This is my second Yashica Mat body that I’m trying – the first is a Yashica Mat D that currently renders a flare in the shape of a smile in sunlit images. This one seems to work now that I’ve had the frame advance repaired, so that a roll of film doesn’t run through without stopping. The film advance is similar to the crank on a Rolleiflex and makes things pretty quick to get to the next frame.
I used some scenes in Downtown Houston and the shopping/business district of the Houston Galleria for test views with Ilford HP5 Plus 400. The raw scans show a lot of grays without too much contrast – that may be a mix of of the nature of the film and the taking lens on this Yashica. I’ve pushed the black tones on these images to create darker shadows. Overall I’m happy with the results from this TLR from the 1950’s, and would shoot with it again.
