Yashica Yashica-Mat 124G

Yashica Mat-124G is the most-affordable medium-format TLR of the late 20th century — in production 1970-1986 and nearly continuously available on the used market since. The "G" denotes gold-plated electrical contacts (an upgrade introduced for reliability over the earlier Mat-124). It pairs a Yashinon 80mm f/3.5 taking lens with a Yashinon viewing lens, both fixed (non-interchangeable) — which is the trade-off versus the Mamiya C330 interchangeable-lens TLR.

Key features

• Fixed Yashinon 80mm f/3.5 taking lens (Tessar-derived 4-element/3-group)
• Fixed Yashinon 80mm f/2.8 viewing lens (brighter for focus)
• Crank-wind 6×6 — 12 exposures on 120, 24 on 220 (selectable via film-advance gear)
• Built-in CdS TTL meter — battery-dependent (PX625 mercury or LR44 with adapter)
• Copal mechanical leaf shutter — 1s to 1/500 + B
• Distance scale + depth-of-field markings on focus knob

Practical notes

• Working bodies on used market: $200-400; near-mint examples occasionally $500+
• Mercury-cell PX625 batteries no longer manufactured; meter recalibration or LR44+adapter common
• The 80mm f/3.5 Yashinon is sharp by f/5.6 and very sharp by f/8 — the cubic-grain B&W films perform well at these stops
• Lighter than Rolleiflex 2.8F (~1.05 kg vs ~1.25 kg); also less robustly built

Related cameras

• Mamiya C330 — interchangeable-lens TLR alternative
• Rolleiflex 3.5F / Rolleiflex 2.8F — reference TLR cameras

See also

• Hasselblad 500C/M — the SLR alternative for 6×6