Yashica 12
It’s all very well having 35mm film cameras; but if you are going to mess around with film why not go all the way and use medium format 120 film? Bigger negatives to play with, and much easier to handle if you want to develop the film yourself. Plus, with only twelve shots per roll; you don’t have to take so many photos before finding out that you have made a complete cock-up of everything.
With this in mind I started cruising eBay. There were many choices; Rolleiflex and Hasselblad looked tempting, but the price tags were prohibitive unless you are serious about film photography; and I am not. So I settled for this:
As the name suggests, it’s a Yashica 12; one of a long line of Yashica TLR models.
The company was originally called Yashima and produced some average cameras with names such as Pigeonflex and Yashicaflex. In 1955 Yashima purchased the Nicca company; renamed itself Yashica, and then churned out a succession of quality TLR cameras for more than twenty five years. The Yashica 12 was produced between 1967 and 1968 and was a companion to the Yashica 22 which used 220 film, with the Yashica 12 using 120 film which is still readily available today.
TLR stands for Twin Lens Reflex, because there are two lens involved in the capture of the photo. The bottom lens is known as the taking lens, and this has the shutter set behind it. The upper lens is used for focusing.
To focus, you open up the top of the camera (and remove the lens caps…):
You then look down onto a screen which shows you a view through the upper lens:
You then focus using a knob on the side of the camera which moves the a block containing both lenses:
Obtaining accurate focus can be difficult, so you can flip down a magnifying glass which gives you a zoomed-in view of the centre of the image so you can fine-tune focus:
For those sporty moments where depth of field is not an issue, you can just stare through a hole in the back and click away:
None of this ten frames a second nonsense however; after each shot you open up a lever on the right hand side of the camera, wind on the film to the next frame, then wind the lever back and fold it into the provided storage hole. It’s a delightful process.
The taking lens is a Yashinon 80mm F3.5; which is somewhere around 50mm in 35cm terms. The focusing lens is F2.8 which gives a slightly brighter viewfinder than the F3.5 focusing lenses on earlier cameras.
The camera is entirely mechanical, with the only wiring being that which feeds a light meter. This is switched on when the focus hood is opened and can be viewed from the top of the camera. The film ISO is set using a little dial; and then you can change film speed and exposure by means of wheels on the front of the camera; such that the two bars in the meter line up. The original battery type for the camera has long since been discontinued; but a modern battery of slightly different voltage does the job, although I tend to prefer a separate meter should I remember to take it with me.
For a camera that is nearly fifty years old, it is in astonishing condition and is an object of real beauty (to my eyes). The eBay seller I purchased it from waxed lyrical about the exterior of the camera. Unfortunately he failed to mention that the taking lens was badly fogged, probably due to the excessive use of lighter fuel which can be used to free up the notoriously sticky shutter blades. Luckily I found a brand new lens for sale, and so now my ancient camera is in perfect condition (if you want to know how to change out the lens on a Yashica TLR, here is my solution). Naturally I had to pimp it up a little; with a Barton 1972 strap and a lens hood which is functionally advisable as well as ornamental.
I will admit to having spent much more time looking and the camera than using it. I have only taken a couple of films and the camera deserves more use. As well as being pretty, it is a pleasure to operate, and it feels like it can easily function for many more years.
