I remember back in 1974 I was looking to get a better camera. The Yashica Electro GSN was one of the candidates. The advertised low-light capabilities of the GSN was what appealed to me the most, and that it was a rangefinder with a fixed lens was what appealed to me least. So I decided to go with a SLR because I liked the idea of being able to see exactly what I was shooting. Still I did think it was a attractive camera and if I’d had the money at the time I might have gotten one along with a lot of the cameras that were on the market.
Well, about a year ago after having gone digital for several years I got to missing film. I’d heard that film cameras could be had today for very small amounts so I went looking on Ebay. One of the first cameras I got was one of the Yashica Electro GSN’s. Mine was in excellent shape with a battery adapter. In wanting to learn more about my new purchase I found that the Electro does have a great reputation and a loyal following. And while so far my use of it has been limited I can see why it is so well-liked. The lens is sharp and the aperture priority auto exposure seems very accurate. Since a lot of other people have written well about the Yashica Electros I am just going to give links to what I think are two of the best accounts:
Karen Nakamura on the Yashica Electro GSN
Yashica Electro GSN from Matt’s Classic Cameras
And lastly here are a few images.
