I’d been looking for a half-frame camera for a long time. Less film, more frames – a traveler’s dream. One day on eBay I found this legendary Yashica; 1965, excellent condition, working order and only 800 rubles (13$)! I quickly contacted the seller and a week later held it in my hands. But my joy was not long lived; it turned out that I did not read the description properly and as a result I bought a Rapid version of the camera. This meant I needed special rapid cassettes which have not been available for about 30 years…
But, thanks go out to the seller as he added 2 empty cassettes to the camera. After several weeks of experiments, I learned how to not only quickly charge the film for 24/48 frames (standard for rapid), but also how to remove this restriction and use 36/72 rolls of film!
The camera is beautiful! Yes, it is a bit heavier than I thought, but you only notice it for the first couple of days. The lens is great, you just need to learn how to calculate the scale of distances correctly.
The exposure meter works fine, and there’s almost no flawed images. So after a while, and some spoiled film, this is my favourite pocket camera for travel! The result is still sometimes unpredictable because of my focusing skills, but the pleasure of the process can not be replaced by anything!
I develop black and white by myself and have a lab develop the color rolls. The shots below are from a roll of expired Kodak Ultramax 400, scanned on my Canon 9000f. The light leaks are the result of my experiments with full 36 film rolls.
I’d be happy to answer any questions!
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Andrew Swingler on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 10/09/2018
I like the shot in the Car, really cool!
Comment posted: 10/09/2018
James on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 10/09/2018
Comment posted: 10/09/2018
Sebastiaan on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 27/03/2019
All the Best
Etienne on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 28/03/2019
Thanks for the story.
I have myself bought one online not reading enough and now I can't use it because of the film situation.
Could you give me any tips on how to charge film? Is there any possibilities without empty cassettes?
Comment posted: 28/03/2019
Daniel on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 24/10/2019
Cheers
Daniel
Daniel on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 24/10/2019
because it goes something like
|X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| <- half frame
|XX||XX||XX||XX||XX||XX| <- regular frame
opposed to a regular film?
Daniel on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 24/10/2019
As I understood it: You select an aperture and the camera set's the shutter speed. Or is it that I just select a pair of aperture and shutter according to the EV value measured by the camera?
I need some clarification because I don't get it...
Cheers again
Daniel
Comment posted: 24/10/2019
Angel on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 20/03/2020
Danielw on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 15/07/2021
I need 2 cassettes for work ?
Danielw on 5 Frames with a Yashica Half Frame 17 Rapid – by Denis Savinov
Comment posted: 22/10/2021
How to set up iso without rapid cassette ?