Yashica Mat 124 G

[snaremop]

Hey guys -
I'm back...
I got banned because I was 12. :/
Well I'm thirteen now, and for Christmas I got a Yashica Mat 124 G TLR camera and a Sekonic L-398 light meter, both of which I bought myself on eBay.


I haven't even shot one roll of film yet (halfway through a color roll), but I have already screwed up one roll of B & W by loading it in the wrong way (I'm new to film photography if you haven't guessed).

I was just wondering if anyone else has a Yashica Mat 124, because I would like to ask someone questions from someone who actually has experience witht he camera.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Well since the 124g is a clone of about every other twin lens ever made you are in luck. Most of the old guys here have shot one or one close enough to it to answer about any question you have. Just fire away.

 

[Oldfireguy]

I used to have one and kick myself everyday for selling it. It's a great camera.

 

[Don Simon]

Hello there, always glad to see people still interested in film! And when I was 13 I was convinced the best camera I could own would be the latest and smallest, and had no idea what a light meter was. Sounds like you have a pretty good idea what you're doing already.

The 124G is indeed great, seems like several of us own or have owned one so any questions feel free to ask and we should be able to help. In the meantime, a couple of things to get you started...
First, the manual in case you don't have one. Second, just an idea, since the 124G has a built-in light meter and you also have a handheld meter, you could try comparing readings of the same subject with both to see if the Yashica's meter is still accurate.

 

[Jeremy Z]

I had a 124G. It was a great camera. After a while, I over-thought things and was sad that it wasn't a Rolleiflex. So l saved up a bunch of money and bought a Rolleiflex. Great camera, but the light meter didn't work. Sold it, and bought a Nikon FM2 and a couple lenses. Sold that, and bought my Olympus digital.

Back to the Yashica. Loading 120 film is not as intuitive as loading 35mm. Don't kick yourself for screwing it up.

The strong point of this camera is the big negatives. With this camera, shoot stuff that you may want to enlarge later. The enlargements are flippin' glorious compared to 35mm. When you're composing, remember that you will probably be cropping off part of it later, so try to visualize that and leave some space for cropping.