attack_donut
member
Reged: 16/12/2006
Posts: 133
Loc: East Coast
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Greetings gang-
I recently acquired a Yashica A (120) TLR camera, mint for (let's see now, for my bothers overseas...do the math, carry the 2, divide by the GNP of Liberia, divide by the inflation rate of Zimbabwe)..10 pounds.
It is without flaw, a little dusty which was solved with a gentle brush and some compressed air. The leather case has seen better days (anyone make repros?) but rather the case dinged up than the camera.
Film here (Illford ISO 100) is a whopping (again...math) 1.5 pounds, as is the processing. I regret I have no darkroom, which probably should disqualify me from doing MF photography, but perhaps in the coming summer months this shall be fixed...
...in any case, in dealing with the parallax viewing issue, is there some method, formula or somesuch that would help me to overcome or minimize this issue?
I'm totally hooked on this camera, simple as it may be. Although new to photography, (I've a Pentax K1000 and a Pentax *ist D) this little TLR is downright fun!
Tips, tricks, suggestions, are welcome.
I look forward to showing off all the horribly done pics real soon ;-)
Cheers!
AD
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Storms arise and eclipse the sun, the march of kings has begun.
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NorthernMonkey
enthusiast
Reged: 01/05/2007
Posts: 269
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If the distance is more than about 1 meter, then you can ignore paralax errors. My rule of thumb for paralax involved shooting things that were further than 1 meter away 
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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Quote:
...in any case, in dealing with the parallax viewing issue, is there some method, formula or somesuch that would help me to overcome or minimize this issue?
I would agree with NorthernMonkey that parallax isn't really an issue unless shooting close, but if does bother you, or if you do want to use close-up lenses on it then there are two things you could do. One is to loook out for a device known as a paramender, which mounts between the camera and tripod head and enables you to quickly translate the camera through the necessary couple of inches or so to place the taking lens where the viewing lens was after composing and focusing.
The second is a simpler 'rough and ready' technique for manually coompensating, and that is simply to aim the viewing lens at a point exactly the right distance above where you really want the centre of the frame to be. Unless you're using really quite strong CU lenses it will probably be good enough.
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Huw Evans.
  
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Best solution to paralax is to get a Rolleiflex instead. 
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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Go on - why?
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Huw Evans.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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The parallax-compensating viewfinder, and the design of the close-up lenses with parallax-compensating prisms on the viewing lens lens.
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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I'd have to contend that using a paramender (which could of course apply to any make of TLR) would be the 'best solution' though. Compensating viewfinders, or even prisms on the viewing lens, still leave you looking at the subject and judging the composition and focussing from the wrong angle. A paramender, if it's accurately configured, will allow you to compose and focus from exactly the right place, and then quickly and precisely move the taking lens into position for the shot.
<cheap dig> Of course, these things admittedly matter less at the sort of distances that a Rolleiflex with CU lenses can manage - with a Mamiyaflex one is able to get into the sort of magnification realms where precision matters more. </cheap dig> ;-)
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Huw Evans.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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I don't actually disagree, although I must say I've never had a problem with the more elegant Rollei way.
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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Quote:
... the more elegant Rollei way.
Hmmm, I suppose - in the same way that the fold-out viewing hood on the back of a Linhof Technika is more elegant than sticking your head under a dark cloth - one of them is a neat idea, and the other works. ;-)
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Huw Evans.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Like I said, the Rollei way works - and works without a tripod, too, which is more than you can say for the paramender. 
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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Yeah - if you actually want to compose your photographs by framing them from the wrong direction, it's probably quite a good method. ;-)
Okay, I think we've maybe hijacked this thread enough now. :-)
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Huw Evans.
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attack_donut
member
Reged: 16/12/2006
Posts: 133
Loc: East Coast
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I'd love a rollei, of course the prices are a tad out of my range....
rolleis vs. yashicas vs. maymayas aside.....
What kind of filters can I get, I see plenty for the bayonet style, but unsure what I need. The local camera shops in town agree the yash is neat but don't have anything for it (no real surprise)
I presume that add-on lenses are out of the question?
Thanks for the heads up regarding the paramender...I've got a nice manfrotto tripod and 3-way head for my k1000 (I love macro work, the 3-way was better than the ball head in this regards) and I believe the yash will fit on it nicely.
Cheers!
AD
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Storms arise and eclipse the sun, the march of kings has begun.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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I believe it's the same fitting as Rollei Bayonet I, which means there's an enormous range of filters out there. And there are add-on tele and wide adapting lenses, varying from Yashica's own, which are pretty cheap and cheerful (i.e. not very good quality), to the outrageously expensive Zeiss Mutars for Rollei, which are of extremely high quality, but if you found any at a knock-down price would be far better sold on at a massive profit. In all honesty, I'm not at all sure it's worth bothering. Close-up lenses can be far more worthwhile, and the Rolleinars I've been alluding to are probably the best.
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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attack_donut
member
Reged: 16/12/2006
Posts: 133
Loc: East Coast
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Unless I'm horribly blind, or missing something on my yashica-a, there is no bayonet mounting hardware...unless it's a simple press on over the lens, and the bayonet flanges are extraneous.....
...care to enlighten me?
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Storms arise and eclipse the sun, the march of kings has begun.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36309
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Hmmm, having found a picture, it looks like there isn't a bayonet, sorry. I had thought that all Yashica TLRs were bay I, it appears not. It actually takes 32mm push-on filters, I now find.
Manual available here.
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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huwevans
Old Hand
Reged: 05/08/2000
Posts: 15042
Loc: Dorset, UK
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Sounds like maybe the 'A' didn't have the bayonet mount - it's a male bayonet surrounding the lenses (each of them) and pretty much unmissable. Perhaps there was a conventional screw-thread instead? At any rate it might not possible to attach the Rolleinars or any focal length converters without the bayonet. Still, that might not be such a loss - it would be at its best without any such add-ons anyway.
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Huw Evans.
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 203
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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The yashica A was an early model with out bayonet.
Nor did the lens perform as well as later models.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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