Yashica D – Diving into Medium Format

I have been intrigued by medium format film cameras for a while.  It wasn’t until I saw a very positive review of a Yashica D TLR that I seriously looked into the possibility of buying one.  I found one in excellent condition at a reputable website. It was reasonably priced so I bit the bullet and purchased it.  It was love at first sight.  It is simply a cool looking camera.

Released in November of 1958, the Yashica D had a pretty good run until roughly 1970. The more famous Yashica Mat 124G succeeded it and is no doubt more highly prized among collectors. No matter. The Yashica D is still a fine TLR.

Using a Yashica D is photography at a very primitive level.  It is all mechanical.  No battery to run down but of course, no built-in light meter.  Loading the camera is quite simple and done from the bottom.  Once loaded with 120 film, simply compose, adjust the aperture and shutter speed wheels, cock the shutter, and press the shutter button.  After an exposure, crank the film advance wheel to the next exposure.  Very old school but lots of fun.  The fastest shutter speed is only 1/500 of a second with the slowest being 1 second.  There is a bulb mode.  I rarely shoot with shutter speeds faster than 1/500 so the limitation is not very significant to me.  So far sticking with Portra 400 film has given me sufficient versatility for a variety of lighting conditions.  I should add that both the viewing (top) and taking (bottom) lenses of my version of the Yashica are 80mm and F3.5.  Later versions of the Yashica D had F2.8 viewing and taking lenses.  These models seem to be more sought after.

Film photography tends to be a rather slow process. My first few times out with my Yashica D were positively glacial in pace.  The inverted focus screen was a bit of a hurdle.  I felt a bit drunk when I tried to compose images.  The rather dim focus screen that comes with the camera made focusing in lower light a challenge (as I write this, my camera is having a brighter focusing screen installed).  Fortunately, the more I used the camera, the easier it became to use it.  It is basically a small brick but not that heavy.  I wear it around my neck with a good leather strap and shoot hand held without any major issues.

The camera is great fun to use and it grabs the attention of those around me when I carry it.  As I pass by people, they often stare at me and my camera, as if to say, “what the heck is that thing around his neck?”  The Yashica D is a great conversation starter.   You simply don’t see many people out and about with a TLR.  Of course, a Yashica doesn’t have the cache of a Rollieflex.  But for less money you get a similar looking camera that is more than capable if it is used properly.  These images are not really special and were all taken while walking in the area around where I live in Oregon.  I thought that overall, they turned out pretty well.  All were taken with Portra 400 120 film.

My relatively brief time with the Yashica D has made me a convert to medium format.  Having only twelve exposures on a roll of film can be limiting, but it also makes you very discerning in how you photograph.  I constantly ask myself: “do I really want to click the shutter button?”  The smaller number of exposures on a roll of 120 film can be a blessing if you are out on a photo walk without the time to shoot a lot of images.  Sometimes 36 exposures on my Leica M 3 are too many.  Occasionally, I find myself rushing just to finish off a roll of 36 exposures.

Shooting in a square format is most enjoyable.  In many ways I prefer it to the 3/2 aspect ratio of my Leica M3.  For me at least, I find my compositions are tighter and better composed with less cropping.  The waist-level view finder can be tricky to use at times but I don’t find it too limiting.  Apparently the camera may be used at eye level with its sportsfinder feature, something I have yet to experiment with.  The above image demonstrates that you can use the camera to shoot images looking skyward.

I read a lot of articles about the merits of film versus digital photography.  Frankly I find a lot of the discussions to be rather pointless.  They both have their place in photography.  At this point in my life, I am most interested in the experience of taking pictures.  I simply find film cameras more fun and satisfying than digital ones. For me, the most desirable camera is the one that most beckons me to take it out and shoot with it.  Film cameras are simply the ones that speak to me the most and make want to use them.  My Leica M3 and now my Yashica D are the photographic tools I most want to use.  Based on my experience, I can heartily recommend the Yashica D.  In this age of high film prices, indulging in medium format photography can be an expensive proposition.  But if you are not deterred by expense, medium format is a fun genre of photography, which a TLR such as the Yashica D can help you realize.

Thank you for reading this!  You can find more of my photography on my website at curtisheikkinen.smugmug.com.  Happy shooting!

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