Yashica 44A

[nikkortorokkor]

You probably;y don't all need to see yet more pictures of a Yashica 44A. I am, however, inordinately proud of my new Yashi, I reckon its the prettiest wee camera in my (modest) collection. So here you are:







44 & 44A and baby Rollei owners seem a particularly proud bunch, and the net abounds with words and pictures relating to these dinky TLRs , but I still wasn't prepared for just how small a 4X4 TLR really is. No photo does them justice because one simply upscales the 44 in ones mind until it reaches 'normal' (6x6) proportions.

I don't have a 6X6 to phptpgraph the 44A against, but maybe this Leica-sized 1953 Toyoca 35 will prove useful for scale.



The 4X4 TLR is a lovely handler: so small that it can be held and triggered with one hand while the other shades the lens. I have owned a Yashica Mat 124G before and the 44A somehow feels higher quality, despite beeing the budget model. Even the lens cap feels luxuriously solid! I've never ever handled a real Rollieflex, but if these were poor man's Rolleis, then the real thing must be a wonderful instrument indeed.

[nikonbob]

Micheal

You keep getting cameras at the rate you are going and modest won't describe your collection for long. That Yashi 44a is really a nice looking camera and I am floored by the size comparison with the Toyoca 35. Pretty and petite if is. Post some shots taken with it when you get around to it and tell us what it is like to use.

Bob

[PeterW]

Michael,

I've never ever handled a real Rollieflex, but if these were poor man's Rolleis, then the real thing must be a wonderful instrument indeed.

Off we go again on German cameras. Yes, a Rolleiflex is indeed a fine instrument, and will stand up to years of hard use. This, combined with its medium format, made it so popular with photojournalists. I am at the moment restoring two rather sad Rolleis, a 1938 Rolleicord IIb and a 1934 Rolleiflex Standard. They've both seen very hard use, and cosmetically they're really rough. But apart from the Compur shutters which needed a CLA they both still worked perfectly.

I've got another Rolleiflex but that one really is for spares only. It had been dropped and the front lens panel knocked sideways. I gave 50p ($1) for it for spares, and stripped it out. So far I haven't used any of the bits, but I've given a few away to deserving causes.

My experience with Yashica TLRs is limited to two, a Yashica-Mat which works perfectly and gives very good pictures, and a 124G which was fine when it worked but which gave a lot of trouble with the wind-on.

When I stripped the 124G to find the problem I found that the build quality wasn't up to the same standard as a Rollei. The gears for the lever wind weren't quite as well machined and didn't mate with quite the same precision with the result that they had worn and gave problems with notchy operation and jamming. The rest of the camera inside also showed signs of being built down to a price, but I'm told that the knob-wind versions are more reliable than the lever wind ones.

But, having said that, I still think a Yashica TLR which hasn't seen hard use is a very nice camera. Test reports rate the Yashinon, a Tessar type lens, a little higher than the Yashicor which I think is a triplet.

I think the difference can be summed up by saying that the Rolleiflex was made for professional use; the Yashica TLRs for amateur use.

Rolleicord? Built to the same standards as a 'flex but with a lower specification and usually a lower priced lens. This was the 'amateur's' Rollei, but a nice camera nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Rolleiflexes achieved cult status as male jewellery, rather like a Rolex watch. Every amateur who wanted a TLR wanted the one the pros used, and this pushed secondhand prices ridiculously high. Even now, with the price of most film cameras dropping, Rolleiflexes and even Rolleicords are, IMHO, still overpriced - which is why my two were bought cheaply as rough, spares or repair.

Mind you, even Franke and Heidecke built one lemon. At least, I think so but I got my knuckles rapped by the Rollei Club for saying so in print. This was the Rolleimagic Model I which gave a lot of auto exposure problems. After two years it was replaced by the Model II which was said to be better, but after the Model I people didn't trust it and it didn't sell well. After six years the remaining stock was sold off cheaply to a High Street camera shop chain.

PeterW

[John Parry]

Would still like to get some pics from Jennie & Ernie - where did they go with my Rollecord? !!

Having said that, I still have a Yashica 'D' and a '635'. I just need to get out there more!

Doesn't the 44 take a funny size film though?

Regards - John

[Rachel]

Very pretty camera Michael. I once looked at the version of this with a built-in light meter.

John it takes size 127 film. I think that you can still get this size film from specialist suppliers.

[doubs43]

johnrparry said:

Would still like to get some pics from Jennie & Ernie - where did they go with my Rollecord? !!

Having said that, I still have a Yashica 'D' and a '635'. I just need to get out there more!

Doesn't the 44 take a funny size film though?

Regards - John

First, that's a really nice looking 44A, Michael. A collector would find it appealing IMO.

John, the Yashica 44A takes 127 size roll film; 12 exposures of 4x4cm. It's not commonly available any longer here in the States and what I have had to be ordered by mail.

I have the Yashica 44 that still has two exposures on it's first roll. The difference between the 44 & 44A is the shutter speed range which is greater on the 44 (B, 1~500). As I read, there's no way to tell if the taking lens is 3 or 4 element except by opening the shutter to "B" and counting reflected surfaces. I put the roll of film in mine before I became aware that there were two taking lenses made and until I finish the roll, I have no idea if it's a 3 element or Tessar-type 4 element lens.

Walker

[nikkortorokkor]

Bob, the other posts have answered two of your comments: I'll post some images as soon as I get some film and I'll get some film when I stop buying bl**dy cameras so that I can afford to import some 127 film from the States.

Frugal photographer is now selling made in Canada Bluefire Murano 160 colour print film in 127. They also sell the magic 4X4 frames that fit into 35mm projector carts, so I really want to get some respooled E6, which is available from various sources. Efka 100 B&W also seems to be sold at varying prices. Shipping costs are the big killer down here in NZ.

Peter, your point about mechanical excellence in the pro level Rollei is well taken. I remember reading an interesting article about what 2nd hand cameras to go for. The writer argued that one must balance the extra cost of a real pro camera against the amount of work that it has already done. His point was that if you had a very limited budget, you might be better of with a consumer camera which, while not built for the same longevity as a pro model, might still have only done a fraction of the work that it was built to withstand. A cheap 2nd hand pro camera, however, might be thrashed to within an inch of its life. Hence, my 2nd hand 124G (previously owned by an elderly gentleman) might literally have done only a roll or two, whilst my brassy f3 could have seen thousands of rolls. I must say that the F3, battered as it was, continued to perform brilliantly. I bought it from a reputable pro shop (and it wasn't particularly cheap) which, I think, was instrumental in its reliability.

In the end the 124G did go beyond the call of duty. It flew out of my (left open) backpack as I pedalled furiously through down town Brisbane at a great rate of knots. Bang! Doh! Brakes! Tears! Well, that hefty Yashica eveready case did its work. The lightmeter was totalled and the focus plate dented (the camera had hit the deck on the front-right top corner) but apart from a focus action that dragged at one point (thanks to the dent) the Yashi continued to take photos perfectly. The damage to my psyche was unrepairable, however. Every time I used my once-perfect TLR, lovingly bought and cherished by an elderly gent, I felt awful. I gave it to a friend in the end, chastened and determined to be more careful.

All 44A Yashis have the 3 element Yashikor, while the 44 might have a 3 or 4 element Yashikor. The good news is that no 44 or 44A have turned up with the reputably horrible 3 element Yashimar Tri Lausser lens. This info comes from an article found on the quite interesting 127.org site. It is interesting that some users actually prefer the simplicity of the 44A over the fancier 44 and the baby Rollei, finding it a very useable camera.

[PeterW]

Rachel:

John it takes size 127 film. I think that you can still get this size film from specialist suppliers.

You can still get 127 film by mail order from Retro Photographic. They've got it on their website www.retrophotographic.com/adoxfilms.htm

It's actaully the old Adox 100 ASA from the 1950s/1960s now made in Croatia. They do warn however, that the backing paper used now isn't quite so thick as it used to be, and if the camera has a red window without a cover they advise covering it with some adhesive tape between wind-ons.

I think the price is £2.99 a roll, but I don't know if that includes postage. It's cheaper per roll if you buy a pack of 10.

As more and more local shops stop stocking 120 I wonder how long it will be before we have to get that by post from somewhere too.

PeterW