Yashica-D

The Yashica-D was my first twin-lens reflex camera. I had lusted after TLRs for many years, but I always rebuffed them for their high prices. The Rolleicords and Rolleiflexes are the most respected members of the genre and go for big bucks on the used market. Lots of companies made TLRs in the Rollei idiom, but even the clones can be mighty expensive.

Nobody cloned Rollei TLRs as prolifically as Yashica, which produced them from 1953 to 1986. Collectors broadly group Yashica’s many TLRs by the film advance mechanism: knob or crank. The crank-advance Yashica TLRs, which stayed in production longer and offer the best lenses and shutters, go for the most money on the used market. The crank-advance Yashica-Mat tends to be the most expensive today because it includes a coupled CdS light meter. Except for a model here and there that flirted with selenium light meters, other Yashica TLRs offer no onboard metering.

The Yashica-D was a screaming bargain among used TLRs when I bought this one in 2013. I paid about $50 for it, shipped, and that was a typical price. Now good ones start at $75 and go up to about $200. That’s still a good price when you look at what a Rollei TLR costs.

Yashica made the Yashica-D for a whopping 16 years starting in 1957. Of the meterless knob-advance Yashica TLRs, the Yashica-D is the best specified. It used a Copal MXV leaf shutter, which operates from 1 to 1/500 second. Until sometime in 1970, the taking and viewing lenses were both 80mm f/3.5 Yashikors of triplet design. The Yashinon lenses that Yashica used in the D starting in 1970 were four-element, three-group Tessar designs. Those later Yashica-Ds are sought after by collectors. Fortunately, the Yashikors are no slouches.

Yashica-D

When I held this Yashica-D in my hands for the first time, it felt incredibly right. I wanted to shoot with it right now. It was much as how the scent of a delicious meal can make you hungry, or the sight of a beautiful woman can make you …well, you know. I’ve never been so affected by a camera before. I heeded its call, moving it to the front of the line ahead of several other cameras awaiting their test rolls.

The Yashica-D is a real pleasure in your hands. Not only do all the knobs move smoothly and precisely, but there’s also a sensually pleasing heft to them. It delighted me to find that focusing the camera moves the entire lens assembly in and out. You have to cock the shutter manually, but the lever slides like it’s on silk with a tiny, sure click at the end. The winding knob is large enough to grip easily and it works smoothly. Tip: you have to press the button in the center of the knob first, or the film wonโ€™t wind.

But before any of that, you have to load film. This is awkward at best in any TLR as the form factor doesnโ€™t lend itself to easy handling. But in the Dโ€™s case, after you hook the film backing end into the takeup spool you wind until the big arrow on the film backing paper lines up with a red triangle on the body. Then you close the back and wind until the film stops. From there, as you take photos and wind the camera stops at the next frame for you. Itโ€™s so much nicer than using the infernal red windows youโ€™ll find on so many other medium-format cameras. A frame counter is on the side of the camera next to the winding knob.

When you open the hood, the viewing box erects on its own. When you press the Y logo in the lid, a magnifying glass pops out. Is it just my middle-aged eyes, or is this glass necessary for accurate focus? It is for me, anyway. Iโ€™m glad itโ€™s there. Either way, be prepared: the viewfinder image is reversed. This takes time to get used to. You can also press the Y logo in the lid until it swings entirely out of the way, and use the lid as a sports viewfinder.

To set aperture and shutter speed, turn the two small dials between the lenses until the values you want appear in the window atop the viewing lens. Then cock the shutter, frame your subject, press the shutter button, and wind on to the next frame.

By the way, I also own and have reviewed the Yashica-12 (here), which is much like the Yashica-D but offers a light meter and a crank winder. Other medium-format gems in my collection include the Certo Super Sport Dolly (here), the Kodak Monitor Anastigmat Special (here), the Agfa Isolette III (here), the Ansco Standard Speedex (here), the Ansco B2 Speedex (here), and the Voigtlรคnder Bessa (here). You can check out all of my camera reviews here.

It seemed right to shoot black-and-white film in this camera, so I loaded some Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros and took it along when my sons and I drove up to Terre Haute one cloudy afternoon. This jet has sat on the lawn of the Clay County Courthouse in Brazil, Indiana, for as long as I can remember.

Jet

We also stopped by Iron’s Cemetery, which is hidden from view along US 40 west of Plainfield. Check out that delicious bokeh.

Iron's Cemetery

The roll’s 12 shots went by too fast. So I went to the fridge for a roll of now-discontinued Kodak Ektachrome E100G slide film and kept shooting. My D beautifully rendered the evening sunlight as it fell across my car’s tail.

Matrix Hindquarter

I’ve put several rolls of E100G through this camera. This film just loves the D’s Yashinon lens.

Crown Hill National Cemetery

I sometimes get out my Yashica-D just to enjoy it. I own few cameras that bring me such pleasure. One evening after work I shot an entire roll of E100G on the flowers in my front yard.

Yellow and purple lilies *EXPLORED*

The father of a dear friend gave me another Yashica-D, one he had used for many years. It was in like-new condition and it was older, so I sold my first Yashica-D and kept his.

Yashica-D

According to this site which lists the history of Yashica TLRs, this D was made sometime between 1963 and 1965. It came with a plastic lens cap; earlier models had a metal cap. And it has the โ€œcowboyโ€ Y logo on the hood; later models had a plainer, wider Y logo. My earlier D has that wide-Y logo, so itโ€™s from after 1965.

To start, I shot some Kodak Ektar 100 in it. I took it to Crown Hill Cemetery, home of one of the nationโ€™s largest military cemeteries.

Charles H. Ackerman

This Yashica-D came with a Spiratone close-up lens kit. It did nice work on the narcissus in my front yard.

Spring flowers from my garden

Along the way I bought a Yashica-12, which features not only the Yashinon lenses and crank wind, but also an onboard light meter. The meter makes the 12 a little nicer to shoot than the D. But I still get my Yashica-D out once in a while because I enjoy its simplicity. I shot Kosmo Foto 100 on one outing.

Black Dog Books

I shot Kodak Gold 200 while my wife and our granddaughter were planting flowers in pots out front.

Grandma and Granddaughter

To see the rest of the photos I took with my two Yashica-Ds, check out my gallery.

The Yashica-D just feels great in the hands. You wouldnโ€™t think so; this is, after all, a large brick of metal. Yet its weight and size feel just fabulous as you carry it around. And then everything about it feels and sounds precise and luxurious, from winding to cocking the shutter to pressing the button. The Yashica-D is a sensual joy, roll after roll.

Itโ€™s why I keep mine within arm’s reach. There are just times when I feel like a little medium-format fun and the D is always a marvelous choice. Iโ€™ve been known to shoot a roll of 120 in twenty minutes in my D! Moreover, Ds go for far less on the used market than the better-known Yashica-Mat 124-G with its crank winder and integrated meter. While I very much enjoy the crank-wound, metered Yashica-12 I own, I think that if I could keep only one TLR, it would be the Yashica-D.

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Comments

19 responses to “Yashica-D”

  1. Steve Mitchell Avatar

    It’s great when you find a camera that just works for you! It certainly makes lovely images. I have long held a soft spot for Yashica cameras, including the Yashica made Contax SLRs which I love and use all the time. My one TLR is a 1952 Zeiss Ikoflex, which I also really enjoy. It also punches well above it’s weight with the images it makes. Great images, especially your wife and granddaughter!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I thought I might collect TLRs but after using these Yashicas I realized I didn’t need to try any others.

      1. Steve Mitchell Avatar

        I have to confess the one is sufficient for me too. It is a great conversation starter!

  2. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    Great user review on not only Yashica twin lens cameras, but TLR’s in general. I owned a late series Yashica 124G, a Rolleiflex, a Mamiya C220, and at one time, five Minolta Autocords! Loved them all, but the Minolta was the one that felt best in my hands, and with the focus mechanism that ran across the bottom of the camera, seemed to be easier to hold and use. I went through a major life change one time, and sold four of the Autocords (and a lot of other premium film equipment at the dawn of digital). Have one left, wish I had them all. (all of them had great lenses).

    I can attest to the fact that the late series Yashica lens was a beaut, but will also say (as we talked about on a previous entry), the three element Yashica lens had a wonderful quality, almost like a Petzval portrait lens, where the part in focus was fine, but the out of focus edge areas almost had an artistic type of “smear” bokay. As stated before as well, the 124G bodies were very tinny feeling, whereas the older 12’s and D’s seemed to be way more solid.

    I can also attest to the value of Rolleiflex, good luck getting one reasonably. When I had my commercial studio, I actually traded mine in against a brand new Hasselblad 250mm CF lens, and even as just a trade, it made a big dent in the total price!

    I started my career working part time at a portrait style studio, and was issued a Mamiya C series camera for what I was doing for them. I cannot say enough about them, but the interchangeable lenses feature made the cameras almost twice as big, and twice as heavy as the Rollei and the Rollei clones. Not one I’d pick today for the TLR “experience”. I will say that I had a nice 65mm lens for mine, as well as a 135mm lens, and to this day, still use some black & white portraits in my portfolio shot with the 135mm lens.

    Even before digital, when I was mentoring and speaking at college photo classes, I used to tell the kids that even if you don’t make photography your career, you could have a wonderful personal photographic life with just a TLR, decent tripod, hand held meter, and a two roll 120 processing tank. Never been more true today in the digital age if you love film!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      It’s true. You can go a long way with just a TLR. Thanks for sharing your memories.

  3. sonny rosenberg Avatar

    Great review and pics, it made me want to take out my only TLR for a shoot right now!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      dooooo eeeeeeet!

    2. Kodachromeguy Avatar

      Good idea! I recently finished a roll of Verichrome Pan in my Rolleiflex 3.5E. A roll of Panatomic-X is ready to go (if the temp. here ever drops below 95 degrees. F – yuck).

  4. sonny rosenberg Avatar

    The only thing that makes me hesitate at the moment is that the only film that I currently have for my 127 TLR is stuff that I cut and re-rolled down from 120. I was just learning how to do it, so very likely the film is fogged or worse. I’ll give it a try regardless!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      B&H has some 127 options, in case you are open to spending some money to get good film!

      1. sonny rosenberg Avatar

        Thanks Jim, I’m not opposed to buying expensive film. If my re-rolling experiment is a total failure I’ll look to B&H!

  5. austinnewell Avatar
    austinnewell

    Very cool to see you like and use a Yashica D, I bought a thrift store Duaflex and the TLR aspect really got me interested in other TLRs with exposure controls.
    After looking around online I settled on a Yashica C for about $250 after shipping, The downside I did not notice was the shutter speeds on the Yashica A, B, C, and D. My Yachica C has a max shutter of 1/300. Not a huge deal, but on a sunny day you’re forced to stop the aperture down to not over expose depending on your ISO. Something I started doing was carrying a pack of ND filters that fit my Canon 24-105mm lens and I meter while accounting for 2ND or 4ND. I just hold the filter in front of my lens when I take the shot, works great every time. Still it is my favorite camera to shoot on, the 80mm f3.5 lens has so much character in it’s sharpness and bokeh, and if this one ever breaks I would absolutely buy another.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      When I get a camera with low top shutter speeds like that, I just shoot slower films in them. With a Y-C I’d shoot up to ISO 200 films and use other cameras with faster shutters if I need faster films. But I also understand having to work with what you have, and I think your filter idea is great. And yeah, the 80/3.5 in these is wonderful.

    2. Jim Grey Avatar

      PS: My first TLR-like experience was with a Duaflex as well! Somewhere on here I reviewed one – click Camera Reviews in the site header and you’ll find it.

  6. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    AUSTINNEWELL, just a suggestion. Somewhere along the line I found a Bayonet 1 filter that would fit my Autocords (as well as Yashica and others) in X1 or #11 green. This needs two stops additional exposure and makes skin tones look more natural, and foilage a little lighter. It’ll make asa 400 film, into asa 100! If you’re sure your camera uses Bayonet 1 (and most of the Rollei clones do), you can get a bayonet 1 to 46mm filter adapter at B&H photo or can order from your favorite supplier. Still available at B&H, tho…Then, filter away to your delight!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Good tip!

    2. Austin Newell Avatar

      Thanks! I’ll have to check this out!

  7. Al Barten Avatar
    Al Barten

    I just got a D and love it. The 2.8 viewing lens gives a bright viewfinder image. I also like that the Yashica knob wind TLRs have a cold shoe on one side, providing a slot for a new meter. The crank wind models do not have a cold or hot shoe. So my D has replaced my Mat LM in the pecking order.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Hooray! May you make hundreds of satisfying photos with your D.

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