The image quality is excellent for the money. Fairly unobtrusive for candid shots because it's smaller and quieter than a typical SLR, there isn't a big lens in people's face, and you're looking down to take the shot. For candid portraits you get people looking bemused and curious rather than intimidated and spazzed out. Cold shoe flash mount. Good lens. No chance you'll get gear lust and want to buy more lenses, because it just comes with the one good one. Good bokeh. Ability to make double exposures at will (sometimes not at will, see also weaknesses). When you shoot at its ideal apertures (greater than f11) the manual focusing becomes less of a problem, but I've been very happy with the sharpness of my central subject at wider apertures, and this shows up the nice swirly bokeh (deliberately out of focus areas) well. Nice big 6x6 negatives. Possible to shoot 35mm if you're a little handy and want to (easy to find an explanation on the Web); this is fun and can be cheaper per shot (36 vs 12 shots per roll). Good way to learn the elements of photography because everything is completely manual. There is a built-in magnifying lens for the viewing glass (push on the "Y" on the front of the pop-up). Easy to get lower-perspective shots (say, from the floor), and most shots are from a different perspective than with a SLR, and different is good, says I. Solidly built but not heavy, and smaller than most TLRs.

The viewer is dark, so low light framing and focusing is hard (one can get better at this with practice). No problem in an indoor setting during the day with plenty of sunlight coming in, but dark interiors are more challenging. If you forget to wind, unlike many cameras it still lets you take a shot, so you get a double exposure. This is is really a plus for me, and it's not really a weakness of the camera but of the potential user - if you know the camera going in, you have no excuse. Just get in the habit of winding right after your shot and remembering that you've wound. There are certainly TLRs with better lenses, but those are bigger units. You need to use a meter because it doesn't have one, or get really good at guesstimating exposure, or use a film (like Portra 400) with a crazy wide latitude, or some combination.

The Yashica-A is a great way to get into medium format film photography inexpensively. I am trying to judge my cameras, no matter how much I spend on them, strictly by the results I get (that's how it should be, but...) and I love my results. Someone out there on the Web put up two images, one from a Hasselblad 500 C/M and another from a Yashica-A, and defied people to tell the difference. No, this was probably not a completely fair test. However, I've shot with both cameras, and since I'm not a pro (or even semi-pro) portrait photographer the qualitative difference to me was nowhere close to justifying the ~15x price differential. The Yashica-A is lighter and more fun to use anyway!

Good work horse

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I have owned my camera since 1969. It has documented weddings, family events, and anything else one would want to photograph. If you have a darkroom and want to learn photography this is a great tool to refine your craft.
I never liked 35mm because of the small negative, but I have an old Petri Racer that is used for when I need 35mm format.
During the course of 44 years I have owned a 500C, a Leica M2 with many lenses, Minolta, Olympus, and a few other models. A simple film camera will let you use your brain and not just let a computer doctor you shots.
But this is after all just my opinion.

I ve used this for a year and also a Mat 124G. But hardly see any quality diffrence
in print images. Over all a great introduction to MF Photography. Only disadvantage is the lack of a expousure meter.

The camera is so simple and does not have anything that is complicated. Can hardly wait to take pictures. Velvia sounds good. I do B/W with enlarger.

I like this camera and I just picked up another so I can tear it apart and see how it works, and bought a new unused shutter for it. Probably very old shutter that sat on a shelf waiting to be bought. I have another Yashica 12 and love it. I have had Rollie's before and sold them. I am interested in seeing a Flexaret to compare. I have a point and shoot digital and am not interested in pursuing that kind of camera and going to probably stay with film cameras.

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Yashica 12, Super Ricohflex

basic camera .. you need to know something about light and shadow to take good pictures ..


large film format ..

same as the strengths if you do't want to work at the art of photography ..

film cost more than it did years ago !!

The Yashica "A" is a basic TLR camera .. Back in my early days of photography (even way back in high school) I hated the TLR cameras. I hated the reverse look through the view finder and the square format .. Man have things changed!!
Today I am so glad I got this camera .. I love how simple it is but you do need to know a thing or two about photography to use it .. there is no meter and you can not see your pictures like digital .. It is bear bones photography .. It makes you work to get the shot .. you need to move in and be there with the subject .. no long lenses to deal with ..

if you want to learn photography you need to use a camera like this ..I get all my prints made into digital prints and look atthem on the computer . but it is film photography !!! film will never die !!!

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Mamiya TLR

a joy to use...takes you back to the basics of photography. big negs!! price..can be found for cheap! the fact that is makes images that surpass my far more expensive 35mm SLR and is lighter due to its...no extra stuff to carry...IE extra lenses.

dark viewfinder image....makes you second guess your focus. i would say thats the only draw back but even that still doesn't take away from its low price and high image quality.

i purchased this camera off an Internet listing site with the intention to learn and get experience in medium format photography. so far for the $50 dollars i paid, i have gotten much more in return. this camera is a joy to use. i would recommend a hand meter before going out to take photo cuz this camera has none. so far i have ran two rolls through it and the images where very nice. i shot about 5 images at f3.5 and the rest at f8 due to it being a foggy day. the images are sharp...even at f3.5 witch was surprising. the blur this camera produces in the background of portraits is wonderful. i do me own darkroom work and working with 6x6 negs was a joy as well. i don't know if I'll ever use my 35mm again. i might have to upgrade to a full medium format system=) the only complaint i have is the focusing screen is dark. i was worried that all the images i took would be out if focus...but lucky i was wrong=) worth every penny..go out and get one if you wanna get a feel for medium format!!

MUCHO.! Sharpness,the >right> blur strenght can take 35 mm film format(great !try it!) 6x6 format good looks

Needs time to install and work with but that goes with the fun! a little heavy best sharpness at f 11 and f 16 paralax

This Yashica A model is simply one of the best buys in the camera world,once youve learned to handle it you can get very sharp results with beautifull blur and contrasts although not as versatile as the yahicamats and 635(my favorite)it is a very good learner/beginner camera for a student who really want to learn photography and go medium format. Put an Trix or an Agfapan film in it ,set it on f11 or f16 and you will blow away any 35 mm formats in many aspects,as long you get the time and subject in front of you whether landscape nature or portraits. Im really amazed how much photography you get for the money! go ahead -enjoy

Customer Service

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Similar Products Used:

rollie mamiya hassys bronica and other yashicas(my favorite is the 635)..

Ease of use. This is a great camera to learn about photography because it's completely manual. The output is incredibly clear and detailed (as long as the glass is clean).

The winder sticks sometimes. The lens is fixed and non-interchangable. There is a limited shutter speed range.

Great camera for entry into medium format. For less than $100, I don't know how you can go wrong.

Customer Service

Not used.

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None.

-it's low cost makes it a great introduction to 120
-well built

i'm not sure about later models but my lenses are fixed to the body, so damaged lenses will render the body useless

its a good camera if your interested in steping up from 35mm.

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pentax67 holga120

-affordable
-user friendly
-attention getter!
-well built
-flash sync 1/25-1/500!

-lack of slow speeds
-lens somewhat soft
-no auto load film(have to remind yourself about wether or not you took the pix on that frame)

I like these simple Yashica medium format. Everyone has to try it. When you purchase one, make sure that the lens are extremely clean and clear. I'm so surprised by the shutter mechanism on these cameras-they seem to never die!

The picture quality on these cameras are somewhat soft at f3.5-5.6 and get sharper at f11-22. I not disappointed with it's negative size. Sometimes I feel a more comfortable using my $15 "A" to take pix in the inner city of Long Beach than taking my $4000 Nikon system. I like the quiet leaf shutter and it's simple no fuss operation. Most of the time people don't even know that I took a picture. Also works well with my Vivitar 285 flash; nice flash sync of 1/25-1/500.

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