Yashica J Camera

This was the camera where I made the transition to full frame 35mm and became all grown up. There was another camera between the Kodak Brownie and this one that took film cartridges but I must have lost it. That one used 35mm film but took square pictures. I suppose taking square pictures would help with the aesthetics of making record album covers but I think it is kind of limiting.

I looked this camera up because I didn't know much about it. It has a J on it so I looked up 'Yashica J' and what do you know, that's what the camera is called. One thing I noticed with this camera is that it is particularly heavy. It is also completely manual. To get really good pictures with it a light meter and a measuring tape are great tools.

You can see the J prominently displayed on the camera.

This shows the camera with the lens cap removed.

This shows the information on the lens.

This shows the lens cap so that the detail on it can be seen better.

The knob on the left has a lever that folds out to make a crank. When the film has been exposed there is a release button on the bottom of the camera that allows the film to be rewound into its metal container. The red circle and line show the focal plane. There is a metal shoe where a flash attachment can be attached. I never got one. The shutter button is to the right. The lever advances the film exactly one frame and until the film has been advanced the shutter button cannot be used more than once. That prevents double exposures.

The shows the bottom of the camera. The button on the left, releases the film so that it can be rewound into the film can. The threaded hole in the centre allows the camera to be mounted on a tripod. The button on the right must be moved and then pressed to open the back of the camera.

This shows the camera with the back open. The viewfinder is on the upper left.

This is a closer view of the back of the camera. The film can goes on the left. The rewind knob lifts up to insert the can. The film goes across the back of the camera the sprocket holes engage in the shaft next to the opening and then is taken up on the spool on the right.