Yashica T3 - Honest Thoughts (Favourite 35mm Film Camera)

My honest thoughts on the Yashica T3 which is my favourite 35mm film camera. I will be sharing what I like and don’t like about this camera as well as some sample photos to hopefully give you a better understanding of whether this film camera might be for you. I’ve had the Yashica T3 for almost two years now and I can confidently say that it is my favorite 35mm film camera. I’ve probably put around 30 rolls of film through it since then and I’m constantly impressed with just how good the quality is. Whether I'm shooting a high-quality film like Portra, or something a little cheaper like Kodak Gold, this point and shoot film camera always delivers when I need it to.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:54 - Lens
2:28- Automatic System
3:42- Autofocus
4:09 - Flash
4:52 - Battery
5:22 - Weight
5:32 - Design
5:59 - Price
6:28 - Summary

So the first thing you will notice with the Yashica T3 is the built-in Zeiss f2.8 lens. So if you aren’t familiar with Carl Zeiss, they are one of the oldest lens manufacturers out there and their quality is often some of the best. They make lenses for Leica, Contax and Sony cameras for example, so to have this system on a film camera is one thing, but to have it in a point and shoot camera, is pretty impressive.

It’s also worth noting that out of the other cameras in the Yashica T lineup, this is the only one that goes down to 2.8 which is a little strange. Even the new model like the T4 and T5 only go down to 3.5, so that might be something to think about if you are considering the other models in this lineup.

Alongside this insanely fast aperture, is the 35mm focal length which is perfect for everyday shooting. I would say it just about covers all bases in terms of photography styles, making it a very versatile camera. It works for street photography, portrait photography and also landscape photography, so it really does appeal to a lot of people. However being a prime 35mm lens, it does have some lens distortion, which I personally like, but that might not be for some people. It is only minor and maybe you can’t tell, but it does exist and is something to be aware of.

Due to it being a wide-angle lens, the Yashica T3 does suffer from a little bit of vignetting which will impact your image. I particularly notice this when I'm shooting something that has the sky in the background, causing the corners to darken. And unfortunately, there is no way to fix this in-camera, but there are some tools in post-production if this bothers you.

So being a point and shoot camera everything is automatic, making it super user friendly and easy to use. You don’t have to worry about any of the exposure settings which is really handy if you don’t care about the technical side of photography.

In contrast to that, however, if you are after a film camera that is a little more manual then this camera won’t be for you or any other point and shoots for that matter, and I would suggest looking into some other options. A Canon AE-1 or Pentax K1000 might be a great starting point as they are also 35mm cameras for a similar price.

So with a fully automatic camera, you’re more than likely always going to have an autofocus system, but they do tend to be a bit dodgy on these older cameras. The Yashica T3 however has one of the best ones out there probably due to it’s super high-quality lens. You are able to focus on anything from half a meter to infinity which is pretty versatile and can be used in most situations, apart from macro photography.

Another great feature that I use all the time is the built-in flash, which has a 0.6s recharge rate, which is pretty quick considering it is an older camera. Having the option of using flash comes in handy especially if you are at a party or out at night and want to capture those low-light spontaneous moments. I know most point and shoot cameras have flashes built in too, but it’s something that I couldn’t skip over as I tend to use flash a lot when I’m shooting 35mm. For me, I really love shooting portraits with flash as it really makes the subject stand out from the background, creating a pretty interesting look. So having this feature was a necessity when I was looking at buying a point and shoot camera.

And finally, the only downside apart from the lens vignetting is the overall look of this camera. It does resemble a brick in some form and it’s definitely not the best looking camera out there, but I really don’t think that should matter, especially when it’s so small and easy to hold.
At the end of the day, you should only be concerned about the image quality rather than the externals, But if it is a big deal for you, then I would suggest looking into the Yashica T4, as it is the newer model with a more modern finish.

'Yashica T3 - Honest Thoughts (Favourite 35mm Film Camera)'

My Instagram:
  / bendroege_  

My Website:
https://www.bendroege.com

Cheers!

#YashicaT3 #35mm #FilmCamera #YashicaT3Review