a walk with the yashica mat 124g
I think its almost inevitable for a film photographer to get the urge to own a TLR at some point in their life, I know I’ve had the inkling for a Mamiya c220/330 in the past which I managed to suppress because of their bulk and the fact I already own a 6x6 camera, but now i’ve finally given in to temptation.
Why did I give in? Well a few reasons probably..
curiosity about them? wanting to shoot some medium format? gear acquisition syndrome? the need to make myself feel better by spending money?
All of the above I imagine, but I also love they way TLR’s look as a camera, they have an interesting asthetic, they’re fairly compact (unless its the Mamiya range, anyway), and I do love a square frame.
The Yashica Mat cameras have been on my radar a long time, I always fancied owning one in the past, but moreso recently have i found myself falling down the usual YouTube rabbit holes, watching video upon video of cameras..
Eventually having settled on a 124G for a good price and condition, the camera was obtained and a test roll was shot!
The 124G is a good entry camera into medium format, its fairly cheap, there’s no shortage of them about, and it shoots a wonderful 6x6cm negative.
Its low price of course comes for a reason, and it certainly isn’t built to the same quality standards as a Hassy, but it was roughly 1/5th the price. The images it produces, however, certainly aren’t 1/5th the quality of the Hasselblad system, so the value for money really is wonderful, making it a perfect camera for someone starting, or simply not wanting to spend a shed load of money!
So I took the camera out a couple of days and shot some test photos on Ilford HP5, both near my home and in the Peak District. I’ve been shooting a lot of 35mm the last few months, so returning to shooting a square frame has been really enjoyable!
Thankfully, it seems as though the camera is functioning just fine, all my images have come out exposed as I intended, and I’m looking forward to getting out with it some more!
I’ll get a few more rolls thrown through it and in the future il write a proper review, but so far I give it a thumbs up!
