Yashica Electro 35

GSN
by Karen Nakamura

Overview and
Personal Comments

The Yashica Electro 35

GSN is a coupled-
rangefinder, leaf-
shuttered 35mm
camera with aperture-
priority automatic
exposure. It retailed in
1973 for ¥29,500. The
exchange rate was approx
¥292/US$1in 1975 so that
comes out to US$119.
Taking inflation into account
with the AIER calculator,
that's $400 in 2002 dollars.
By the end of the model run
in 1980, the yen-dollar rate had plummeted to about ¥200/$ but inflation in the U.S. intervened
which made it $175 in 1980 or $381 in 2002 dollars. Using the text or images on this
website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a
violation of federal law.

The Electro 35 GSN was released in 1973 by Yashica. The serial number of
my first body is #H6913xx and it has a "Made in Hong Kong" stamped on
the bottom. The lens is a Color-Yashinon DX 1:1.7 f=45mm lens made in
Japan. The lens on the camera really sparkles and is excellent in low-light.

I purchased my GSN in excellent condition on eBay for $175 in October of

2001. I then found one at an antique store in early January 2003 and
compulsively bought it as a backup. If that wasn't bad enough, I bought a
third one in late January 2003 as part of a lot with a Yashica Lynx and
Electro GX that I wanted.

The Yashica GSN traces its lineage to the Yashica Lynx of 1960 (actually the
Yashica 35 of 1958 is earlier, but the family resemblance is further). With
the Electro 35 in 1968, the series added the new Copal-Electro shutter,
which was electromagnetically controlled. The GSN is the last of the large
bodied Electro series. There was a series of compact bodied Electros - the
GL, GX, and ML1- but these were relatively short lived. Only the GSN
enjoyed the tremendously long run of 17 years. Using the text or images on
this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a
violation of federal law.

Interesting quirks

The Copal leaf shutter is entirely

stepless from 1/500 to about 30
seconds. The camera is aperture-
priority -- that is, you set the aperture
from f/1.7 to f/16 and the camera will
choose the shutter speed from 1/500
sec to 30 seconds automatically for
you. It does not use through-the-lens
(TTL) metering, the CdS cell is located
to the right of the rangefinder, but it
still does a great job. With negative film, I rarely have any imperfect
exposures.
Because it's a leaf shutter (the
shutter diaphragm is located
inside the lens unit rather than
at the rear of the camera), the
Yashica has all the benefits of
leaf shutters:

 Very quiet. The Yashica

gives only an inaudible
"click." Much quieter
than even a Leica M6 or
M7 (I know, I own an
M7). Because the
shutter timer is
electromechanical, there
is no whirring during
long (> 1 sec.)
exposures. Just a near silent click as the diaphragm opens and then a second one when it
closes.
 Very stable. Diaphragm shutters have much less inertial mass than a focal plane shutter.
And with leaf shutters, the inertial mass is centripetal, so it has no net effect on the entire
camera body, thus transferring very little vibration to the camera. With a focal plane
shutter, the intertial movement is unilinear and (think Newton's Law) it causes the camera
to jerk slightly sideways (horizontal shutter) or vertically (vertical travel shutter).
 Can flash sync at all speeds - even the maximum shutter speed of 1/500 sec. This is great
for daylight sync photos.

If you're curious, the disadvantages of leaf shutters is:

 The maximum shutter speed is usually 1/500 sec. Compare this to 1/1000 sec for
horizontal travel shutters (e.g. Leica) and up to 1/8000 sec for vertical travel (all
contemporary SLRs, etc.).
 Diaphragm leaf shutters are complex and building one into each lens is prohibitively
expensive. The shutter units are large. Thus, the only current interchangeable lens
cameras with leaf shutters are medium and large format (Mamiyas, Hasselblads, etc.).
The Voigtlander Bessamatics and Kodak Retina IIIC/Reflexes had interchangeable
lenses, but the leaf shutter design limited the maximum aperture of the lenses.

But for fixed-lens rangefinders, leaf shutters are perfect.

The rangefinder on the GSN is not only fully coupled (i.e., focusing the
rangefinder focuses the lens) but it also has built-in parallax compensation.
The common problem with rangefinders is that they aren't fully What-You-
See-Is-What-You-Get because of the small amount of parallax difference
between the rangefinder window and the taking lens. With the Yashica, as
you focus closer, the viewfinder gridlines actually move to compensate for
the amount of parallax. This is important when taking headshots or pictures
of found objects. Using the text or images on this website without
permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

GSNs take one 5.6v PX32 mercury battery,

unfortunately these have been discontinued as
have their PX32A alkaline counterparts.
Fortunately, you can use a 6v PX28A (aka
4LR44) alkaline battery which is readily available
at any Walgreens or Radio Shack. The Yashicas
can handle the slightly higher voltage without any
difficulty. The smaller PX28As last about a year
of heavy use in my experience. The GSNs have a

built in battery check feature which is very

handy.

To the right, you can see the size difference

between the PX28 and PX32. The spring that
makes up the difference can be bought at any
hardware store. I wrap the PX28 in a small
cardboard tube (cut from a cereal box) to make
up the diameter difference, put the PX28 in the
camera, then follow with the spring to make up
the difference in length. The camera handles the
slight difference in voltage. More details are at
Matt Denton's page.

Please note that I have noticed some unscrupulous vendors on eBay and MercardoLibre are
plagiarizing this page. If you notice this page on eBay under anything except my eBay ID
(nasukaren), please notify me and I will have eBay cancel the plagiarizer's account. It's plain
fraud as they are not selling the cameras pictured (obviously since it's my camera).

Yashica GSN Gallery

This photo was taken 2002.11 at a country auction in rural Minnesota with my original GSN
(camera #1 above). The film used was Fuji Superia 200, not particularly noted for its fine grain.
The camera was handheld and the aperture was f/2 or 2.8. As you can see, the GSN excels in
handholdability and has very fine resolution even with the aperture close to wide open. The
shutter speed must have been 1/30 or 1/15 as one of the figures exhibits motion blurring.
Because there is no mirror, you can handhold the camera with much slower speeds than an SLR.

Color accuracy is good despite the ugly fluorescent lighting and the bokeh or out of focus
highlights are creamy smooth. This is why I like this camera so much.

I enlarged a small portion of the photo. This would be the approximate equivalent of a 30cm x
45cm (13" x 19") enlargement. As you can see, the detail is incredible. You can make out the
color of the individual spools in the spool case behind the auctioneer. I should reiterate that this
is handheld! We're approaching the limits of the grain of the consumer grade film as well as the
resolving power of my Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED scanner (I have infrared cleaning on
medium, which also reduces resolution). For available light photography, the GSN can't be beat.
It even beats other rangefinders such as Leica and its clones because their focal plane shutters
cause more vibration and noise than the leaf shutter.
Broken GSN?

Many GSNs haven't been used in over two decades. So it should come to no surprise that if you
find a bargain GSN in a flea market, that it may not work. But often this is just because the
internal contacts have oxidized from inactivity. Despite the gold contacts (the G in GSN), dust
and evaporated oil can prevent good connectivity. A little exercise can often fix them.

Put the batteries in, then turn the aperture ring back and forth, back and forth multiple times.
Also many GSNs have a very strange shutter trigger where the meter only turns on sporadically
when you're pushing the shutter down. Try pushing the shutter button down veeeeerrrrrryyy
slowly and see if the meter turns on at any point (you'll hear it more than see it). Do this multiple
times until the contacts have self-cleaned and the camera should be fine afterwards as long as
you regularly use it.

Technical Details

Camera Name Electro 35 GSN

Manufacturer Yashica
Body: Hong Kong
Place of Manufacture
Lens: Japan
 Date of Manufacture 1973.4 ~ 1987.1
Fully coupled rangefinder with built-in parallax compensation
Focusing System
Lens use helical focusing
45mm, f/1.7, Color-Yashinon lens (6 elements in 4 groups)
Minimum focusing distance = 0.8 meters (~2.6 feet)
Fixed Lens
Right focusing (infinity on right side)
55mm thread for filters, 57.5mm lens shade
Copal shutter 30 (?) secs - 1/500
B and "flash" settings
Shutter
X-flash sync at all speeds
Self-timer on lens mount
CdS cell mounted above next to rangefinder
Aperture priority electronic exposure

Metering System Lights on top of camera / rangefinder warn of under/over

exposure conditions

EV ? - ? (at ISO 100)

Apertures f/1.7 - f/16
External hot-shoe +
Flash
PC cable connection
Type 135 film (35mm standard)
Film type / speeds
ASA 25 to 1000
5.6v PX32 (battery check feature)
Battery type
-compatible with 6V PX32A; or 6V PX28 alkaline, with 40c adaptor

Dimensions and weight 697g

Retail price ¥29,500
Use of this chart, text, or any photographs in an eBay auction without permission will result in an immediate IP violation claim with eBay VeRO. Violators
may have their eBay account cancelled.
 Telephoto
Auxiliary Lens Wide-Angle Lens
Lens
Manufacturer Yashica
Place of
Japan
Manufacture
Date of
¿¿¿¿¿¿ 1973 ~ 1987 ???
Manufacture
Focus using GSN rangefinder, then use distance
Focusing
conversion table on lens mount to convert actual
System
distance to focusing distance.
55mm screw-in lens mount (direct to GSN)
Mount
72mm screw-in filter mount
58.4 mm
effective
focal
length
37.7 mm effective focal length (0.8x) (1.3x)
AoV = 61° AoV =
Lens
40°
Construction
2 elements in two groups
f/4 effective aperture 3
elements
in three
groups
f/4
 effective
aperture
Copyright © 2005 Karen Nakamura / Photoethnography.com. Use of this chart, text, or any photographs in an eBay auction
without permission will result in an immediate IP violation claim with eBay VeRO. Violators may have their eBay account
cancelled.

About Yashica/Kyocera/Contax

The Yashica Corporation began making cameras in

1957, releasing its first model in 1958 (the Yashica 35).
They produced a very well regarded series of twin-lens-
reflex (TLR) medium format cameras under the
Yashica-Mat brand and 35mm rangefinders under the
Yashica Electro name. Yashica became a subsidiary of
the Kyocera Corporation in October of 1983. For the next two decades, Kyocera continued to
produce film cameras under the Contax marquee, including a very nice 35mm Contax SLR series
(which used Zeiss lenses), a medium format system, and the Contax G1/G2 rangefinders (also
with Zeiss glass).The Yashica name was only used for a small series of dental cameras and point
and shoots. In March of 2005, Kyocera announced that it would cease production and sales of
film and digital cameras under the Contax marquee. Thus ends 30 years of a wonderful camera
line. The Contax name will most probably revert back to the Zeiss foundation, thus who knows
what will happen in the future. Right now, the name "Yashica" appears to have been bought by a
Chinese company for their inexpensive digital cameras.

Page Updated June 5, 2010

 Yashica 35mm Rangefinder Chronology & Specifications
Featured are the Electro 35, Yashica G, GS, GSN, GTN, GL, MG-1 and CC.

There are so many Yashica Electro 35 Rangefinder cameras on offer on the web, often
with little in their description to differentiate them. Many of these offerings have
supporting pictures of dismal quality or are partially cloaked in their cases. Site visitor
Lindsey Harris, suggested that a chronology of these cameras would be useful, and
kindly provided a sketch, which has been expanded upon below

....the original Model Yashica Electro 35 was introduced in 1966. It is shown here in the
brushed satin chrome finish. This
model was also available in a black
enamel version, which was
emblazoned on the lower right front
with the emblem "Professional".
The front view is depicted with the
optional Tele Adapter and
viewfinder. Two demarcation lines
appear in this clip-on finder which
show the field of view for the Tele
or Wide Adapter. This camera has
a battery powered aperture
preferred automatic exposure
system. The ASA range is from 12
to 400. To set the film speed for the
automatic exposure control system,
a dial which has both ASA and DIN
settings is rotated to the required
indicator. This round scale has a
transparent plastic cover with a
dimple that may have been
designed to act as a magnifier, but
does nothing on my example.
Subsequent models only have the
prevailing ASA standard on the
scale and no protective dial cover.
An ASA to DIN conversion table
was printed inside the back door of
some of the later models.

A major Yashica innovation was a unique automatic all electronic step-less shutter, the
speed of which is controlled by an Electro-Magnet. This gave rise to the model
designation “Electro”. This technology is shared by some of the Polaroid Land cameras.
In 1960 the Polaroid Land 120 made it's debut.... it was manufactured in Japan by
Yashica.
The correct exposure is determined by turning the aperture ring until neither the red or
amber lamps are lit. These are visible both on the top of the camera and in the view-
finder. A small arrow visible next to the lamps on the top plate, indicates the direction in
which the aperture ring must be turned in order to achieve the correct exposure range. It
also warns when exposures time will be so long, that a rigid mount is required. The
lamp covers on the top have a directional shape. The lamps as they appear in the finder
however were round. Among the later design changes, having the shape of these lamps
appear as arrows in the finder, was most helpful.

Few examples of the round 'traffic light' indicators survive. All of the other cameras in
the series shown on this site display Arrow Indicators in the finder.

A shutter release knob threaded to accept a cable extension trigger, and a self timer
with a nominal 8 second delay, add icing to the cake of the entire series. The fixed lens
is the coated legendary Yashinon DX ƒ1.7 45mm constructed with six optical elements
in four groups. The lens mount is threaded to accept 55 mm accessories.

Note the spartan design of the wind lever, a carry over from the earlier classic models. It
too, was made over in short order with black trim which also added to the comfort of the
user, and this improvement is found in all the other models of the series shown on this
site

The published fully automatic exposure range capability of the system was from 30
seconds to 1/500 second as you can see in the accompanying graphic. Far longer
accurate time exposures have been repeatedly reported.

The camera was designed to be powered by a Mercury TR 164 / HM-4N 5.6 Volt
battery. Due to the hazardous nature of mercury, these batteries are long discontinued.
An adapter to use available batteries is described in the link from the Main Page of this
site. It powers this model and all of the Yashica Electro G series which follow right
through the GSN / GTN up to, and including the MG-1.

The success of this camera with it's incredibly fast lens at an affordable cost, spurred
the introduction of the new model G [defining Ggrade-up] in 1968. There were changes
in the cosmetics and it was delivered with a new Yashinon Color designation on the
lens. This was added to re-assure the public that the lens was fully Color corrected, at a
time when the use of colour film exploded. There was no change to the advanced
original design of the lens itself, other than an internal modification of the focus gearing.
The Model G is shown here in satin chrome finish. Starting in 1969 it was also
manufactured in a black enamel finish, with the model designation GT. It can be viewed
with a link to "Variations" below. The GT was supplied with an exclusive lens shade,
which according to the manual, locks the setting in AUTO when mounted. It does that
with all the other rangefinder cameras of this series that I have tried it on. There is no
mechanical lock as such, depending instead on the fact that moving the setting under
ordinary conditions is not easy, and with the lens hood mounted, one simply cannot get
enough leverage to move this in error.
The tell-tale identifier of the prior Electro 35, and the G and GT versions is the
sculptured recess on the bottom plate. This is an ergonomic design to enable the door
to be easily grasped and opened. [See link to variations for detail images and the
origin]. This design could provide a means of positive registration on a hand grip / flash
bracket or other anticipated mount.

The Electro 35 and the G series

viewfinders self adjust to
compensate for parallax as the
focus ring is turned, another
welcome feature. Even the ancient
Electro 35 makes focusing in the
dimmest light a snap under
conditions that would defy focusing
an SLR. These models are readily
identified, in that they have the rear
door release operated by a tab
mounted on the bottom of the
camera. This is visible on the
extreme left of the lower photo.
Why this was changed is unclear
because it was a trouble free
design without the potential for
problems that the later combo
rewind / door release introduced.

The fold out rewind handle is

attached to the shaft by a screw,
which makes replacement of the
handle spring simple.
A socket is provided on the side of the body for a flash extension cable. This is a PC
socket [Photo-Flash Connector]. The term 'PC' is said to originate with Prontur Compur,
the noted German shutter manufacturer who first introduced this connector, that
became an industry wide standard. A cold flash shoe is top mounted. The ASA scale
ranges from 12 to 500. The Battery Check Button & Indicator Lamp are framed in white.
These cameras are so ideal for working in poor light conditions, that the battery test
button also provided the means to light up the frame counter. The Slow / Over Indicator
Lamps on the top are trimmed within a black template. The black skin is still a coarse
cross hatch, which provides an excellent grip.

....the second generation Electro 35

G introduced the combo door
release / rewind handle. One can
only speculate that the move to a
change in design was to emulate the
SLR’s which were taking over the
market. There is no hot shoe and it
too has a PC socket on the side for
a flash synch cable. The fold down
rewind handle was still attached with
a screw. Notice the flat bottom plate.
Viewed directly from the front, it is
indistinguishable from it’s
predecessor

...the third generation Electro 35 was introduced in 1970. This was available both as the
chrome satin Electro 35 GS and the Black enamel finish Electro 35 GT. Yashica also
promoted this as the “Gold Mechanica”. All the electrical contact points were gold
plated to increase the efficiency of the electrical current flow, and to prevent oxidation
from forming
which could
possibly impede
that flow over the
course of time.
The GS retained the white template around the battery test button, while at the same
time doing away with the test lamp which adjoined it in the G....Why waste battery
power with two lamps, right? Pressing the test button lights up the frame counter
window only. The GT switched to a black template around the battery test button, which
looked so classy that it was adopted in all
chrome and black succeeding models. They
also heralded the switch over to a simulated
leather grain skin.... The combination film
door release / rewind handle on the GS and
GT are attached to the shaft with a screw.
The flash shoe is still not Hot. The ASA scale
has been extended to range from 25 to 1000.

Interestingly, the GS and GT as well as later models can be found both made in Japan
and assembled in Hong Kong with the key elements, most notably the lens and optical
finder originating in Japan. The insert shows a label from the Yashica box of the Hong
Kong version.

For important variations of the Black Enamel bodies, including the PRO and
Accessories, go to
Variations & Accessories

. ....the fourth generation Electro 35 GSN and GTN did not appear until 1973. They
were similar to the previous generation but finally received a hot shoe. The PC socket
for a flash extension cable was fortunately retained. The problems resulting from overly
ambitious tugging upon the door release / rewind handle, introduced the rivet head
fastener. It is retained by a threaded nut but tricky to take apart to replace the leaf
spring used to keep the rewind crank handle in place ....!
The flagship of the Yashica
Rangefinders is the GTN,
displayed here to illustrate the
Black Finish. Like it's chrome
partner, ASA film speeds to
1000 are supported.
Mechanically it is identical to
the GSN, but certain metal
parts have been executed in
plastic to simplify the
manufacture of black parts.
The Yashica Guy Updated Manual which covers the 'G' through MG-1 Models and
contains additional information not found in the Yashica publications, was originally
formatted as an Adobe pdf file for me by Marco Tulio Alvarenga in Brazil. Click to View
or Print

Thanks to Lee Scott for the scan of the famous Yashica Electro 35mm "Moonlight" ad,
which ushered in a new era of automatic exposure control. To view or print it Click Here
Close Browser file to return here from that link.

...the MG-1 is an interesting

model. It appeared in 1975 and
seems to
have been
the end of
the line.
The MG-1
was
produced in
both a
chrome &
black finish. The placement of the
light sensor within the lens barrel
made it possible as in the CC /
CCN, to automatically adjust
exposure with filters in place. This
is visible as a small circle within
the top & center of the lens barrel. A feature of this
arrangement which is overlooked, is the inability to
obtain a correct exposure indication, if one forgets
to remove the lens cap. Come on now, 'fess
up....who hasn't lost a shot with an RF when a lens
cap was mistakenly left on during an exposure.
The lens has a maximum aperture of ƒ:2.8 with a
focal length of 45mm. This highly colour corrected
lens has 5 elements in 4 groups.
Flash synch is selected by turning a lever on the top plate.

A semi circle, terminating in a lightning bolt is visible next to the wind lever. To enable
Daylight Flash fill with a Strobe, leave the lever in the Auto position. To totally disable
Auto Exposure mode and set the shutter at a fixed 1/30 sec for use with Flash Bulbs,
turn the lever to the Flash position. There is a Hot Shoe but no PC socket. Gone too, is
a battery test feature, possibly an advantage, because compulsive battery testing runs
the battery down.

The moving viewfinder mask feature found in in 'G' series is lacking in the MG-1.
Instead of the finder mask moving as you focus, close-ups are aimed within an inner
frame line C to compensate for the distance between the finder and the taking lens.
Light passing through this dual frame line mask is projected into the finder by means of
the semi transparent front surface mirror that can be seen positioned diagonally behind
the mask. No linkage from the lens to the mask A is present in the MG-1, that can be
clearly seen as a pin with a screw head B in the GSN / GTN and down through the
original Electro G series. Thanks to Peter Smith at www.nikonsmith.com, for the MG-1
used for the tear down shots on this site.

The MG-1 decked out with a simulated leather skin. ASA / ISO Film Speed is selectable
from 25 to 800, and the setting control has been placed on the lens barrel. Caution! One
needs to depress this ASA setting lever in order to move it. All in all, a nifty and thrifty
little camera to accompany your SLR on assignments.
......Okay.......so which was it? Did the design team take the GL designation from the
luxury car of the day, [wink, wink ] or was it vice versa? There is certainly no mistaking
the "Euro" look
influence by the design
salons on the
Continent.

This 1973 introduction

is more than a re-skin
of the G series. The GL
a.k.a. the AE / AF
incorporates major
changes from the
Electro 35 GSN / MG-1
models.

Made in Japan and

presumably targeted at
that market it has a
Yashinon DX Color
ƒ1.7 40mm lens great
for tight spots, but hard
on the subject of
portraits. The light
sensor is located within
the lens barrel and can
therefore compensate
for any filters in use. A
very posh looking Slow
/ Over window
indicates exposure
balance and a larger
easy to read frame
counter presents a "No
Film in Camera" red bar
alert. This is a
thoughtful addition,
because the camera
can be cocked and fired
without film, as it does
not link this function to
the film sprocket. Sure
the logo visible on the
right front bottom
designates AE for Auto
Exposure, but it seems
the designers got a little ahead of themselves when they partnered this with the AF
designation. The First Yashica Auto Focus was still years away! This False Alarm
designates "Auto Flash". Sorry guys!

If you look closely at the Hot Shoe, you will notice a third
contact. When the Yashica strobe model ES-20 is mounted on
the camera, with an ASA setting of 100 and the aperture is at ƒ
4.0, automatic exposure is enabled to a subject distance of 16 ft.
[ 5 meters ] utilizing the camera's light sensor. The ASA setting lever when placed
opposite the flash symbol, will bring the aperture to ƒ 4.0, in case you forget the setting.
A side mounted PC socket is provided. The ASA speed setting spans a range from 25
to 1600. The selected speed is visible in a window on the top of the lens barrel, and the
setting lever which must be depressed to change position is located at the opposite side
of the barrel. A second set of levers on the lens barrel enable the self timer which has a
nominal 8 seconds delay. To wind the timer, the extra flip down lever must be in the
keyway position.

A feature exclusive to the GL and GX in the 'G' series Yashica

rangefinder cameras, is a roller the the left side of the pressure plate
in the door. This presumably is one more feature that sets the
camera in the Luxury class, and earns it's GL designation. Other
variations in design that set it apart are, the placement of the upper
foam seal along the top of the camera body, with the lower seal
being on the door. The door overlaps and interlocks with the latch
mechanism to such a degree that no foam light & dust seal are
required at that point, unlike others in the 'G' series.

The tripod socket is the conventional ¼" - 20 thread but removable for use with a
heavier studio standard 3/8" - 16 thread as shown in the bottom view.
The camera is a little shorter and narrower than the G GS GSN MG-1 family. Additional
weight has been trimmed by removing metal wherever possible. Notice the solid rim of a
prior G model shown for comparison in which the bottom plate mounting screws attach
to the rim. In the GL those screws fit into posts. This profile requires the rear door to be
open to remove the bottom plate which it partially covers. This weight loss program
seems to have been more related to keeping the weight in line rather than a targeted
reduction, as the GL is only
about ¾ oz lighter, weighing in
give or take, at 7.80 ozs without
battery or strap. There appears
to be no compromise in the
reliability of the mechanism, in
fact note the massive transfer
bar used in the GL where it
really counts.
The GL is the camera
at the top. Note the
mounting studs
required where the
body has been cut
down.

The Electro 35 CC
appeared in 1970 and
was introduced in the
US at the Photo Expo
71. Just a personal
observation, I think that
if Tiffany designed a
camera, this would be
it. The Yashica CC
looks, feels and
handles like a serious
camera.

It combines features of
the MG-1 in that it has
the light sensor within
the lens barrel, and
borrows from the
design of the shutter
release lock as seen in
the G through GSN.
The Battery Check,
lights up the frame
counter window.
As you can see, it does not have a hot shoe.
A cable synch socket [PC] is however provided and is visible on the top right end, as it
is on the GL. A major inspiration while on the drawing boards, was the Automatic
selection of 1/30 th second shutter speed, when a flash-gun is plugged into the PC
socket. What must have been the "Cat's Pyjamas" in the jargon of the day, became the
kiss of death. By the time it hit the market place, strobes were already in widespread
use, and it's inability to synch flash at any speed, a highlight of the other Yash
rangefinders, probably explains it's early demise and scarcity.

Fortunately Raoul Emin from Paris, France, found a simple fix for this problem. He
writes that he noticed that the PC socket features a thin pin that pushes a copper
contact behind the socket. If this pin is not pushed through, the circuit is not locked at
1/30. By just slightly engaging the plug halfway, the pin will not push the copper contact,
yet the flash will still be engaged. At the end of the day without any modification, this
little camera is even capable of nice fill-in flash in daylight.

The battery port is located on the back below the film advance lever and accepts a 6
Volt Lithium L544 or Alkaline A544 battery, also under some brands marked PX28A, or
4LR44, fortunately widely available. As far as we have been able to determine it was
produced only as a black body.

A CCN model [ Compact Camera New ] was introduced in 1973, but does not appear to
differ in any observable way other than that the shutter 's longest exposure is 8 sec vs
the CC 15 sec. The ASA /ISO speed selector ranges from 25 to 500. The ƒ:1.8 35mm
Color Yashinon DX lens makes this handy for taking pictures in extremely low light and
tight spots. Due to the short focal length of the lens, be sure to observe the correct
protocol when shooting portraits.