While on a family holiday in Cornwall in the 1970s, I saw a Yashica Electro 35 rangefinder in a camera shop window. Needless to say, my parents were not persuaded to buy it for me at that time. Since then I have always had a hankering for a Yashica rangefinder but several less than reliable Electro 35’s later, I started looking for an alternative. The alternative turned out to be the Yashica Minister II rangefinder, a predecessor of the Electro 35.
The Yashica Minister can be picked up for very little money and is somewhat under appreciated in my opinion. There are three models, this is the Minister II. It is built like a tank and is quite heavy but it comes equipped with a nice sharp 45mm f2.8 Yashinon lens, a rangefinder that works well and a built-in selenium meter with a top plate readout. A big plus point is that it doesn’t need a battery.
The exposure setup is somewhat quirky. You first take a reading from the Meter (the display text is incredibly small) which is given as an exposure value rather than a shutter and aperture value. Then you dial this value on the EV ring at the front of the lens. This alters the shutter and aperture which are coupled together. It is possible to alter the aperture setting for a particular exposure value but the shutter speed is then altered automatically. It’s a sort of manual aperture priority system. However, the results are quite pleasing.
The five frames are from the town of Clitheroe and its surroundings, in the beautiful Ribble Valley in the north-west of the UK.
You can see more of my images at https://www.flickr.com/photos/malcy
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Ken Davis on 5 frames with a Yashica Minister II – by Malcolm
Comment posted: 26/12/2017
jess tip on 5 frames with a Yashica Minister II – by Malcolm
Comment posted: 27/12/2017
Considered that I got a bad example, but looking at pictures from others with that camera on Flickr, my opinion about its lens hardened.
jeremy north on 5 frames with a Yashica Minister II – by Malcolm
Comment posted: 27/12/2017
James on 5 frames with a Yashica Minister II – by Malcolm
Comment posted: 23/10/2018
Comment posted: 23/10/2018
David on 5 frames with a Yashica Minister II – by Malcolm
Comment posted: 26/07/2024
I have waited patiently and finally got a working Mīī (those should be Roman numerals). They are rare and I don't believe your is one. On the Mīī, that motif appears on the chrome panel next to the light cell. The camera does not say Minister. The serial number starts is preceded by a īī (Roman numerals 2). The top shutter speed is 1000th/sec. I'm guessing yours is one 500th?
Nonetheless, you have a lovely working example of a Yashica Minister that produces wonderful, sharp photographs. I think the series is, for the most part, hugely underrated and many models can still be bought on the bay for disproportionately low prices.
David