RetroTech E3: Yashica MF-2 Super

May 30, 2020 •

• ☕️ 2 min read

Yashica was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, originally active from 1949 to 2005. It is the same brand that Peter Parker had in The Amazing Spiderman. The model that he had was Yashica Electro 35, which is the best looking camera ever. While the one that I have is Yashica MF-2 Super. This camera uses 35mm roll films. Remember those?

My father bought this camera years ago. He too had a thing for photography and he absolutely loved this camera. This was the only camera in my entire family for years, and it has been used by many of my family members, on more events than I can count.

How Film Cameras Work

Film cameras consist of a lightproof box that lets in a bit of light at the right moment. This happens when you press the shutter on the camera. It opens a hole on the front of camera very breifly to let the light enter. Once the light enters the camera, it creates an image by causing a chemical reaction on the photo film. These cameras do not have image sensors which modern digital cameras have which limits the resolution of image on the area of film used.

Also, have you ever noticed the ISO on your digital camera? Digital cameras have settings for light sensitivity known as ISO. Lower ISO numbers are less light sensitive, but allow for better detail without lots of grain appearing in the image. Film cameras also have ISO standard but that is based on the film. So the photographers have to plan in advance hte sort of light environment they were planning on working in and choose the film accordingly.

If you want to read more about how cameras work in general, this article explains it very well.

Technical Specifications of Yashica MF-2 Super

Film: 35 mm Roll Film
Camera Type: Point-and-shoot
Lens: Yashica lens 38 mm f/3.8
Aperture: f/3.8 and f/8
Focus Range: 1 m to infinity
Shutter speeds: 1/100, 1/60 for flash
ISO value: DX-coded
Battery: 2AA × 2