Yashica T5

Before I begin, it is important to note that the Yashica T5 is the same camera as the T4 super. My camera is a Yashica T5...

I believe my experience with the Yashica T5 was predestined to be pleasant. I purchased the camera from my local 'London Camera Exchange'. I was looking for lenses that depict their objects in a distinctive way because I have a Sony NEX5n in another life and enjoy mounting weird glass to it (many of the camera shots on this site are really taken with the NEX)... Basically, the Yashica T5 had slipped under my radar!

It was also fairly expensive, not for a T5, but more than I was ready to pay. I didn't even bother picking it up. But, for some reason, I couldn't get it out of my thoughts when I got home that afternoon. I was aware of the camera, its cult following, and the lens, which seemed to be famous for its excellence (or a least qualities). I looked at a few photographs on Flickr and decided to return to see if I could get a good bargain on it.

My childhood memories of shooting with an ultra-basic point-and-shoot camera (the Nikon RF10) have never left me; numerous times over the years, I've considered resurrecting the camera but never got around to it. Maybe there was a niggling fear that the quality wouldn't be up to par, or maybe I was always preoccupied with something else (like collecting obscure lenses). It hadn't happened in any case. The Yashica T5 appeared to check some boxes that I didn't think I was looking for at the time. Similar design factor to the Nikon, similar basic function as the Nikon, but with a higher quality lens, which felt crucial.

I went back to the shop and asked the manager if he might cut me a discount. I spend a lot of time (and money) in that shop, and they are occasionally friendlier to me than they should be. The 'Special Hamish price' was £35... I nearly severed his arm. Until I got my hands on it, it was actually mint. It dropped off the top of Connie's pram about a week into ownership and clattered around on the Tarmac pavement a few times. It did, however, survive with only a few scrapes.

So, what's the big deal? Why is there a cult following? Terry Richardson appears to have had something to do with it, as he uses one, or more likely a few of them... A great deal. Much of his work has a "snapshot" feel to it. He apparently chose this Yashica for its mix of true snapshot camera and high grade lens. The lens also delivers very contrasty pictures, with a strong vignette that complements the style. His use of this camera is well documented, and the style is quite fashionable... It's probably where fine art meets lomo. All of this adds up to an extremely popular and much sought after point and shoot camera!

Definitely worth a look - Dairy by Terry Richardson

So, how was my camera experience? I guess it took three rolls of film for me to be hooked on the shooting style. I just snapped away on the first roll, not expecting anything and just having fun with it. Several of the results startled me. I couldn't believe the detail in this photograph; it was the first photo I looked at, and I remember thinking that this must be why people love this little camera so much.

Photographed with a yashica t5 and an xp2

Another photo that startled me was this one, taken in near-zero light with the flash turned off. I'm still not sure how it came out.

Photographed with a yashica t5 and an xp2

And I may be prejudiced, but I adore this - we built a jigsaw out of it for her great grandmother's birthday.

Photographed with a yashica t5 and an xp2

This was also a watershed moment in my relationship with XP2. It just makes this type of photography so much easier!
After watching one film, I was so impressed with the camera that I decided it would be my Christmas Day camera... This was a far cry from previous year, when I had hunked the blad round to the in-laws...
I inserted a roll of Fuji Superior 800 film into the Yashica T5. A film that I haven't always had luck with, but I felt I needed the extra oomph. I still wasn't sure I could get away without using the flash. Many of the images aren't the most aesthetically pleasing; flash and high speed Fuji can provide an unappealing result in my opinion. Nonetheless, the moments were captured, and I was not disappointed.

Christmas in 2012.

Some of these, in particular, wonderfully captured Connie's emotion to her second Christmas.

Christmas in 2012.

Christmas in 2012.

After Christmas, I took a week or so off from work. I quickly went through two or three additional rolls of XP2... And it was here that the magic occurred. We went to The Hive, Worcester's new(ish) library. The building immediately took my breath away; the forms and angles make you want to take photos! With my unassuming 1990s point and shoot camera in hand, I felt fully free. I would have felt a little awkward taking shots at a library with any other camera. Not this one; I felt fully at ease taking photographs! Then I got the results... This is still the photo of the year for me, she's just lying on the floor!

The yellow square is my favorite.

The remainder of the images I took that day around the Hive just came out... Maybe a little underexposed, but I couldn't be happy with the results.

Within the Hive

Within the Hive

Within the Hive

I'm not sure if it's just me, or if it's my Yashica T5. However, when taking images in low light, it seemed to underexpose before using a too slow shutter speed... Don't quote me on this because I could be wrong. But, based on the prior photos, which are plainly underexposed but sharp, my conclusion seems somewhat logical?

In any case, the Hive shots had me hooked! The sense of accomplishment, perhaps not by everyone's standards, but certainly by mine, was enormous. And with a point-and-shoot camera! "A competent photographer can get a good photo with any camera," as the oft-quoted ideal goes, appeals to me. It was fantastic to know that I was getting good results with something that cost me £35 and was nothing more than a point and poke. I have a Nikon D800 and a large collection of Nikon lenses; the photographs it captures are of incredible quality, resolution, dynamic range, and so on... And for work, I consider it necessary. I find it less exciting to utilize for my pastime since there is less of a sense of difficulty in obtaining what I want to achieve, and the outcomes carry no weight to me. The same photo taken with a Yashica T5 (or any other compact) simply feels more rewarding! This was made clear to me by the later rolls of XP2 taken with this camera!
I shoot shots with this camera without wishing I had something bigger, something with a different lens, a larger sensor, or anything else. I'm not self-conscious, and I certainly don't feel like a photographer. I just feel like a photographer snapping a few shots... And I adore it! £35.00 well spent!

So, aside from my tremendously happy emotional reaction to the camera, is it any good?

As previously stated, the lens is razor sharp! I particularly like a lens that vignettes a little bit, not too much, but just enough to lure you right in to the results. This camera does vignette, and not always obviously! It's a little hefty and rounded to grip, similar to holding a large bar of soap. My middle finger rests oddly where the lens is; I don't think it ever appeared in a shot, but I frequently have to move it out of the way when the lens moves against it.
It's also incredibly quick off the mark, or so it appears... The half press requires only a faint touch; any more and the shutter fires. It's eager... That may not make sense, but try it and you'll see what I mean. That isn't to suggest there isn't a delay between pressing the button and taking the photo. The delay is due to the lens moving to focus, which is quite quick for a small like this! I also don't recall ever having it lose focus. What about the underexposure in low light? So I looked up the meter's capability. 3.5ev – 17ev. I'm curious whether something similar is happening here after working with the Fuji Klasse W and discovering what these limits can mean. When the camera's metering capability reaches its lower limit, it is unable to select a slow enough shutter speed to properly expose, therefore it underexposes. However, the math doesn't quite work up; I'd have assumed that based on the camera's specifications and the ISO of the film I was using, the lowest shutter speed it could select would be approximately 1/8th sec. My photographs do not appear to have been taken at such slow shutter speeds... I'm not certain. I'm not sure I care either. Shots that are slightly underexposed but significantly sharper in low light are arguably better than blurred but properly exposed... maybe... In one way or another, I like what it does in low-light settings.

Overall, I enjoy it as a camera. It has flaws, but if you want a point and shoot that you can point and shoot without thinking, this is an excellent camera. The primary issue is, of course, the cult status, which drives up the price. But if you come across one, like I did, get it! I'm so glad I did because it was the first step in me creating this blog and rediscovering my love for such a straightforward approach to photography!