5 frames with a Yashica AW-Mini and some Fomapan – BY Grégoire MBV

A few weeks ago, I was in Paris enjoying a long week end under a very sunny sky. So I decided to load a roll of Fomapan 200 in this new camera that I just got: a near mint Yashica AW-Mini. I wanted to test this impressively featured kind of cheap version of the T3 that I own already and love so much. So here we go! 5 pics with Fomapan 200 in a Yashica AW-Mini point and shoot camera.

The Yashica AW-Mini itself

Before we jump into the pictures, let’s have a chat about this camera, shall we. I have to say, it’s a mixture of cheaper yet better kind of mood that pops in my brain when I compare and handle both these Yashica’s point and shoot cameras in my hands. The T3 is bulky and solid. You can feel that it’s quality made. The AW-mini is cheaper, the plastic is thiner, it’s lighter as well. Both of them carry a feature that I love: a chest finder, also named NA.Scope, easier to use and frame with on the T3, but still useful on the AW-Mini.

They also both carry the same structure of optics. Even though Carl Zeiss didn’t produce the one on the AW-Mini, you find a Tessar like made lens on the AW-Mini. We won’t compare the results here, that might come later in another post, but hey, had to be said. So, so far, we could agree on the fact that, without any surprises on the corner, the AW-Mini is definitely a class behind the T3. Of course it is..

Well, it is until you figure that you can open and shoot with it single-handed! Yes, unlike the T3 that you have to open with your left hand and shoot with your right hand, you can do both with your right hand only on the AW-Mini. I have to say: I LOVE this feature. Faster, easier, and more discrete. And when you actually shoot with it? The sound of it is pure pleasure: so soft, so quiet, I couldn’t believe it. At first, I was pretty sure it wasn’t even working well. But it DOES work well, and it’s probably one of the most quiet shutter I ever heard from a point and shoot camera on this budget.

Oh Foma!

I love Foma films for various reasons: first of all, they’re cheap. That helps a lot for me to love them. Then, I love the rusticity of the result. It can have some flaws, or difficulties to manage contrast sometimes, but I still love it overall. The only thing that I don’t like that much about them, it’s the lack of DX Code.

So I bought 8 rolls of Fomapan 200, and shot 5 of them at 100 iso. The result overall is quite ok. But I want to try to expose it at higher iso, so I found some stickers for 250 and 400 iso. Can’t wait to see how it goes…

Back to today’s topic: This film is shot at 100, at the Louis Vuitton Fondation in Paris. It’s not the art from the galleries, not the people visiting, just the main building because it has lots of features that I thought would be good to frame and shoot.

The Pictures: greayscale Fromapan love

Conclusion

I like this pictures. I like how grey they are, the way old newspapers are.

Yet, I can definitely feel the difference of optics quality between the T3 and this AW-Mini there. Contrast wise for instance. I can also see that the T3 is way more clever when it’s about managing the exposition of a scene. The film might not be helpful to get the sharpest pictures though…

To me the AW-Mini is perfect if you’re looking for an easy way to shoot things around you. It’s a perfect companion, single handled, with a chest/hips finder that is really helpful (too rare of a feature, should have been everywhere on every piece of point and shoot camera ever produced if you ask me!!). It’s not if you look for high standard quality pictures.

Hope you enjoyed this article and the pictures!

It’s actually my third article here, and I start to feel confortable ahah! The perfect timing to share my account with you if I may. Not sure you’ll see more pics from me on there though, but you can follow me on Instagram!
Cheers!

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