YASHICA LYNX 5000

THE CAMERA:

I got this beauty on vacation at an antique mall. I wasn't really looking for a Lynx but after picking it up and examining it I was hooked! It's almost in mint condition except for a few very minuscule scratches on the viewfinder window frame above the lens. It has the case, lens cap and original owners manual. I had read about it before so I knew it was a manually set exposure system. The meter aids only in setting the aperture and shutter and is not needed, it will operate without a battery!

It has a whopping B+1s-1/1000 Copal-SV shutter! And a decent f1.8-f22 lens with a semi-coupled aperture/shutter, set them as you want and then you can move just the shutter ring and the aperture ring moves with it. The camera body is not as wide as my Electro 35 GSN, it seems more like a late model rangefinder from the mid 70's but it is a well ahead of it's time for a1962 camera.

The original 1.35v mercury battery is obsolete, there are a few alternatives, I went with the 1.4 volt AZ675 zinc air battery from Walgreens, ($6.95 for 8) and a rubber 'O' ring (7/16 id x 5/8od) to hold it. I went with the cheapest. Plus there are already two tiny holes in the battery compartment cap to let them breath.

FIXES:

Battery: My almost mint camera came with a free used roll of film inside and an original mercury battery! Luckily when the battery popped out it took all it's ooze with it. (probably because of the air holes in the battery cap) Needless to say, upon inserting a battery, there was no power. A corroded wire I assumed and I was right. It was green and corroded all the way to the other end and not even attached. I had to open the top and bottom caps of the camera and removed the front leatherette and the lens plate. I soldered a new lead from the battery terminal to the meter button. I followed Yashica Guy's instructions. I suck at soldering but I managed to get it, the meter works now!

Light seals: I used the same procedure as with my GSN. Black cotton crochet yarn shoved into the back cover plate grooves but no need for black felt near the hinge as the fuzzy fur was still good. When I had the top off to solder the battery wire, I also replaced the rotten foam ring on the film rewind crank shaft with a piece of black felt cut about the size of a dime and used a hole punch. There was also a strip of the rotten foam in the top cap that acts as a light break between the rangefinder and light meter I replaced with black felt strip.

Here is a test photo shot with this camera.

MANUAL: Yashica Lynx 5000 owners manual

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