Aside from the body covering, both cameras have held up over the years. Either would be a good choice for photographers who want a smaller SLR. Because of the wear to the Yashica's body covering, you usually can pick up one of these with the 50mm lens for less than US$40, making it a good choice as a starter cameras. I suggest always keeping a spare set of batteries on hand. Here's a link to the website for the replacement body coverings for these and other cameras: aki-asahi.com/store/
It might be worth noting that the Contax S2 is fully mechanical and only relies on batteries for the light meter, but does provide all shutter speeds mechanically.
A good review as always. I bought a Yashica FXD Quartz in the early 1980s when they were new. It was a lovely camera, and the standard 50mm lens was superb. Fast forward 30 years or so, and having gone digital and then returned to film, the first camera I re-purchased was the FXD. I wondered if I'd been guilty of allowing nostalgia to influence my decision. That was probably true, however the Yashica didn't disappoint at all. As someone who mostly shoots in aperture mode, I love the meter button on the front as this seems perfect to me in use, much better than half pressing the shutter. I've had my 2nd Yashica for a good decade now, and apart from batteries, it's proved fine. The only downside to Contax and Yashica cameras, (here in the UK in any case) are the price of the lenses. Equivalent lenses for Minoltas, a brand I also love, are significantly less expensive, and far easier to come by.
I have purchased all pre-cut body coverings from the website that I referenced above. aki-asahi.com/store/ It can take about a week or so to arrive, depending on where you arrive. There's a little trick to attaching the new coverings. Spray the adhesive side (that is, a mist) with some 91% rubbing alcohol. It lets you move the covering around before the alcohol dries. I think that I'll do a quick video on how I do this. Super simple.
The Yashica-Mat cameras predate the Contax/Yashica project, so Yashica likely had a supplier and continued to use that same supplier, because it had the dies for cutting the proper shape. For the Contax/Yashica cameras, the coverings were shared. Whether they came from the same supplier is unknown, but all of these SLRs suffer from the same problem.
@@CameraTalkVideos So the -mat demonstrates that Yashica had it right in the beginning. Since Porsche design group was responsible for the outward appearance of the new Contax cameras, we can be pretty certain who was behind changing the camera skins.
Aside from the body covering, both cameras have held up over the years. Either would be a good choice for photographers who want a smaller SLR. Because of the wear to the Yashica's body covering, you usually can pick up one of these with the 50mm lens for less than US$40, making it a good choice as a starter cameras. I suggest always keeping a spare set of batteries on hand.
Here's a link to the website for the replacement body coverings for these and other cameras: aki-asahi.com/store/
It might be worth noting that the Contax S2 is fully mechanical and only relies on batteries for the light meter, but does provide all shutter speeds mechanically.
A good review as always. I bought a Yashica FXD Quartz in the early 1980s when they were new. It was a lovely camera, and the standard 50mm lens was superb. Fast forward 30 years or so, and having gone digital and then returned to film, the first camera I re-purchased was the FXD. I wondered if I'd been guilty of allowing nostalgia to influence my decision. That was probably true, however the Yashica didn't disappoint at all. As someone who mostly shoots in aperture mode, I love the meter button on the front as this seems perfect to me in use, much better than half pressing the shutter. I've had my 2nd Yashica for a good decade now, and apart from batteries, it's proved fine. The only downside to Contax and Yashica cameras, (here in the UK in any case) are the price of the lenses. Equivalent lenses for Minoltas, a brand I also love, are significantly less expensive, and far easier to come by.
Great overview of the cameras. Any chance you remember where the leather for the rts came from?
I have purchased all pre-cut body coverings from the website that I referenced above. aki-asahi.com/store/
It can take about a week or so to arrive, depending on where you arrive. There's a little trick to attaching the new coverings. Spray the adhesive side (that is, a mist) with some 91% rubbing alcohol. It lets you move the covering around before the alcohol dries. I think that I'll do a quick video on how I do this. Super simple.
I have owned two Yashica cameras in my life. Both cameras were Yashica-Mat 124G and the leather covering never flaked or became unglued.
The Yashica-Mat cameras predate the Contax/Yashica project, so Yashica likely had a supplier and continued to use that same supplier, because it had the dies for cutting the proper shape. For the Contax/Yashica cameras, the coverings were shared. Whether they came from the same supplier is unknown, but all of these SLRs suffer from the same problem.
@@CameraTalkVideos So the -mat demonstrates that Yashica had it right in the beginning. Since Porsche design group was responsible for the outward appearance of the new Contax cameras, we can be pretty certain who was behind changing the camera skins.
@@MrGibsonguy335 - it might have been a case of "lowest bidder," and you know how that can sometimes go.