New Life for an old Camera - Yashica EE Rangefinder

Well, a post about this camera has been a long time coming!

This Yashica EE with Yashinon 45mm f1.9 lens belonged to Kims Dad.  Ken used it quite a bit, for family photos and,  for slides from his overseas trips.  He gifted it to me when he found out that I still love to shoot with film.  So, even though it cost me nothing, there is no price to be put on the sentimental value of such (from what I can see) a rare camera.

It came in the original leather case, as most cameras from that era did.  This case has protected the camera very well over the years.  Nary a scratch on the metal and the leatherette is still in perfect condition.  

The Copal SVA shutter has settings from 1/500 sec through to Bulb (500, 250, 125, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1, Bulb).  Aperture ranges from f1.9 to f16 and ISO is from 10 to 800.

I gave it the usual going over when I first got it; wind the crank, fire the shutter, check the workings inside.  The lens was free of mould but, as with a lot of older cameras, there was a problem with the shutter.  The shutter was working but would not open wider than about f16.  The shutter on older cameras can be a problem sometimes; not from a mechanical defect point of view but simply because a camera has sat unused for a long time.  Fine dust that has entered the camera throughout its life can settle and cause the shutter blades to jam.  Also, any lubricant initially used in the camera can dry over a period of time.  That, mixed with that fine dust, is what can jam a camera shutter.

The camera sat in my camera display case for a couple of years.  I was loathe to send it away for a service by mail, it being such a precious, sentimental thing, so I started searching on line for tips and tricks to try and find a solution I could apply at home.  

One such solution was that sometimes the shutter can stick because of a faulty or dirty timer spring.   I read a few accounts from other photographers who had had this problem and had fixed it by cleaning the timer spring which then had a flow on effect to the shutter workings.  I didn't want to take the lens apart so, I looked at the problem and came up with what I hoped would be a simplistic fix. 

First, I took my monster blower and blew out those areas of the lens that were open, where the controls for ISO, Flash setting and Timer appear out of the casing.  Once that cyclone had blown through, I flooded the timer spring gap from where the lever comes out of the lens casing with Isopropyl Alcohol and left it to works its cleaning wonders.  Isopropyl Alcohol is 90% proof and the good thing about it is that it cleans and then evaporates leaving no sticky residue. After about 4 hours, I started turning the aperture control ring and the aperture blades started moving!  I also noted that when I fired the shutter the timer lever started to move back to its proper setting.  For the next hour, I turned the aperture control ring and fired the shutter so that any remaining sticky stuff would wear out and loosen the blades even more.  I let the camera sit overnight; next morning the blades were stuck again but at a larger aperture setting.  Long story short, this is what I did for the next few days; spray and work the mechanisms.  It worked!  The aperture started working as it should and the timer lever reset itself.

I loaded a film and that is when I noticed the next problem, although, if you know how to work a camera manually and use a light meter, this is not a big problem.  The Yashica EE has Selenium Cells surrounding the lens.  For those not familiar with the tech specs for selenium cells, they are an electro magnetic instrument that are light sensitive and produce an electric current when exposed to light.  The resultant high or low current is determined by the brightness (or dullness) of the light around the subject.  The high/low current moves a needle within the viewfinder of the camera indicating over or under exposure.  Selenium meters degrade over the years to constant exposure to light and unfortunately the cells on this camera have past their use by date.  

This photo shows the Selenium Cells that surround the lens.

About time I mentioned the film I was using.  I chose Fomapan Classic 100 black and white film.  I love this film!  It is not as fine grained as some of the other modern B&W films I have used (Acros 100 comes to mind!) but although it is a more traditional grain, it can still give sharp renditions.  It also has a wonderfully classic, warm feel about it.  Like most films, it has a wide exposure latitude which allows a greater variance of exposure and still produces an acceptable photograph.

In memory of Ken Rendoth who recorded his life through the lens of this camera.

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Kim & Barney.  Barneys fav toy is a floating yellow boomerang.
Booragul - Lake Macquarie, Australia.

Rocky running around with his fav toy!
Booragul - Lake Macquarie, Australia.

Barney is very happy running around with his toy and then jumping in the lake for a swim!
Booragul - Lake Macquarie, Australia.

Rocky loves to play fetch with his toy but he also loves trying to rip it apart as well!
Booragul - Lake Macquarie, Australia.

Barney loves to go swimming.  Luckily his toy floats!
Booragul - Lake Macquarie, Australia.

Rhiannans' Birthday.  Shot at f5.6 1/250

My girls - shot at f5.6 at 1/250.

Kasey - shot at f5.6 at 1/250

Architecture - Newcastle, Australia.

Hunter Street Mall - Newcastle, Australia.

The State Government removed the heavy rail line into Newcastle a few years ago.
The railway station has been renovated and turned into an open air events location.
This was taken on a very  hot, clear blue sky in the middle of the day.
See how the film still shows detail in the very bright area.  This is what they mean by the term
exposure latitude.  f4 at 1/60.
Newcastle, Australia.

The renovated railway station has a cafe now.  I haven't tried
their wares but will wait until the current heatwave has past!
f4 at 1/125
Newcastle, Australia.

Once the heavy rail line into Newcastle was closed, work started on a light rail tram system.
  It runs virtually the entire length of Hunter St and up into Scott St from a new constructed
transport interchange station at Wickham.  It has only just been finished and is now partially
operating as of a few days ago.  Might be interesting to have a day in Newcastle and ride the trams!     f11 at 1/250.
Scott Street, Newcastle, Australia.

Pacific Street, Newcastle, Australia.   f11  at  1/250.

Students take refuge in the Gazebo shade during the recent shocking heatwave we have
been experiencing in Australia.  f11  at  1/250.
Pacific Park - Newcastle, Australia.

Bar Petite and the East End Hub.  f11  at  1/250.
Newcastle, Australia.