Paired Yashicamat 124G's

[Joel Alpers <joel.alpers@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steven Kearney asks,

<<Are the Yashica 124 and 124G the same except for cosmetics? Specifically
I'd like to know if I can use a 124 and a 124G in a twin rig.>>

        I have read that the difference between the 2 is that the 124 does not 
have light baffles inside it and the 124G does. This might cause a little 
difference in the amount of flare and subsequent contrast, but you would 
have to test to determine whether it would be tolerable or not. I have used 
paired Yahicamat 124G's for at least 5 years. They work just great, but I 
had to buy and compare 5 of them to get 2 that had acceptably (to me anyway) 
close focal lengths (and consequent image size) and shutter speeds. It's not 
too difficult to sell the left over ones, though. Rolleiflexes are even 
worse. The shutter springs are not strong enough to even get the shutters 
the same at "B". I have a pair of Rolleicords that are pretty close, but the 
apertures are off by 1/3 stop and the size of the aperture varies depending 
on whether you are going from large to small or from small to large. I have 
subsequently discovered that this is true for a number of cameras. When you 
do stereo you discover potential problems that you would never have even 
thought of otherwise.

        In another message Steven wrote,

<<I've been wondering how one manages twinned TLRs like 124Gs. If they're at
minimum separation on the bar, isn't it difficult to access the focus on one
camera and the winder on the other? I suppose that what's needed is a bar 
that
allows the cameras to be easily slided apart and together. Too bad Greg is 
on
vacation since he could tell us how he did it with his twinned Ricohflexes.
Anyone else figure out a good solution?>>

        I have used a sliding bar (for over 10 years) for this purpose. That 
is, you loosen a thumb screw, slide the camera to the left, wind the crank, 
slide the camera back, and retighten the screw. It's not exactly fast -- it 
probably takes about 30 seconds to wind both cameras a get ready for the 
next shot. No big deal in the larger scheme of things. I always make 2 
identical negatives of everything that I think is worth an exposure, in case 
of negative defects. I will be leading a workshop on Advanced Stereo 
Techniques at the convention (Sunday afternoon, I think), at which I will 
discuss slide bars among other things. I will also have a table at the trade 
show.

David Lee
koganlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx