A note to self… take care when testing cameras

When testing a new (to me) camera, I should do this somewhere close to home and not, I repeat NOT, drive right out into the Peak District National Park to do so…

This is what I did today, with the intent of shooting a roll or two through my new Yashicamat 124G. I’d already taken a couple of pictures with the camera earlier this week and all had appeared ok, so I went out to the Derwent Dams to finish the roll (and maybe shoot another if things went well).

Everything started out ok although, despite Google Map’s promise of it being “not too busy” the main car park was full when I arrived, necessitating me finding a spot about a half mile away instead and then walking back to where I wanted to be. The walk is pleasant enough though, and part of it can be made beside the reservoir. A little downstream from Derwent Dam I spotted a nice photographic composition looking down towards Ladybower Reservoir. I took the first picture with no issues and then framed up another shot. However, when I pressed the shutter release nothing happened. I was momentarily puzzled – had I not wound the camera on after the last shot? Had I accidentally tripped the shutter? I wound on to the next frame and was able to take the shot successfully.

Slowly working my way up to Derwent Dam and then up the valley towards Howden Dam, I was able to take a number of shots without issue. An then it happened again. By now I was sure that it wasn’t my memory or an accident at fault, and started wondering if there was something set up on the camera that might be causing it. I couldn’t think of anything though and, having shot several hundred photos with my old Yashicamat 124G, didn’t feel that operator error was likely to blame.

I finished up the first roll and then made the decision to load another. I felt that, if I needed to return the camera as faulty, shooting another roll would reinforce the evidence I had of a fault. So I set off up a very steep footpath that led back to where I started, but halfway up the valley side. The first shot from the new roll was fine. The second gave me the same non-firing shutter problem. The third worked ok. I then decided to focus for a while on not having a heart attack during the uphill hike (I need to get back to the gym!). After quite a while I came upon a nice scene – an old and slightly rusty Landrover parked on the trail. Framing everything up I pressed the shutter and… it didn’t fire. What’s more, it would not fire at all now, even advancing the film and re-cocking the shutter several times. The button would depress, but the shutter would not fire.

At this point I decided enough was enough and that the camera would have to be returned. I managed to get a photo of the Landrover using my Olympus XA-3 which I had in my coat pocket. Annoyingly, after this, I found some very attractive woodland scenes that would have suited the Yashicamat perfectly, but which I couldn’t take proper advantage of. I took a couple of shots with the little Olympus, but I suspect the slow shutter speed it gave me will probably result in camera shake on the photos.

I’m hoping that the photos I did manage to take on the first roll will turn out ok, even if there will be two or three blank frames. I’m also going to try to re-wind the other roll in my changing bag. It’s Tri-X so not that cheap, With luck I might be able to use the remainder in another camera.

But this week will see me return the faulty Yashicamat and start my hunt for a replacement.

TLDR: Today’s picture has absolutely nothing to do with the above. The light is nice though, yes? 🙂

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 25 November 2023.