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Hi all,

Does any body here have a Yashica FX-2 SLR? It is a very old one.

I recently bought mine on ebay, and shot five rolls. The results were
quite suprising.

Firstly, the pictures seem totally out of focus, although I am pretty
sure I focus to the clear image in the viewfinder. The focus seems to
be a bit behind the object being focused on. I also noticed that the
lenghts shown on the lens is the the value it supposed to be

So, is it the viewfinder's problem? Any way I can fix it easily?

Secondly, there are quite a number of photos with images on the right
hand side, and black on the left. I suspected it's the shutter not
working at 1/1000s. Any easy solutions? I am avoiding the high speeds
now by using slower films.

Thirdly, whenever I shot at 1/60s, the mirror locks up afterwards, so I
have to shot in black for the next frame.
The mark on the 1/60s is in different colour to that of other speeds, I
suspect if there is a trick to use this speed. Any one know this?

Thanks in advance.

Peng

A black partial frame when not using flash is indeed a sign of shutter
problems but you might be able to "exercise" that out simply by cocking and
firing it enough. You can open the back and look through the shutter to see
if the light circle appears complete.
1/60th is in a different colour usually to indicate that is the highest
flash synch speed. It should not lock up the mirror.
Can't help much on the focus problem. Are you using a large opening lens
(like a 50 f1.4) wide open? While checking the shutter you might also make
sure the diaphragm is closing down.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"Peng" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Hi all,
>
> Does any body here have a Yashica FX-2 SLR? It is a very old one.
>
> I recently bought mine on ebay, and shot five rolls. The results were
> quite suprising.
>
> Firstly, the pictures seem totally out of focus, although I am pretty
> sure I focus to the clear image in the viewfinder. The focus seems to
> be a bit behind the object being focused on. I also noticed that the
> lenghts shown on the lens is the the value it supposed to be
>
> So, is it the viewfinder's problem? Any way I can fix it easily?
>
> Secondly, there are quite a number of photos with images on the right
> hand side, and black on the left. I suspected it's the shutter not
> working at 1/1000s. Any easy solutions? I am avoiding the high speeds
> now by using slower films.
>
> Thirdly, whenever I shot at 1/60s, the mirror locks up afterwards, so I
> have to shot in black for the next frame.
> The mark on the 1/60s is in different colour to that of other speeds, I
> suspect if there is a trick to use this speed. Any one know this?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Peng
>

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, as I expected, the 1/60 should be a mechanical failure. Avoiding
it at the moment, as well as the high speeds. The photos took with
medium speeds seem still in fairly good quality.

I use a 28mm f2.8 and a 55mm f2.0 lens, and do use them wide open quite
often. I had the thought that the out of focus problem being the depth
of field is too narrow and it is hardly to observe much change in focus
on the viewfinder screen.

However, I am not too sure about the diaphragm you are talking about.
What is it?

Thanks.

Peng

"Peng" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> Yes, as I expected, the 1/60 should be a mechanical failure. Avoiding
> it at the moment, as well as the high speeds. The photos took with
> medium speeds seem still in fairly good quality.
>
> I use a 28mm f2.8 and a 55mm f2.0 lens, and do use them wide open quite
> often. I had the thought that the out of focus problem being the depth
> of field is too narrow and it is hardly to observe much change in focus
> on the viewfinder screen.
>
> However, I am not too sure about the diaphragm you are talking about.
> What is it?
>
The diaphram are the "leaves" in the lens.

Peng wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Does any body here have a Yashica FX-2 SLR? It is a very old one.
>
> I recently bought mine on ebay, and shot five rolls. The results were
> quite suprising.
>
> Firstly, the pictures seem totally out of focus, although I am pretty
> sure I focus to the clear image in the viewfinder. The focus seems to
> be a bit behind the object being focused on. I also noticed that the
> lenghts shown on the lens is the the value it supposed to be
>
> So, is it the viewfinder's problem? Any way I can fix it easily?
>
> Secondly, there are quite a number of photos with images on the right
> hand side, and black on the left. I suspected it's the shutter not
> working at 1/1000s. Any easy solutions? I am avoiding the high speeds
> now by using slower films.
>
> Thirdly, whenever I shot at 1/60s, the mirror locks up afterwards, so
I
> have to shot in black for the next frame.
> The mark on the 1/60s is in different colour to that of other speeds,
I
> suspect if there is a trick to use this speed. Any one know this?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Peng

Hi Peng,
I used to have an FX-2, but it developed the same fault you mention in
your third point, i.e. locking mirror, principally around 1/60,
although it could also happen at other speeds. Unfortunately I never
knew the cause, but it does seem to be a common problem. The reason
for the different colour of that setting is that it is the flash sync
speed.
Cheers,
Mark

http://www.markhama.com

Good place to send your camera in for a Clean and Adjust. Not a
unreasonable thing for a 30 year old camera to need.


Peng wrote:
> Does any body here have a Yashica FX-2 SLR? It is a very old one.
>
> I recently bought mine on ebay, and shot five rolls. The results were
> quite suprising.

the aperture that closes down for any shot at a higher f stop than the lens
wide open. You should be able to see the blades when the lens is stopped
down. Try shooting with the back open and watch for the difference between
f2.0 and f16 on that 55 mm lens. Every other setting should be somewhere
between them.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"Peng" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> Yes, as I expected, the 1/60 should be a mechanical failure. Avoiding
> it at the moment, as well as the high speeds. The photos took with
> medium speeds seem still in fairly good quality.
>
> I use a 28mm f2.8 and a 55mm f2.0 lens, and do use them wide open quite
> often. I had the thought that the out of focus problem being the depth
> of field is too narrow and it is hardly to observe much change in focus
> on the viewfinder screen.
>
> However, I am not too sure about the diaphragm you are talking about.
> What is it?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Peng
>

Tony wrote:
> the aperture that closes down for any shot at a higher f stop than
the lens
> wide open. You should be able to see the blades when the lens is
stopped
> down. Try shooting with the back open and watch for the difference
between
> f2.0 and f16 on that 55 mm lens. Every other setting should be
somewhere
> between them.
>

I am sure the blades closes down at different stops, as I got plenty of
photos correctly exposured with lower aperture.

Thanks for help.

Peng

Hi garlicpic,
It seems that the problem is quite common then. I have been avoiding
1/60, and it seems worked. Haven't gone into trouble much now.

I noticed when I switch from 1/125 over 1/60 to 1/30, I could hear the
sound of gears spinning fast. Could be a problem.

Thanks for the advice on flash sync. Very helpful.
Peng

columbotrek wrote:
> http://www.markhama.com
>
> Good place to send your camera in for a Clean and Adjust. Not a
> unreasonable thing for a 30 year old camera to need.

Thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately, I am in the UK. And even worse, I cannot afford to spend
another big lump of money to get it serviced.

Cheers.
Peng