I used both as a working photographer in the early 70’s. The Yashica was much cheaper but it was fine in most applications. Usually black and white in one and colour film in the other. They were both good reliable cameras and I had no problems with either despite getting worked hard. I found the Yashica, for some reason or other, sharpest at close focus and infinity but a little less so at medium range. I later sold both and went to Mamiya because of the different lenses available but soon got out of TLRs altogether and went to Hassleblad which I used for the next thirty or so years until digital came along.
Hi Paul, thanks for your comments. Yep, at some point TLRs had their time especially when the system camera came into existence. Probably the reason I have also Bronica system. The TLR's are super light for medium format cameras although. My Yashica seems to always performance without any problems
@Gavin Lyons yes, you’re right, I’d forgotten how light they were! However they weren’t really versatile enough for the kind of heavy duty use that was typical for commercial photographers at the time. Apart from needing a range of focal lengths and being able to quickly change magazines, the ability to use Polaroid for quick exposure testing and client OK was absolutely essential, especially with Transparency.
I used 2 Yashica Mats back in the 1960s as a wedding photographer. Never had a problem. 80mm Yashinon lenses with excellent contrast and colour rendition. I use a 1957 Yashica Mat with the 75mm Lumaxar f3.5 lens in 2021. I always used and use a lens hood. I have a Rolleinar Bayonet 1 close up lens to get to 18 inches
Great video! Thank you.It’s so nice to see a review on the Yashica Mat 124 NOT G! I finally found one today after months of searching. The “G” has WAY TOO MUCH plastic. Chances are that most of the G’s will be bricks, save those that are CLA’d religiously, while the original will keep on shooting.
Great video. I have the same Rolleiflex and I just love it. The Rolleiflex was kind of my dream camera for years and I finally own one. Never had a Yashica Mat 124. When I got into TLRs they were becoming popular and way overpriced at the time. I do have a set of two Yashica 635 TLRs though and I have got some great photos with them. And I also love shooting with my Mamiya C2. Guess you could say I love TLRs..
You should try the Rolleiflex 3.5F. It's among the best cameras I have ever handled. Although it costs 3 times over my Yashica Mat 124G and 4 times over my other Yashica Mat LM, when it comes to photos, both Yashica's flare badly against any strong light in front. The Zeiss coating on the Rollei is superior. The 3.5F would outlast both Yashicas and it has parallax correction. My Yashica Mat 124G has its film advance mechanism jammed once and its shutter has developed a lag. This is a camera that has been CLA'd in recent years. Essentially you get what you pay for. I'll take the Rollei any day if price is not an issue.
The Yashica Mat 124 lens is made by Tomioka and is a copy of the Tessar. It 's pretty sharp as well. I 've found the LM lens is slightly softer than both.
@Marlon Crutchfield They did. C/Y mount Contax bodies made by Kyocera/Yashica. Tomioka (acquired by Yashica) was making MMJ Zeiss lenses. Even Yashica 's own point and shoot bodies such as the T4 were using Carl Zeiss branded lenses made by itself. Zeiss Ikon gave up making SLR bodies in Germany and started partnering with Yashica in the 70s. They came up with the C/Y mount Contax SLR line.
Fantastic video Gavin! I've experienced both of these delightful cameras and concur wholeheartedly with your appraisal. I have just purchased another original 124 with wide angle kit in near mint condition. My K4A needs a shutter rebuild, sadly, and is a hideously costly undertaking in my part of the woods; hard to justify at this time. I also have a 124G which is still going strong after 35 years surprisingly. For some intangible reason I have a preference for the Yashica Mat's in this class of TLR but a Rolleiflex 3.5F or the like could easily steal my heart. Cheers!
Nice one, Thanks for sharing! For the lenses: 80mm compared to 75mm helps to control astigmatism in the angles better, your images have better corner sharpness with less costs involved for producing the lens. Shutters: Compur and Copal are very similar in design, main difference being the grease used in German cameras, that was traditionally whale-grease-based and dried out faster - most prominently on Leicas. Also, don‘t forget the Compur shutter is about ten years older. Once serviced with modern synthetic grease will last a long time.
If I remember correctly the film leader needs to slide under the first stainless steel roller then up onto the next roller. Rolleiflex film take up is a bit diffrent issuring ecwryuing lay flat plus the film pressure plate supporting all the other mechanisms
Thx Gary I have a faulty rolleiflex t with a broken shutter and a very dark screen which is going to cost more to fix than buying a yashica and I am coming to the conclusion that I may get a yashica. I have already a yashicaflex b which is well built and may look for a yashica d with a yashinon or another b as the yashikor will suit my own purposes. I can also sell the rollei for parts. The build quality is not that much between the two.
Thanks Stephan for your comment. Sorry about your broken shutter, that's a bummer. I have to say most, if not all of the Yashica TLR were fantastic cameras. Their lens really great. I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.
hey, cool....i live in graz and shoot since many years on the street with my yashica mat 124g, interesting to see, you shoot in one of the "bad" areas of the city.... greets BM
Thanks for your comment. These winter days with low light are really nice to shoot in Graz. Glad you like the video. Let me know if you are on Instagram. Best Gavin
Lovely video, will be better to see more pictures also! I have exact same Yashica as u -- also love it. I think Rolleiflex has a little bit brighter viewfinder. But in the end of the day, now, it's more important in which shape particular camera is than any other differences.
Thank you so much! I think now that Georg has got his Rolleiflex sorted. I'm pretty sure I'll make a more dedicated video to the Rolleiflex with images of course ;-)
@@GavinLyonsCreates The guy who sold me the Rolleiflex said it wasn't used for decades. He wasn't interested in photography and sold it to me for a fair price. At first glance it appeared to be in great condition. Only when I shot my first 2 rolls I noticed that something is wrong. I had it CLAd in Vienna and works again like a charm.
As one who shopped for a TLR by trying them and subjecting them to very careful lens tests on film, I have to say that the theme of this video, that there is an equivalency between the Rolleiflex with Tessar lens and a Yashicamat 124G,, is total nonsense. If one of these guys bought his Rollei for $150 and the other bought a Yashicamat for $200 with some film, the Yashica owner got screwed, big time. There is superficial similarity in appearance, like most TLRs, and of controls/features, because Yashica carefully copied the appearance of the Rollei when first designing the original version about 1960. However, under the skin, the Rollei is highly engineered, built of the best materials with precision. It operates smoothly like a fine watch. The Yashica is designed as simply and cheaply as possible, built from pot-metal castings and mass assembled. it's controls are sticky and not precise. It's build quality is inferior to most of its Japanese alternatives, much less the Rollei. The Zeiss Tessar in the Rollei is probably the finest version of its design, except for the Minolta/Autocord with its Rokkor lens, which is measurably superior. I tested 7 TLRs, all with 4-element Tessar or Tessar copy lenses. The Yashinon 80mm was the worst of the lot, and by a significant degree. In absolute numbers, at best f-stop, 8.0, the Tessar yields 150% of the resolution of the Yashica; at worst, wide open at 3.5, the Tessar yield 200% of the Yashica's resolution. In other words, you can pick any Japanese TLR made since 1950 and be confident that its optical performance is much better than a Yashicamat. This should not surprise. The Yashicamat sold for around $125 new at its most popular. At that time, the Rollei/Tesser sold for more than twice as much. At its end, the 124G was being sold new for $80 (B&H) in 1989. Why so many Yashicamats out there? Because it was the cheapest you could buy if you wanted a TLR or to shoot medium format film. The idea of paying more than $100 for a 124G today is just offensive if you know what you are buying, yet with social media (like this video) hyping the camera all of the time, it commonly sells for $250-350. What a screwing on the buyer.
I tend to agree with you about the current prices of the 124Gs. But maybe it's better to keep it to ourselves, because it will hopefully keep the prices of the other Japanese TLRs and older MATs down.
@@shinichihayakawa7619 Unhappily, that train left the station some time ago. Autocords in the $300+ range. My favorite Kalloflex, $400. But Diacords are around $175.
I used both as a working photographer in the early 70’s. The Yashica was much cheaper but it was fine in most applications. Usually black and white in one and colour film in the other. They were both good reliable cameras and I had no problems with either despite getting worked hard. I found the Yashica, for some reason or other, sharpest at close focus and infinity but a little less so at medium range. I later sold both and went to Mamiya because of the different lenses available but soon got out of TLRs altogether and went to Hassleblad which I used for the next thirty or so years until digital came along.
Hi Paul, thanks for your comments. Yep, at some point TLRs had their time especially when the system camera came into existence. Probably the reason I have also Bronica system. The TLR's are super light for medium format cameras although. My Yashica seems to always performance without any problems
@Gavin Lyons yes, you’re right, I’d forgotten how light they were! However they weren’t really versatile enough for the kind of heavy duty use that was typical for commercial photographers at the time. Apart from needing a range of focal lengths and being able to quickly change magazines, the ability to use Polaroid for quick exposure testing and client OK was absolutely essential, especially with Transparency.
I used 2 Yashica Mats back in the 1960s as a wedding photographer.
Never had a problem. 80mm Yashinon lenses with excellent contrast and colour rendition.
I use a 1957 Yashica Mat with the 75mm Lumaxar f3.5 lens in 2021.
I always used and use a lens hood.
I have a Rolleinar Bayonet 1 close up lens to get to 18 inches
Great video! Thank you.It’s so nice to see a review on the Yashica Mat 124 NOT G! I finally found one today after months of searching. The “G” has WAY TOO MUCH plastic. Chances are that most of the G’s will be bricks, save those that are CLA’d religiously, while the original will keep on shooting.
Thank you N.S. It's about time I take this camera out and about and shoot some more. The Yashica D and MAT are also great TLR, you can't go wrong.
Great video. I have the same Rolleiflex and I just love it. The Rolleiflex was kind of my dream camera for years and I finally own one. Never had a Yashica Mat 124. When I got into TLRs they were becoming popular and way overpriced at the time. I do have a set of two Yashica 635 TLRs though and I have got some great photos with them. And I also love shooting with my Mamiya C2. Guess you could say I love TLRs..
You should try the Rolleiflex 3.5F. It's among the best cameras I have ever handled. Although it costs 3 times over my Yashica Mat 124G and 4 times over my other Yashica Mat LM, when it comes to photos, both Yashica's flare badly against any strong light in front. The Zeiss coating on the Rollei is superior. The 3.5F would outlast both Yashicas and it has parallax correction. My Yashica Mat 124G has its film advance mechanism jammed once and its shutter has developed a lag. This is a camera that has been CLA'd in recent years. Essentially you get what you pay for. I'll take the Rollei any day if price is not an issue.
Ah yes but would you choose Zeiss or Schneider ?
@@GavinLyonsCreates Zeiss Planar
I expected that lol
The Yashica Mat 124 lens is made by Tomioka and is a copy of the Tessar. It 's pretty sharp as well. I 've found the LM lens is slightly softer than both.
@Marlon Crutchfield They did. C/Y mount Contax bodies made by Kyocera/Yashica. Tomioka (acquired by Yashica) was making MMJ Zeiss lenses. Even Yashica 's own point and shoot bodies such as the T4 were using Carl Zeiss branded lenses made by itself. Zeiss Ikon gave up making SLR bodies in Germany and started partnering with Yashica in the 70s. They came up with the C/Y mount Contax SLR line.
Fantastic video Gavin! I've experienced both of these delightful cameras and concur wholeheartedly with your appraisal. I have just purchased another original 124 with wide angle kit in near mint condition. My K4A needs a shutter rebuild, sadly, and is a hideously costly undertaking in my part of the woods; hard to justify at this time. I also have a 124G which is still going strong after 35 years surprisingly. For some intangible reason I have a preference for the Yashica Mat's in this class of TLR but a Rolleiflex 3.5F or the like could easily steal my heart. Cheers!
Nice one, Thanks for sharing! For the lenses: 80mm compared to 75mm helps to control astigmatism in the angles better, your images have better corner sharpness with less costs involved for producing the lens. Shutters: Compur and Copal are very similar in design, main difference being the grease used in German cameras, that was traditionally whale-grease-based and dried out faster - most prominently on Leicas. Also, don‘t forget the Compur shutter is about ten years older. Once serviced with modern synthetic grease will last a long time.
Thank you for your comments and further useful info. Georg and I will probably do another head to head on the TLRs soon enough.
If I remember correctly the film leader needs to slide under the first stainless steel roller then up onto the next roller. Rolleiflex film take up is a bit diffrent issuring ecwryuing lay flat plus the film pressure plate supporting all the other mechanisms
Thx Gary
I have a faulty rolleiflex t with a broken shutter and a very dark screen which is going to cost more to fix than buying a yashica and I am coming to the conclusion that I may get a yashica. I have already a yashicaflex b which is well built and may look for a yashica d with a yashinon or another b as the yashikor will suit my own purposes. I can also sell the rollei for parts. The build quality is not that much between the two.
Thanks Stephan for your comment. Sorry about your broken shutter, that's a bummer. I have to say most, if not all of the Yashica TLR were fantastic cameras. Their lens really great. I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.
hey, cool....i live in graz and shoot since many years on the street with my yashica mat 124g, interesting to see, you shoot in one of the "bad" areas of the city.... greets BM
Thanks for your comment. These winter days with low light are really nice to shoot in Graz. Glad you like the video. Let me know if you are on Instagram. Best Gavin
Nice video. I love shooting my TLR as well, a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex. Maybe the most inspiring camera I have.
Thank you Espen, I must check your video on the Ikoflex too
You loaded the film incorrectly. Should have gone under the roller, not over.
Will try to get it right next time. Sounds like what I did wrong. Thanks!
The forward wind advances the film. The following reverse wind cocks the shutter.
Lovely video, will be better to see more pictures also! I have exact same Yashica as u -- also love it. I think Rolleiflex has a little bit brighter viewfinder. But in the end of the day, now, it's more important in which shape particular camera is than any other differences.
Thank you so much! I think now that Georg has got his Rolleiflex sorted. I'm pretty sure I'll make a more dedicated video to the Rolleiflex with images of course ;-)
@@GavinLyonsCreates The guy who sold me the Rolleiflex said it wasn't used for decades. He wasn't interested in photography and sold it to me for a fair price. At first glance it appeared to be in great condition. Only when I shot my first 2 rolls I noticed that something is wrong. I had it CLAd in Vienna and works again like a charm.
As one who shopped for a TLR by trying them and subjecting them to very careful lens tests on film, I have to say that the theme of this video, that there is an equivalency between the Rolleiflex with Tessar lens and a Yashicamat 124G,, is total nonsense. If one of these guys bought his Rollei for $150 and the other bought a Yashicamat for $200 with some film, the Yashica owner got screwed, big time. There is superficial similarity in appearance, like most TLRs, and of controls/features, because Yashica carefully copied the appearance of the Rollei when first designing the original version about 1960. However, under the skin, the Rollei is highly engineered, built of the best materials with precision. It operates smoothly like a fine watch. The Yashica is designed as simply and cheaply as possible, built from pot-metal castings and mass assembled. it's controls are sticky and not precise. It's build quality is inferior to most of its Japanese alternatives, much less the Rollei. The Zeiss Tessar in the Rollei is probably the finest version of its design, except for the Minolta/Autocord with its Rokkor lens, which is measurably superior. I tested 7 TLRs, all with 4-element Tessar or Tessar copy lenses. The Yashinon 80mm was the worst of the lot, and by a significant degree. In absolute numbers, at best f-stop, 8.0, the Tessar yields 150% of the resolution of the Yashica; at worst, wide open at 3.5, the Tessar yield 200% of the Yashica's resolution. In other words, you can pick any Japanese TLR made since 1950 and be confident that its optical performance is much better than a Yashicamat. This should not surprise. The Yashicamat sold for around $125 new at its most popular. At that time, the Rollei/Tesser sold for more than twice as much. At its end, the 124G was being sold new for $80 (B&H) in 1989. Why so many Yashicamats out there? Because it was the cheapest you could buy if you wanted a TLR or to shoot medium format film. The idea of paying more than $100 for a 124G today is just offensive if you know what you are buying, yet with social media (like this video) hyping the camera all of the time, it commonly sells for $250-350. What a screwing on the buyer.
I tend to agree with you about the current prices of the 124Gs. But maybe it's better to keep it to ourselves, because it will hopefully keep the prices of the other Japanese TLRs and older MATs down.
@@shinichihayakawa7619 Unhappily, that train left the station some time ago. Autocords in the $300+ range. My favorite Kalloflex, $400. But Diacords are around $175.
I have a Rollei 3.5f with the 6 element planar and it blows away my yashicamat 124. lens coatings and multi elements really make a big difference!