I just ordered a battery adapter from the Yashica Guy to revive fully a Yashica
Electro 35 rangefinder camera which I bought new way back when I was a mere yute
(youth, I always like the movie My Cousin Vinnie). Two years or so ago I tested
the Yashica by relying on the default battery-less shutter speed of 1/500 and
show a roll and adjuste the aperture according to light and shade. The test roll
came out real well and I never got around to hunting down a battery solution.
The lens is a sharp Yashinon-DX 45mm f1.7 taking 55mm filters.
So my question is has anyone revived one of these with a battery adapter to
circumvent the non-availability of the old mercury batteries that were the
original power source for these cameras. Any tips, tricks or pitfalls that you
can advise me of?
The camera in question is a black finish GT model and strictly speaking may fall just outside of the scope of this forum, sorry about that but my thirst for knowledge is unquenchable. Forgive me for bending the rules.
The Yashica Electro 35 is not dependant on the original 5.6v it is happy with anything from 4.5v - 6.5v, A suitable battery, PX32, has never been out of production just a change from mercury to alkaline. Have a look here http://www.photobattery.com/PX32.html
The black GT model I believe is from the late 60s so should be in the scope of this forum.
I also acquired an adapter from tbe Yashica Guy and works perfectly.
I have also a black GT and it had to be repaired of the "pad of death" issue and now is an excelent shooter, only complaint is a faint sencond image in the rangefinder.
Read all the Yashica Guy site, has a lot of valuable information.
A 4lr44 6volts battery works very well on my 35 gsn, there's however a problem of size. That camera would take anything between 5.5 and 6volts I think; too bad the 124 G lightmeter wasn't built like that. I love my 35gsn too, it's really an amazing camera.
I have an Electro 35, and I use a PX32A-type battery (it's a little thicker and shorter than a double-AA), and it seems to work fine. The manufacturer's name on the battery is Exell (and the battery number is 32/A164), and I got it at a local "battery" store.
I've taken some very sharp pictures with this camera, although the shutter is now kind of sticky, and sometimes produces screwed-up half-frame pictures. I wonder if it just needs some servicing, because I also like the camera very much.
All you need is a short bolt, a trimmed business card and 2 batteries off the shelf from Walgreens. Trim the business card to fill the battery hole bore (keeps the batteries from rattling around. Push in the trimmed card. drop in the batteries. Install the bolt (get it at ACE). The bolt acts as a spacer. All of this takes about 3 minutes. Done.
BTW I have 3 of these cameras. Lens is good but nothing to write home about. A nice camera, but somewhat overrated. Mine are going on Ebay soon. 1 parts, 2 functioning.
I also use a black Electro GT with the Yashica Guy's battery adapter. It works perfectly and the exposure is dead-on accurate. For the price including the battery it is best buy around and I think the Electros are highly underrated.
I considered buying the adapter, but realized that I don't use my Electro enough to justify the expense.
I use an off-the-shelf 6v battery (sorry, I'd have to go dig out the camera to check the size), and it works fine: I built up its circumference by winding a strip of paper around it; and built up the length by shimming it with a small wad of aluminum foil.
, Mar 09, 2007; 10:21 a.m.
