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Yashica FRII FRI

paulcontax

Well-Known Member
I have the FR and the FR1 and both are built very solid.
Some may find them too big or too heavy - mechanically they're of top-quality !
Someone said, they're built like the first Contax RTS - but you can get them much cheaper !

If they had a mechanical shutter I'd love them even more. This is the only thing I worry about : Electronic shutter with the need of batteries.
What I like with the FR (no AE) :
You can see everything in the viewfinder for chosen time and apperture are permanent shown mechanically.

Both cameras now need some helping hand : Light comes in from the back side and I need to replace the stripes myself because otherwise it's too expensive at Yashica....
Hope to get some advise for that... !

Paul
 
Paul,

>Light comes in from the back side and I need to replace the stripes myself because otherwise it's too expensive at Yashica....<

If you mean the light seals, that's an easy home job. I've done my RTS and my three Yashicas, not to mention a number of compacts. (I got carried away with success.)

You need: a sharp cutting (craft) knife, a ruler, some cocktail sticks and cotton wool pads, some lighter fuel, small sharp scissors, and a standard black mouse mat. Clean out the old light seals (which may have reduced to a sticky mess) with the cocktail sticks and clean out the residue from the grooves by working small pieces of cotton wool d&ened in lighter fuel through them with a cocktail stick. This is far and away the most time-consuming part. I covered the shutter with gently tacked down 'Post-it' notes cut to size, to make sure no debris got on to the shutter mechanism or blades. Make sure the grooves are thoroughly clean. Using the ruler and craft knife, cut some long strips of mouse mat about 2 mm wide, and longer than the camera grooves. Trim the depth to fit the grooves. Start feeding the mouse mat strips in from one end, pushing it home with a cocktail stick. If you stretch the strips slightly when feeding them in, so that they're a little thinner, you'll find that they contract and expand again in the groove, making a snug fit so that you don't need any glue to hold them in place. You'll need two strips for the groove that has the little lever or sensor that detects when the camera door is closed, cutting them at an angle thus ==\ /== to fit snugly under the sensor. You want it light tight around the sensor, but don't want to impede the function of the sensor when the camera back is closed. It's fiddly and time consuming the first time you do it, but it's not a difficult task at all. A little trial and error will show the width and depths you need for the strips. I've done about eight cameras and still have over half the mouse mat left. Usual caveats about working with lighter fuel in enclosed spaces.

Alex
 
Thanx a lot for your help : I'll try it next weekend ! In the meantime I'll use my Contax 137MA for the best shots with Planar an= d Sonnar lenses. But I really like the Yashica best....
 
I am thinking of buying an FR-II because I've seen one in immaculate condition. Apart from missing full manual mode, is everything else the same (quality-wise) as the other FRs? Obviously I would prefer manual, aperture in the VF and DOF preview but I haven't been able to find an FR-I in good condition.


Thanks,
Adam F
 
You may search for a RTS or RTS2. They have all what you want and can use most of the accessories for the FR (Winder! ) matthias
 
Well the cheapness of the FR-series obviously appeals too...for under US$50 I could then afford a CZ lens to go with it (maybe ;)).

Re: the comment on the FR having the aperture and shutter speed mechanically displayed, does the FR-I not? Also I notice the FR has a CdS meter whereas the FR-I and FR-II use SPA, any comments on the difference?


Thanks,
Adam F
 
Does anyone else here own an FR? I'm having trouble finding info - there are references to red and green LEDs which don't sound very mechanical to me (referring to the post by Paul Fox).

Also, why would the FR have an electronic shutter if it has no A mode?

Adam F
 
> Does anyone else here own an FR? I'm having trouble finding info -> there are references to red and green LEDs which don't sound very> mechanical to me (referring to the post by Paul Fox).> > Also, why would the FR have an electronic shutter if it has no A mode?

I used to have one and the meter and shutter are electronic - I seem to recall that the shutter will work at 1/60th sec or thereabouts without a battery...... Steve
 
Hi Adam,

You wrote : "there are references to red and green LEDs which don't sound very mechanical to me (referring to the post by Paul Fox). Also, why would the FR have an electronic shutter if it has no A mode?"

Yes, there are LEDs for the light metering.

And Yes : The exposure times are constantly shown in the viewfinder. With the FR1 (AE mode) it's different when used in manual mode. The selected exposure time is not (constantly) shown in the viewfinder. When set on AE mode the exposure time is shown with a needle - but only when pressing on the button for metering or release.

and again YES : The FR-types all have electronic shutter. When you don't have batteries in they will not release. Even the FR is only manual that doesn't mean it's shutter is mechanical....

Paul
 
>Hi Adam, I have bot a FR and a FR2 which my wife used to use. The FR shutter will not fire without a battery being present. It uses horizontally running cloth blinds with a flash synchronisation speed of 1/60. There is no fully automatic mode. The lens aperture is indicated by a pointer and scale overlying the top of the view finder image, the shutter speed by a pointer and scale overlying the right hand side of the viewfinder image. the correct exposure is indicated by the use of three LEDs linked to aperture and shutter. Only one illuminates at a time, a red one at the top for overexposure, a green one in the middle for correct exposure and a red one at the bottom for underexposure. It is possible to adjust the exposure to within 0.5 of a stop using these LEDs. They are situated to the right of the image in the viewfinder. They can be a little difficult to see in bright sunlight. The meter uses a CDS cell. The FR2 has only fully automatic, B and Flash settings on the shutter. Therefore the only fixed speed being the Flash setting at 1/60. The metering system uses a silicon photo diode. The shutter is similar to the FR. There is no aperture indication in the Viewfinder but the shutter speed being used is indicated by a pointer and scale overlying the right hand side of the viewfinder image. Exposure compensation +/- 2 stops is available but depth of field preview is not, nor is the back removable (unlike the FR). Both cameras have a diagonal split image on the focusing screen. Both bodies are the same size and feel solid being slightly larger than the the 139 but feeling significantly heavier (Which is why I usually use the 139). Interestingly it is easier to load film into the FR series bodies than the 139 as it is not necessary to engage a sprocket hole on the film leader on a peg. Also the film take up spool winds the film emulsion side in rather than facing out. As far as I can tell from the brochure the FR1 was very similar to the FR2 but in addition had manual settings for the shutter and the same aperture indication, depth of field preview and removable back as the FR.

Richard M
 
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