The Copal MXV Shutter in a Yashica D TLR Camera – Ratfactor
The Copal MXV Shutter in a Yashica D TLR Camera – Ratfactor.
This is really a fantastic step-by-step instruction by Dav Gauer…
If you have problem with your Yashica D, maybe can have a try!
The Copal MXV Shutter in a Yashica D TLR Camera
A Step-by-Step Guide by Dave Gauer
My tale begins with an eBay auction. Some strange fascination with TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) cameras has brought me here. $32 later (plus shipping) and I’ve got my very own Yashica TLR. I discern that it is the D model from the manual shutter cocking, right-side focus and film advance, and other visual cues.
When I started to play with the critter, I realized that the shutter was not opening. Well, the eBay seller had made no promises to the contrary. It was time to crack the camera open. Join me as we enter a world of gears and springs where life is cheap and parts are small.
Putting the camera back together is pretty much just the reverse of the above. Here is a handy checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything:
- Put the flash sync spring back on the screw/post and replace the flash sync (if you took it off)
- Put the shim(s) or washer(s) in place where the speed regulator goes
- Put the speed regulator in and screw it down
- Put the self timer back in and secure it with the snap ring. My self timer was damaged, as I have mentioned. The shutter works fine without it, but at least the frame of the self timer is needed so that the speed cam detent spring can be placed on it.
- Put the shutter speed cam back on the shutter mechanism. Be sure that all of the pins (shown in the picture) clear the various holes and slots provided.
- Put the shutter speed cover on the cam so that the holes line up with various pins (on mine, the printed “B” aperture setting lined up with the post protruding out of the top of the speed cam.)
- Carefully screw down the cover ring. Be sure it is threading properly before applying any force.
- Turn the set screw to secure the cover ring
- Work the shutter to make sure all of the controls work properly
- Align the shutter release lever so that it fits into the slot in the mounting plate
- Underneath the shutter, arrange the stack of rings so that they align. On mine, I needed the ring containing the manual shutter reset lever to be in the right position and all of the rings needed to have a slot lined up with a hole in the mounting plate so that a post from the shutter went through them all and secured them
- Screw the lens barrel onto the back of the mounting plate, breath a sigh of relief
- If detached, re-connect the small spring that resets the shutter reset lever
- Line up the aperture and shutter speed levers with the controls inside the shutter cover and put the shutter cover back on. Make sure that rotating the aperture and speed wheels on the cover operate the shutter controls. Secure the cover with the five screws
- Screw the shutter lever knob back on counter-clockwise
- Re-attach the lens assembly to the body of the camera with four screws
- Put the top cover back on the lens assembly with four screws
- If desired, re-glue the leatherette. You’ll probably want to play with the camera for a while to make sure it works before you do this. I’ve still got my leatherette off and am debating whether or not to glue the old one back on. Update: I still haven’t. I think it looks fine without.
Good luck, and I hope the Copal Shutter in your Yashica camera is now fully functional!
Comparative Chart of Rolleiflex Twin-Lens Cameras
via Comparative Chart of Rolleiflex Twin-Lens Cameras.
| Model Features | Rolleicord Va / Vb | Rolleiflex T | Rolleiflex 3.5 F / 2.8 F | Rolleiflex 2.8 GX / 2.8 FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| years of fabrication | from 1957 to 1977 | from 1958 to 1976 | from 1958 to 1981 | 1987-2002 / 2001- |
| film format | 120 and 135 (Rolleikin) | 120 and 135 (Rolleikin) | 120, 220 and 135 (Rolleikin) | 120 |
| images on 120/220 rollfilm | 12 frames 6×6, 16 frames 4.5×6 or 24 frames 28mmx40mm (120) |
12 frames 6×6 or 16 frames 4,5×6 (120) |
12 frames 6×6 (120) or 24 frames 6×6 (220) |
12 frames 6×6 (120) |
| adaptor back for 6,5×9 plates and cut-film | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Zeiss Optics (taking lens) | no | Tessar 3.5 / 75 mm 4 elements 3 groups |
3.5 F: Planar 3.5 / 75 mm 5 or 6 elements 4 groups |
Planar 2.8 / 80 mm 5 elements in 4 groups, made by Rollei under Zeiss license |
| 2.8 F: Planar 2.8 / 80 mm 5 elements 4 groups |
||||
| Schneider Optics (taking lens) | Xenar 3.5 / 75 mm 4 elements 3 groups |
Xenar (rare) 3.5 / 75 mm 4 elements 3 groups | 3.5 F : Xenotar 3.5 / 75 mm 5 or 6 elements 4 groups | no |
| 2.8 F : Xenotar 2.8 / 80 mm 5 elements 4 groups | ||||
| viewing lens | Heidoscop 3,2 / 75 mm 3 elements | Heidosmat 2.8 / 75 mm 3 elements | Heidosmat 2.8 / 75 mm or 2.8 / 80 mm 3 elements | Heidosmat 2.8 / 80 mm 3 elements |
| standard focusing hood | folding hood, 2.5X lupe, ” sport ” viewfinder | folding hood, 2.5X lupe, ” sport ” viewfinder | folding hood, 2.5X lupe, second 4x lupe and second mirror (” sport ” setup) | folding hood, 2.5X lupe , ” sport ” viewfinder |
| optional viewing accessories | Va : fixed hood, Vb : as T-model | removable ground glass, rigid 2.5X hood, 1.5X prism | removable ground glass, rigid 2.5X hood, 1.5X prism | removable ground glass, rigid 2.5X hood, 1.5X prism |
| bayonet mount for filters or close-up lenses (internal) and lens hood (external) | size I | size I | size II (3.5 F), size III (2.8 F) | size III |
| between-lens mechanical leaf shutter | Synchro-Compur size CR00, B – 1s to 1/500s | Synchro-Compur size CR00, B – 1s to 1/500s | Synchro-Compur sizes CR00 or CR0, B – 1s to 1/500s | Synchro-Compur CR0, then Seiko / Copal no 0, B – 1s to 1/500s |
| mechanical self-timer | yes | yes | yes | no |
| standard flash shoe | no | no | no | yes |
| X-synch, electronic flash | all speeds | all speeds | all speeds | all speeds |
| M-synch, flash bulbs | yes (first models only) | yes (first models only) | yes | no |
| first frame film setup | semi-auto, paper arrow <-> red dot | semi-auto, paper arrow <-> red dot | fully automatic, roller-feeler system | semi-auto, paper arrow <-> red dot |
| film advance | winding knob, not coupled to shutter | folding crank, coupled to shutter | folding crank, coupled to shutter | folding crank, coupled to shutter |
| shutter cocking | separate, manually on taking lens | coupled to film advance | coupled to film advance | coupled to film advance |
| safety lock against double exposure | yes, can be switched off | yes | yes, can be switched off | yes, can be switched off |
| speeds and f/stops controls | lever on taking lens, EV coupling | lever on taking lens, EV coupling | front thumb-wheels on side of lenses | front thumb-wheels on side of lenses |
| display of speeds and f/stops | side windows on taking lens | top windows on viewing lens, with printed belts | top windows on viewing lens, with geared engraved rings | top windows on viewing lens, with geared engraved rings |
| built-in exposure meter | no | external un-coupled selenium cell (optional), diffusor for incident light readings | external inter-coupled selenium cell (optional), diffusor for incident light readings | silicon sensor for available light (viewing lens), and TTL flash SCA 300 (metered by reflection off the film) |
| camera works without battery | yes | yes | yes | yes, except exposure meter system |
| weight (without film) | Va 875g, Vb 940g | 1020g | 1220g | 1235g |
Common features:
- twin-lens reflex, 6×6 format on 120/220 rollfilm, non-removable twin-lens panel,
- focusing by translation of the twin-lens panel, controlled by a left-hand focusing knob,
- automatic compensation for parallax by moving frames under the ground glass.
Other twin-lens Rolleiflex models built in the same period:
- Rolleiflex 3.5E / 2.8E, very similar to 3.5 F / 2.8 F, uncoupled optional exposure meter,
- Rolleimagic with battery-less automatic exposure system,
- Tele-Rolleiflex (fixed telephoto lens, 135 mm)
- Wide-Angle Rolleiflex (fixed wide-angle lens, 55 mm)
- ” Baby ” Rolleiflex 4×4 (127 film only)
Common accessories:
- twin lens cap, leather neck strap and leather ever-ready case,
- bayonet filters, close-up twin-lenses with built-in parallax compensation,
- quick-release tripod plate “Rolleifix” (highly recommended)
References:
- “Rollei-Werke, Rollfilmkameras”, Prochnow, Claus, Rollei-Report Volume II (twin-lens Rolleiflex and SL66), ISBN 3-89506-118-2, LINDEMANNS (1994)
- “Rollei-Werke, Rollei Fototechnic 1958 bis 1998”, Prochnow, Claus, Rollei-Report Volume IV (projectors, flashs, 2.8GX), ISBN 3-89506-141-7, LINDEMANNS (1997)
Dual Format TLR
A video review
Back in 1958 Yashica produced what was then the one and only dual format TLR, the Yashica-635, capable of taking both 120 and 35mm. When I saw this camera it was most definitely love at first sight! “I must have this camera!” I exclaimed, I scanned the internet for a complete one since a lot of them unfortunately seemed to be missing the 35mm kit and fount this one with an original case and kit.
The Yashica-635 has an 80mm f/3.5 Yashikor lens although later models had a higher quality Yashinon lens, a Copal MVX shutter and originally came with a 35mm adapter kit so you could shoot either120mm or 35mm film.
The shutter needs to be primed before you can shoot which is done by pushing down the lever on the camers front, this is actually a bonus as it means the shutter is not coupled with the film advance making double exposures quick and easy!
The two discs in between the lens are used to change the f-stop and shutter speed which ranges from Bulb mode to 1/500. I’ve found that the slower shutter speeds on my Yashica can be a little sticky resulting in over exposure, this is likely just this particular camera and could be resolved with a little maintenance. Unless you have a light meter to hand, exposure times are guess work as there isn’t one built into the camera. I use the Sunny 16 Rule as a guide since I don’t have a light meter.
I absolutely love shooting 120 film with this camera, of course its a little slower to operate than an SLR and it can be disorienting looking at the reverse image on the view finder, but in return you get a beautiful 6×6 crisp image and its great for street shooting as people often don’t notice your holding a camera since its shot from waist level.
Shooting 35mm with the Yashica-635 is good for portraits as the film is oriented that way within the camera. The view finder has a marked area so you know what’s going to be in shot since 35mm is a lot thinner than 120. The kit has a mask to give you a 24×36mm image but its also possible to shoot 35mm without using the mask giving you a 60×35mm long image with wonderful sprockety goodness! I used the 35mm holder but left in the 120 take up spool, taped the 35mm on the spool and shot as if it was 120. This advanced the film the correct amount after each shot.
Shooting with this camera really is wonderful and I hope we have many years together.
TLRgraphy 