About the product.
The last and best-known of the Yashica twin-lens reflexes, and for decades the standard answer to "how do I get into medium format without selling something." The Yashica Mat-124G ran from 1970 to 1986, and the G in the name refers to the gold-plated electrical contacts in its metering circuit. What you are buying is a 6x6 waist-level camera with a four-element Tessar-type Yashinon 80mm f/3.5 taking lens that has an entirely undeserved reputation as a budget option — stopped down to f/8 it resolves beautifully, and the square negative is nearly four times the area of 35mm. Crank advance, bright ground-glass finder, a genuinely quiet Copal leaf shutter that syncs with flash at every speed. It is the camera that teaches you to slow down.
Specifications
- Type: Twin-lens reflex, 6x6cm on 120 roll film (12 exposures); also accepts 220
- Taking lens: Yashinon 80mm f/3.5, four elements in three groups
- Viewing lens: Yashinon 80mm f/2.8
- Shutter: Copal leaf shutter, 1sec to 1/500sec plus Bulb
- Flash sync: X and M sync at all shutter speeds — the leaf-shutter advantage
- Metering: CdS cell, match-needle, originally powered by a PX625 mercury cell
- Viewfinder: Waist-level ground glass with flip-up magnifier and sports finder
- Focus: Single knob, bellows-driven front standard, down to about 1m
- Filter/accessory fit: Bay 1 bayonet
- Produced: 1970 to 1986 — the final camera in the Yashica TLR line
Condition
- Cosmetic: Very good condition with minor signs of age and use. Some dust trapped inside the lens due to age, will have no impact on images. No fungus or haze.
- Functional: Fully working. The light meter has not been checked — treat it as non-working and shoot with a handheld meter or a phone app.
Included
- Yashica Mat-124G body
- Original case
- Strap
- Lens cap
In short
The meter is untested and priced out of the equation, which matters less than it sounds: most 124G meters in the wild are dead anyway, since the mercury cells they were calibrated for have been banned for decades. Everything mechanical works, the glass is clear of fungus and haze, and the original case and strap are included.
