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 YS (1959) is one of Yashica's earliest M42-mount 35mm SLRs, introduced as the company was establishing itself in the Japanese camera export market. It features a built-in selenium exposure meter that operates entirely without a battery - light powers the cell directly. The shutter is a mechanical cloth-curtain design running to 1/500s. It uses the M42 (Pentax screwthread) mount, granting access to the broad ecosystem of M42 lenses from Yashica's Yashinon line and beyond.
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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Before you buy used
About this camera
Yashica's 1959 M42 SLR with a selenium meter that needs no battery.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M42 |
| Years | ~1959 |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/500s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | ~1/25s X-sync |
| Meter | Selenium (no battery required) |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~ |
| Battery | None |
Yashica entered the SLR market in the late 1950s with the Pentamatic series, then quickly pivoted to the universal M42 screwthread mount to broaden their export appeal. The YS was part of this transition, sharing a lineage with the Penta J and J-3 models that followed through the early 1960s. By the mid-1960s Yashica's M42 line had grown to include the TL series with more sophisticated metering. The YS represents the earliest stratum of the Yashica SLR family tree before CdS and TTL metering became standard.
Selenium-cell meters hold a practical appeal in 2026: they function indefinitely with no battery sourcing problems. For collectors and users allergic to battery adapters, the YS offers genuine battery-free operation at every step - metering included. It is a rare and relatively obscure model compared to the later TL Electro and FX series, making it a niche find at camera fairs. Yashinon lenses from this era, though modest compared to German contemporaries, render with a characteristic softness and moderate contrast that some photographers find appealing for portrait work.
Mount: M42 (Pentax screwthread). Compatible with the full M42 ecosystem:
External selenium meter is built in; no accessory shoe meter required.
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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