Serial Number: Cam0207
Type:
Camera
Manufacturer:
apanese company Yashica
Country of Origin:
Japan
Production Period:
1960
Approximate Price:
Reference:
Status: Display
Description:
The Electro 35 is a rangefinder camera made by Japanese company Yashica from the mid-1960s with a coupled and fixed 1 1.7 45 mm lens. It was the first electronically controlled camera, operating mainly in an aperture priority auto mode. The only other modes of operation are flash (1 30) and bulb .
History
The original Electro 35 was introduced in 1966. It has a cold accessory shoe and the meter accepted film speeds from 12 to 400 ASA. Light levels are measured using a cadmium sulphide (CdS) photoresistor and powered by a mercury battery. The film speed adjustment is not implemented electronically instead, a simple twin-bladed diaphragm closes in front of the light sensor as the film speed is reduced. The light metering electronics works by accumulating the measured light level and only releasing the shutter when it has determined enough light has fallen on the film. This system allows the shutter speed to be completely step-less and to adapt to changing light levels. SLRs would wait many years for a similar capability with off-the-film metering. The metering system can keep the shutter open for up to 30 seconds. Without a battery to power the meter, the shutter defaults to its top speed of 1 500 second.
The Electro 35 G was introduced in 1968 with largely cosmetic changes. The range of usable film speeds was increased up to 500 ASA. The lens was labelled a Color Yashinon to reassure the buying public that it was colour corrected at a time when the use of colour film was growing quickly. The Electro 35 GT was released in 1969 with a body painted black instead of the satin chrome finish.
The Electro 35 GS and GT were introduced in 1970 . They (and all later Electro 35 models) have all internal electrical contacts gold plated to prevent oxidation from impeding the flow of electricity around the circuits. The range of usable film speeds was doubled to range from 25 to 1000 ASA.
The Electro 35 GSN (satin chrome) and GTN (black) were introduced in 1973. The major change for these cameras was the addition of a hot shoe while keeping the PC socket.
A supplementary screw-on Tele and Wide-Angle adapters were included into the kit version and could be utilised to modify the characteristics of the image taken by the fixed lens, however practical usefulness of these adapters was limited as they degraded the image quality and required separate hot-shoe mounted finder for composing, therefore making it impossible to use hot-shoe flash at the same time (for GSN GTN mode
History
The original Electro 35 was introduced in 1966. It has a cold accessory shoe and the meter accepted film speeds from 12 to 400 ASA. Light levels are measured using a cadmium sulphide (CdS) photoresistor and powered by a mercury battery. The film speed adjustment is not implemented electronically instead, a simple twin-bladed diaphragm closes in front of the light sensor as the film speed is reduced. The light metering electronics works by accumulating the measured light level and only releasing the shutter when it has determined enough light has fallen on the film. This system allows the shutter speed to be completely step-less and to adapt to changing light levels. SLRs would wait many years for a similar capability with off-the-film metering. The metering system can keep the shutter open for up to 30 seconds. Without a battery to power the meter, the shutter defaults to its top speed of 1 500 second.
The Electro 35 G was introduced in 1968 with largely cosmetic changes. The range of usable film speeds was increased up to 500 ASA. The lens was labelled a Color Yashinon to reassure the buying public that it was colour corrected at a time when the use of colour film was growing quickly. The Electro 35 GT was released in 1969 with a body painted black instead of the satin chrome finish.
The Electro 35 GS and GT were introduced in 1970 . They (and all later Electro 35 models) have all internal electrical contacts gold plated to prevent oxidation from impeding the flow of electricity around the circuits. The range of usable film speeds was doubled to range from 25 to 1000 ASA.
The Electro 35 GSN (satin chrome) and GTN (black) were introduced in 1973. The major change for these cameras was the addition of a hot shoe while keeping the PC socket.
A supplementary screw-on Tele and Wide-Angle adapters were included into the kit version and could be utilised to modify the characteristics of the image taken by the fixed lens, however practical usefulness of these adapters was limited as they degraded the image quality and required separate hot-shoe mounted finder for composing, therefore making it impossible to use hot-shoe flash at the same time (for GSN GTN mode
Light seals
Like many older cameras, the original foam light seals around the film compartment will eventually break down and cause light leaks. The seals are fairly easy to replace.[2]
