Yashica Lynx-14

I decided it was time to get back to my Yashica Lynx-14.  It is one of the most interesting and unique cameras of the late rangefinder era.  There were a lot of fixed lens rangefinder cameras in production in 1965 when the Lynx 14 appeared on the market, so it took some innovation to get noticed.

Yashica's bid for popularity was primarily grounded in the massive 45mm f/1.4 lens with seven elements in five groups.  The camera was very well constructed and it also had a number of other features that made it competitive at that point.  The CdS light meter was coupled to the aperture and shutter.  The viewfinder had auto-parallax correction with the bright line frame moving as you focused.

My example is very well preserved, with no dents or scratches, and all the controls work very smoothly.  The shutter is quiet and seems accurate at all speeds.  The light meter is reactive to light, but does not read correctly.  The meter is adjustable by disassembling the lens, so it could likely be restored to proper operation.

The viewfinder is adequately bright, but the focus patch is small and lacks contrast.  When I got mine, I put a piece of reddish color film leader in front of the viewfinder window, and that did improve contrast somewhat.  When I took the camera on this last outing to Old Town Albuquerque I left the red film in front of the viewfinder, but I decided by the time the roll of film was used up that the slight improvement in contrast was not a good trade for the dimmer image in the viewfinder.

The last picture of the chess match at the Blackbird was a hipshot with estimated focus and framing.  I had to crop a bit to get the composition right, but I was pleased to get most everything in focus while using the maximum f/1.4 aperture.

In reading online sources about the Lynx-14 it seems that even when the camera was new the rangefinder patch may have been insufficiently contrasty to use the camera effectively in the low-light situations for which the camera was designed.  A bigger focus patch or a viewfinder diopter would have been nice additions.

Low light issues aside, the big Yashinon-DX lens is very sharp and contrasty and it can produce very pleasing images.  The f/1.4 aperture and the auto-parallax correction offer the possibility of exploring the potential of images with very limited depth of focus.

Lynx-14

I mentioned in a recent post that I regretted not holding onto my Yashica Lynx 14.  About a week later one showed up on my porch, a gift from a generous reader.

This one has an accurate and quiet shutter, smooth focusing, and a viewfinder that is a bit brighter than the one I had fifteen years ago.  The meter works, but is a couple stops low and will need some attention.  To enhance the contrast of the rangefinder patch I added a square of color film leader over the front window, and that makes the focusing much easier. I also added a neck strap made from a bootlace which is secured to the snap swivels with a couple hangman's knots.  I loaded some Kodak ColorPlus 200 in the camera and took it for a walk to Old Town.

I shot some more with the Lynx after our monthly meeting of New Mexico Film Photographers.  Margaret and I took a walk through the UNM campus and met up at the Fine Arts and Design Library with Greg Peterson who has put together a marvelous display there of Twentieth Century film cameras.

Greg follows the same policy as I in acquiring cameras for his collection -- rarely paying more than thirty or forty dollars for anything.  He seems to have quite a bit more patience and perseverance in that pursuit, however, as he has turned up very fine examples of the best film cameras ever produced from all over the globe.  I was particularly impressed with his medium format and large format Graflex cameras.  The big single reflex press camera had a f4 Tessar that must have made marvelous images.  Greg said his favorite shooter in the group was a Canon 7 rangefinder.  Greg mentioned that there was a nice display of antique radios over at the Engineering Library, so I went there the next day to finish up the roll of ColorPlus with a few more low light shots.

The radios were all from the 1920s when commercial broadcasting became feasible with the widespread introduction of radio receivers.  The collection included many simple crystal sets which were often built from kits, but there are also many examples of more sophisticated radio receivers from the big makers including Crosley, RCA and Western Electric.
    The Yashinon-DX lens handled the dim light ok, though the florescent lamps presented a challenge for the daylight color film.  I shot at f2 and 1/60.  The blowup of the small label at the right edge of the image shows the good resolution of the lens at that large aperture.

I'm looking forward to doing some more low light work with the Lynx 14.  Maybe I'll even get myself out on the street to shoot some night life.