Yashica Mat-124g light meter

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mgrinnan

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Hello all

I've been using a Sekonic Twinmate meter for the better part of this year. When shooting medium I use a 124g, and was curious if any other owners/users think the meter is worth bothering with? It would be nice to have a more streamline process in getting a good exposure.

Thanks
 
I had a 124G for a time and the meter seemed OK, but I prefer to work with incident light for most of the time. Provided the 124G metering and the Twinmate agree when metering a grey card, then the Yashica meter should be OK for most situations. It might be an idea the check the measuring angle of both and compare. On balance if I was you, I would rely on the Twinmate as it is more flexible and modern.

Ray
 
The problem with these old type meters is that they don't work very well in the dark which is precisely when you need it most. My 124G meter was a lemon in all situations. One day I found a light leak under the meter module. Be warned, there are light seals in there that one day will turn to messy goo.
 
If your meter works ok as does the one on my own camera [ having calibrated and checked it with several other meters] I find that if I meter on the ground or grass so as to not get the bright sunlight and sky giving me a too higher reading . I have calibrated mine for the use of a Varta V625 battery which has now been in for two years , I have checked the battery every now and again with a volt meter and it is standing up very well.
Having said that if the film is important I will use a Sekonic 308b for incident lighting rather than trust the meter on the 124G but for photos on the fly the cameras meter is ok.
 
I bought a rolleilux, which is a combine hood and selenium meter for use with my Rolleiflex MX-EVS and haven't looked back. It makes it possible to look down, and get and set meter readings, aperture and shutter speed at a glance, and since it is on the taking lens hood, is always pointing at the right subject. It also folds up neatly into the hood when not in use. My rolleilux works fine and accurately - as others have said, this kind of meter is best in daylight situations, but that's how I use that camera anyway. Since the rolleilux is a Bay 1 accessory i believe it will work on the Yashicamat too.
 
I have always found the CDS meters on the various models of Yashica TLRs that I've owned to be trustworthy with black and white and color negative films, and pretty good with transparency films. But with those I always bracket anyway -- one exposure at the meter reading, and one a half-stop under.
 
Though I have heard stories that the meters in the Yashica Mats should not be relied on, mine seems to work just fine. If I am being really picky I meter a little grey card I bought from Michael Tapes or I use a hand held incident light meter.

In my experience the Yashica Mat meter is very sensitive to bright light so you are typically better by trying to keep the sky out of the field. Of course, any reflected light meter can fool you if you haven't spent a little time learning what it likes or doesn't like. The other thing to remember is that many of these meters were not intended to be the final arbiter of correct exposures. They were intended to get you in the ball park. After that the photographer was expected to make the final decision on what he or she wanted.
 
I prefer a camera with built-in exposure meter.

I once had a brand new Yashica-Mat 124G.
IIRC it cost me $121 at a NYC camera store that advertised it for $99... :rolleyes:

The light meter was switched on when you erected the finder hood.
Even brand new the switch was erratic - so much for "gold" contacts!
Further the light meter had a very wide angle of view and was prone to erroneous readings.

I never warmed up to the Yashica and traded it in at Nassau Camera in Franklin Square LI.
The square format and TLRs are definitely an acquired taste, and not for everyone.

Chris
 
I got one of those recently, and didn't think the lightmeter would work.
I did the normal cleaning of the camera, lens and checking that speeds were within tolerance
Then I lifted the hood to clean underneath and replace the light seals on the top (they were goo) and see how hard was it to replace the focusing screen with a RickOlesons one. While looking in there, I began observing how the the mechanical linkage of the lightmeter worked and cleaned the goo out of them.
I put a MR9 adapted battery and it was within 1/2 stop at ASA 100 125/11
Moving the aperture was OK without changing speeds but off +1.5stop at 8/4,
Changing ASA was worse -1stop at ASA 25 and way out at ASA 400
Then I found this thread in Photrio that describes the circuit and proposes mechanical and electronic adjustments. I fiddled with it and got it within 1/2stop at all speeds and ASAs
 
I have several of the metered Yashicas -- 124G, 124, 12 and 24. Metering is pretty good I've found, though it's always a good idea to set the film speed one stop lower (200 with 400 film, for instance). Just a precaution to take into account uncertainty with the camera's meter's angle of acceptance and the fact it's non-TTL.
 
hap said:
do these last longer than wein batteries?
Click to expand...
I think the Wein batteries last longer -- but the hearing aid batteries are really inexpensive (and the Weins are definitely not). I haven't tried it myself, but I have seen suggestions to cover up all but one of the small holes in the battery to make them last longer. Or, if you're not going to use the camera for any length of time, cover all the holes with cellophane tape to stop the battery's chemical reaction with the air.
 
hap said:
do these last longer than wein batteries?
Click to expand...
Hearing aid batts have 2-3 holes in the bottom.
If you cover them and only leave 1 open they last abt the same

I bit the bullet and bought an MR-9 adapter (from Kanto camera in Japan) for Silver-Oxide batts. At $20 it was a bargain
 
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