Yashica FX3

Yashica FX3 body

I have sent my Yashica FX3 to repair. During the discussion with the expert, it reinforces the theory that mechanical equipment, whether it is a watch or a camera, the full mechanical one has a better value than the electrical ones. The FX3 has a mechanical shutter and it will function whether the battery is installed. There are small batteries used for light metering. The Canon AE-1 Program has a curtain shutter and only works with a battery installed.

I bought the FX3 in 1983 for a cost of between SGD$300 to SGD$350 (reminded by the expert). Now the repair cost is SGD$250 due to problem with the shutter (mirror goes up but does not come down) and a fungus growth lens which needs cleaning.

The camera and lens have nostalgic value as they were the first SLR I bought and started my long relationship with photography. The totally manual camera means that it is good to learn photography skills and technique. Even the focus is manually done. 35mm SLR is the predecessor of the full frame digital camera. Considering that a full frame digital camera now cost between $4000 and $5000, it is considered cheap to repair a SLR camera for full frame photography. Somehow, SLR camera traditionally was sold with prime lens instead of zoom lens. Zoom is done by the photographer legs to some limit.

Being the traditional 35mm film, the result of your shoot is only made known after the negatives are processed. There is no corretive action. The film can be digitised and correction made in Photoshop. There is no memory of the shutter speed or aperture setting unless it is purposely recorded.

I remembered I won a school competition (3rd prize) using the camera. The photo was of a polar bear surfacing from underneath water.