on what needs to be done.

Overall I do like this camera, but it took me some time to get used to using a range finder. The lens has a short throw when focusing so you can quickly focus, but if you have the lens wide open it can be more of a challenge nailing the focus area you want. Since it has a leaf shutter it is very quiet and does not draw as much attention as some of my SLRs do with the common mirror slap you get when depressing the shutter. Am I now a rangefinder convert…..no. I still like my SLRs and it is what I have been using for years. I do however use this camera more than I thought I would and I have no plans on parting with it at this time.

Yashica Electro 35 GSN Review

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