Slowly but surely I understand how photographers – amateurs and professionals, but film photographers in particular – accumulate cameras. After the Rollei 35 S (see my earlier posts on the camera, the HP5+, and the Pan F 50 experiences) and the fun Konica C35 EF I found for 10€ at a flea market, I just received another film camera: a Yashica Electro 35 GS. I followed the offers on ebay for a couple of weeks and read and watched many reviews on the camera, which is often referred to as the poor man’s Leica. When I came across one model announced in near-mint condition at an acceptable price. Reviews and videos often talked about a recurring problem with the Yashica Electro 35 models – the so-called “pad of death” – and was therefore quite nervous when checking the camera just after arrival. The very good news: no pad of death problem with the camera. Along with the camera, I also ordered an adapter for the no longer available mercury battery needed for metering.

After having unboxed the Yashica, I immediately fell in love with the design: the GS is the  silver upper plate version and only has a cold shoe – which is no problem for me so far. The camera looks very nice and even if it is quite bulky (as compared to my Rollei 35 S and my Lumix GX80 of course), the Yashica has just the right feel. Of course, I was extremely impatient to get out in the streets with the camera – and did just that very quickly. I chose an Ilford HP5+ again and shot it at box speed of ISO 400. I already got back the roll of film from the lab and will share a couple of the pictures in the very near future.