C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Yashica TL Super (1966) was Yashica's first production SLR to incorporate through-the-lens (TTL) CdS metering, arriving just as TTL metering was becoming the industry standard. It uses the universal M42 screw mount, giving access to Yashica's own Yashinon DS optics and the vast third-party M42 ecosystem. Exposure is fully manual; metering is stop-down, meaning the lens aperture must be stopped to the taking value before the meter reading is taken. The mechanical horizontal-cloth shutter runs to 1/1000s and is battery-independent - the battery drives only the meter needle.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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About this camera
Yashica's first TTL-metered M42 SLR - CdS stop-down metering in a sturdy 1966 body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M42 |
| Years | 1966-1968 |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/1000s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | 1/60s (X), hot shoe |
| Meter | TTL stop-down CdS, match-needle |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~ g |
| Battery | 1x PX625 mercury (meter only) |
Yashica entered the SLR market in the early 1960s with the Penta J and Pentamatic. The TL Super (1966) marked the transition to TTL metering, following Pentax's Spotmatic (1964) which popularized the approach. Production was brief - roughly two years - before Yashica replaced it with the TL Electro X (1968), which added a then-novel LED arrow display in the viewfinder in place of the TL Super's conventional needle. Yashica subsequently abandoned M42 for the proprietary Contax/Yashica (C/Y) bayonet mount with the FX-1 in 1975.
The TL Super sits at a transitional moment in Japanese SLR history: the shift from external selenium meters or clip-on accessories to integrated TTL metering. It is not a landmark camera on its own merits - the Spotmatic and Nikkormat FT were more influential contemporaries - but it established Yashica's TTL credentials before the company's later, more distinctive LED-meter design. For collectors it is a straightforward working M42 body with access to competent Yashinon glass at low cost.
M42 screw mount accepts any M42/Pentax-thread lens. Yashica's own Yashinon DS and Yashinon-DX series cover 28mm through 135mm and deliver results comparable to mid-tier Takumar glass. Any M42-to-modern-mount adapter (Sony E, Fuji X, Micro 4/3) allows use on mirrorless bodies.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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