The Yashica Electro 35 GSN - A Quite Capable Japanese Rangefinder

Old co-worker at my job gave me his old GSN when it looked like we were going to go on strike at my old job - he was too old to be active on the line. Told me he used it for every picket he’d ever been on and told me to use it. Unfortunately, the company ended up shutting down, but I plan to carry on his legacy. It’s a learning curve from my phone, but I’m excited to use it!

This was my first camera ever, which I purchased from an Army PX in 1970 for $65. I told the salesman at the PX to give me the "best" camera they had. He pulled out a Ricoh 35mm SLR and the Yashica Electro 35. The Yashica just looked classier, so with no photographic experience whatsoever, I went with it. Never had a 35mm camera that produced any better negatives/prints. Same thing happened to me with medium format. After learning about the benefits of larger films, I bought a Yashica Mat 124G in late 1971, and after my first roll of Verichrome Pan film, I was hooked on 120 film and medium format cameras from then on.

Nice! A new episode while I have my breakfast! Glad I found this channel, great series!

I really appreciate the time and effort you take to run these old cameras through their paces. Please keep up the great work!

The yashica electro 35 gsn has been my main 35mm camera for a while now, and I have noticed that it has definitely given me better results with B&W film. But I do absolutely enjoy the camera. The quiet shutter does make street photography fun for someone who doesn’t want to be so obvious!

I love this channel!! I had several of these cameras over a period of years when they were "current"... Wow what a blast from the past!!!

Just found this camera for extremely cheap at a thrift store, and your video is a big help on how to use this cam👍🏼

Wow…the camera produces great result. Great video. Thank you so much for sharing.

thank you very much for your videos! They are very informative and enjoyable to watch. A hug from Chile

I think the issue of underexposure has to do with the white skeleton, being so close the camera measures more light than there is in the entire scene (it's common with all rangefinders of that style, the measurement angle is fixed. In more advanced cameras you can choose the percentage of the area to be measured ("center-weighted"). In a more open shot, it would surely have measured better. Nice video !!

Thanks a lot for the amazing video. My family's had a 35 GSN since before I was born and the camera is in now my posession. I look forward to dusting off the old thing and hoping it works!

Awesome video and lovely photos as always! Didn't realize the Electro came with those accessories! I don't have a GSN because I opted to go for the slightly less common, but arguably more practical Yashica Electro 35 CC(or CCW) which doesn't look as cool but has a more common battery and is natively a wider 35mm lens. (It is also lighter but looks less metal and cool.) Very useful and good little camera though I have also had the occasional underexposure and now that you mention it, the sky could definitely have contributed to that. Will need to keep that in mind in the future.

A little correction: you can still use this camera without the battery. But it will fire only at 1/500 of the second. I hope it helps. Great review, though!

Hi. When I add a new old camera to my assortment, I always try to get the Instructions manual and some other reading material, such as brochures or period magazines, with reviews of that particular camera. On the Electro 35 brochure, they show the Electro 35 kit, which is a hard-leather carrying case, containing the telephoto and wide-angle auxiliary lens, with their dedicated viewfinder, a small grip-tripod, a yellow filter, a metalic lens shade, cable release and a soft-leather everyday case. A lovely piece for my collection that I had the chance to get on an Ebay's auction, just one or two weeks after. My camera always gets the right exposure, as did yours, on the out of your backyard session, so as strange as it could seem, the lesson of the day is to never underestimate the shadow power of a basketball cap. Although the Electro 35 is an automatic aperture priority camera, we can also decide the shutter speed by adjusting the aperture and counting. It's simple and, with practice, gets very easy, at least on normal conditions. We open the diaphragm till the red light gets on, which means the right exposure is above the camera's maximum 1/500 shutter speed. Next we start to close the diaphragm, click by click, till the red light turns off. And that means we are on the 1/500. Now, if we close the diaphragm one more step, the camera will change the shutter speed to 1/250, and so on, until we reach our desired shutter speed. It really works. Those light conditions, that will make it difficult for an automatic right exposure, can be rather controlled by changing the ASA on the film sensitivity dial. In my opinion, these challenges that an amateur camera allows us to overcome, to be able to control it in a more professional way, are very rewarding and, without a doubt, entertaining. But more importantly, the exposure and that Yashinon dx 1.7 lens give very good results. Thanks for one more great moment of enjoyment. Cheers

I own two of these. One all black, one that’s black and silver. Both have the unfortunate “pad of death” syndrome. Soon, I’ll send them off for repair. Can’t wait to get these back in action. Inspiring video, sir. Thank you.

You put a lot of effort into this video. Thank you. We found the GSN while packing up the parents house in San Jose. I'm in the middle of cleaning it up and doing a refurb. It looks like I'll have to put some time into getting some good shots.

Hmmm… back in the early 2000’s I bought (and sold) quite a few 35mm film cameras on eBay. The Electro 35 was one I bought after reading a lot of hype about it on the internet. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t like it much, either. I was used to Olympus OM System slr cameras, and rangefinders like the Olympus 35RC. The Yashica was big and heavy and looked kinda cheap. Its reputation was for its fast, sharp lens, and I do recall that I had no complaint about the sharpness of the lens or the image quality. I just preferred smaller, “trimmer” cameras.

Hi ! It's a fantastic and well made japanese camera, with durable and solid electronic system, a good acurate rangefinder and an amazing 1.7 lens. And well, not to forged the impressive stepless electronic controlled shutter speed system ! I spend weeks completely servicing my GT, so if you have some questions about the POD replacement or focus ring stuck, don't hesitate. Sincerely, Ben

I purchased the Electro CCN 35mm (a more compact version of the GTN) to be my low light photography rangefinder. It turned out to be the opposite. The camera was underexposing in low light. However it became my best bright light rangefinder. With an ND filter and a slow or medium speed film I was able to shoot in bright light at wide aperture achieving some nice depth of field rendering effects. Those cameras are worth the small investment. There is a learning curve and they are no point and shoot. They are also not the replacement for a Leica or a poor man's Leica. They are what they are and you need to learn how to love it.

Man, that thing takes some beautiful photos. I know your talent as a photographer helped of course, so I don’t know if I could get those gorgeous shots but I think I want to try! Currently using a Minolta X7-A and really want to try an old school rangefinder as my next investment. Thanks so much for all the detail and the time you put into this!