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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Medium format / February 2005Trouble focusing Yashica Mat 124 TLR
I just got a Yashica Mat-124, and after putting the first roll of film through it today I realized either I'm doing something really wrong or my camera's broken. This is my first experience with medium format, I've used 35mm up until now (except for a Holga, but that doesn't count). I'm having trouble focusing. No matter how much I twist the focus knob on my Yashica I can't see a difference in focus or sharpness on the viewfinder on most things - I could see a difference when I shot a picture of a really long and wide hallway, but the other 11 frames on this roll of film I just assumed that since it looked sharp on my viewfinder it would come out like that on my negative. That wasn't the case when I developed it, everything was way, way out of focus. What's the trick to focusing a TLR? I'm excited about using this camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. >I just got a Yashica Mat-124 > What's the trick to focusing a TLR? I'm excited about using this > camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's > obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. If there there a magnifier inside the hood, then flip it up and put your eye down to it. You should see a huge difference in focus. > What's the trick to focusing a TLR? I'm excited about using this > camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's > obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. I had one 20 years ago or so. There should be a flip-up magnifier in the hood. Flip that up for focusing. If it's not there for some reason, use a magnifying glass and use that when you focus. If you cannot see the mage snap into and out of focus with a magnifying glass, my suspicion is that the camera is broken. Can you see the lenses move back and forth as you turn the knob?  SignaturePhil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email from this URL http://www.cieux.com/ | http://www.civex.com/ is read daily. the front panel the lenses are on move back and forth when i turn the focusing knob like they should. i did try to use the magnifier and im afraid i still had trouble. i've read that the viewing screen on 124's have 4 compositional lines, but mine does not have that, it has a circle in the middle (i can't remember the term for it, but that circle is always in focus) and then little black lines radiating out from that. the little black lines make it really hard to see if it's in focus through the magnifier! i CAN see a very, very tiny difference when using the magnifier but it's a really small change in focus when i turn the knob, whereas in my negative the subjects were so out of focus they were just giant blobs, not even recognizable. is that huge difference in what i see in my viewfinder and what i see in my negative just part of using a TLR? > i CAN see a very, very tiny difference when using the magnifier but > it's a really small change in focus when i turn the knob, Sounds like either someone has changed the focus screen or something to me.. If it has a good ground glass sreen, you should be able to easily see where the focus is. It should be -NO- different from an SLR in that respect, this isn't some sort of "TLR" issue you're having. SignatureStacey I think you may be right that someone has changed the focusing screen - when I touch it it feels like plastic, not glass. Is there anywhere I can obtain a new screen from to replace it? I just happened to be reading this here in Cork Ireland and just dug an old broken 124g out of the attic and have taken out the screen. You can have it for the cost of postage. Where are you? That is very generous! I'm in Savannah, GA, USA. I will gladly pay postage for it, please contact me through email at brad (at) tenfortyfive.org. >I just happened to be reading this here in Cork Ireland and just dug an old > broken 124g out of the attic and have taken out the screen. > You can have it for the cost of postage. Oh megawd... County Cork. That's where my grandfather came from. > I'm excited about using this > camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's > obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. It should be. If what you see in the finder is sharp and the negatives aren't, it's out of calibration/it's broken. SignatureStacey I'm thinking just maybe you have a fresnel screen finder. This gives a bright image but it will be in focus at any distance. If this is the case then there will be a split prism in the middle and what you have to do is get this to be in line when you look at the object you are focussing on. If a distant lamppost, for example, then the top would have to be in line with the bottom of it if you are looking at it through the split prism. > I just got a Yashica Mat-124, and after putting the first roll of film > through it today I realized either I'm doing something really wrong or [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's > obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. Are you sure somebody didn't put the screen in up-side down? The shiny side should be up. The mirror has to be precisely set too. If it was reglued, it might be off. Bob Hickey > I just got a Yashica Mat-124, and after putting the first roll of film > through it today I realized either I'm doing something really wrong or [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's > obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. Never the easiest camera to focus to start with Alan Do you have the same problem outdoors in bright light? If so, then you might want to invest in a brighter screen... and, if you're nearsighted then you might want such a screen with a split image circle. Jim >> I just got a Yashica Mat-124, and after putting the first roll of film >> through it today I realized either I'm doing something really wrong or [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >> camera, I'm just a little confused with how focusing works since it's >> obviously not the same as it is on my SLR's. |
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