Canon A35F + Yashica Electro 35 GSN Review and Why I'm Selling Them Off

What a clickbait title lol. Lemme just start by saying these are GREAT rangefinder cameras. They have their own quirks, sure. They're not perfect but they're good at what they do considering their market price right now. Here we go, this might be a long post.

Canon A35F

I like to think of this camera as the overlooked Canonet cause essentially, that's what it is. A Canonet without the name. The A35F shares the same lens as a Canonet 28 so you know this lens is SHARP sharp. In fact it pretty much is a Canonet 28, with a lil twist.

It's got a built in flash! This is what sold me on getting it honestly. In hindsight, I don't even use the flash actually lol but it's there if I ever need it.

The A35F was made in that era where Canon is transitioning into the easy, user-friendly point-and-shoot cameras. After the A35F, there wouldn't be any new Canonet. The next camera Canon released was the AF35M, Canon's first autofocus point-and-shoot known as the "Autoboy". RIP Canonet :(

Anyway, enough history lesson. This was my second ever film camera, the pictures it produced are some of my favourites. Really no complaints. Except for one. You see, Canon added a little "feature" in this cam that the Canonets don't have. Every time the built-in lightmeter thinks your shot is under or over exposed, it'll lock the shutter release button automatically, not allowing you to capture the shot. As a fan of manual shooting this really pissed me off. I'll find what I think is a perfect moment to capture and when I try to snap the shot this cam will lock up and say "NOPE too dark."

Super annoying, I feel like taking under or overexposed photos is part of the learning process of film photography, it let's you learn from your mistakes. The silver lining is that all your shots will end up perfectly exposed, which is great if you like that functionality. It's perfect if you want a manual focused point-and-shoot. Like I said, the images are sharp, some of the best photos I've taken.

Price wise, since they don't have the Canonet name-brand, they are MUCH cheaper. If you're looking for one, keep an eye out for the Canon A35 Datelux as well. It's the exact same camera with the added function of adding dates to your pictures. Would I recommend this camera? Absolutely, if you're not too focused on manually controlling your gear and prefer letting the camera do it's thing. If your shot IS underexposed, hey that's what the flash is there for right? Plus it has that great iconic Canonet look too except it's black and damn does it look good. Perfect for people who like point-and-shoot cameras.

Yashica Electro 35 GSN

Known as the Spider Man camera cause it appeared in the movies at one point, the Electro 35 series of cameras are probably Yashica's most renowned line of rangefinders with the GSN (silver finish) and GTN (black finish) being the last in the lineup. Look up on Google for the best budget rangefinder cameras and the GSN makes the list for sure with the likes of Minolta Hi-Matic series and the Canon Canonet QL17 GIII.

What makes it stand out though, particularly in the Singapore market, is it's price. QL17s and Hi-Matics are being sold right now at a price point of S$200 and above for a mint one. I got my fully functioning GSN for S$40???????? With a filter and original case and strap?? A steal. Jump on Carousell right now there's probably more around that price. Granted I did have to open it up and clean the viewfinder a lil bit. Also, this thing is built like a goddamn TANK. It's heavy and solid, I love it.

My gripe with it though, is that mine personally has this issue with the winding of the film. I would get skipped frames issues here and there and sometimes the film wouldn't wind and it would double expose my film. Had a nice shot ruined by this :( Also I noticed the lens isn't as sharp as the Canon A35F but then again maybe my focusing is off cause of the hazy viewfinder. I did all my photo taking with this camera before I cleaned up the viewfinder of haze.

Would I recommend it? Now I'm not sure if the issues I had are a known thing in these models or just in my camera only. Other than that, they are perfectly fine cameras BUT if you have the money I suggest you save up for the QL17 GIII or the Hi-Matic series. If you're in a tight budget though, this camera is perfect. I'll probably go through a couple more roles before deciding on selling mine, it's just an absolute joy to shoot. My last 4 rolls have all been shot with this camera.

Why I Might Be Selling My Cameras

I guess you can kinda tell from the things I wrote above why. Honestly the A35F is perfectly fine. My issue with it is literally a feature Canon added that helps you take better pictures. I just personally don't like that feature, it annoys me lol. As for the Electro 35 GSN, yeah those are actual issues but it could just be me not loading the film properly? Idk. Like I said, I'll have to keep shooting it to decide cause I really love shooting with it.

Another reason is cause ultimately, I'd like to have just one rangefinder camera with an interchangeable lens system so I can have different lenses. One thing I love about rangefinders is it's quieter than an SLR, perfect for street photography. But one thing I love about my X700 SLR is the ability to change lenses for different uses. So why not have a camera that satisfies both right?

Well for one interchangeable lens rangefinders are fucking expensive and I'm not even talking about the Leicas or Voigtlanders. Just Canon ones are S$250 above for the body only and the lens costs just as much. Man, I got a budget to keep to. So yeah, I might consider selling these off to fund for just one rangefinder in the future. That's that then, see you next time.

Also I realised I didn't include any sample shot. Look its 1:51AM and I got school tomorrow, just head on to my IG feed and anything tagged #YashicaElectro35 and #CanonA35F is taken by these cameras okie!