arhphotographic

Kyocera were unfashionably late to the “autofocus party’ in 1991 with the Yashica 270 AF or 230 AF Super as it is also known as. Being on the back foot doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Refining an already existing technology and taking it to the next level is what drives a lot of business today. On page 2 of the manual we are informed that the 270 AF

” is a simple-to-use, fully automatic single-lens reflex camera that lets you take pictures by simply depressing the shutter release. Focusing,exposure, and film winding are all automatic. By combining its auto-focus function, exposure modes and built-in flash, you can also realize more sophisticated image expressions with it.”

Who wouldn’t want that?

Having put one film through my 270 AF and only used Aperture Priority mode I would say that it is indeed a simple to use camera. In that mode when looking through the viewfinder the only thing to see is a green confirmation light when autofocus is achieved. To see what aperture you have chosen you have to look at the liquid crystal display on the top plate of the camera. The aperture is selected via the rocker switch below the shutter release in the photo below. When choosing Apeture Priority mode I would have thought it would have been good to see what aperture I’m choosing in the viewfinder rather than having to take the camera away from my eye???? Whatever mode is chosen all the information is only viewable on the top of the camera.

Just below the rocker switch you’ll notice a button that looks to be labelled F.RANCE.?? It is actually F.RANGE. If you know in advance that you are going to be taking a landscape or macro shot, you can select either range before. This is then supposed to help speed up the process of focusing. But surely another button press is going to slow you down? Hmmmmmm🤔

It is nice to see the inclusion of exposure compensation, even in a ‘simple to use’ camera

Looking to the left of the top plate and we have the program mode button for selecting well…. the mode Aperture, Shutter Priority, Program and Manual Mode.

In manual mode in addition to the green focus light you get a red LED. This blinks untill you acquire the correct exposure upon which it stops blinking. In Manual mode the rocker switch changes shutter speed. The aperture is altered by using a combination the button by the lens mount, which you can just see in the photo above, and the rocker switch.

The Drive button toggles through single frame, continuous frame, self timer and trap focus mode. 😮 The only other button on the left is the P which can be used to reset the camera to Program mode.

On the back we have a flash switch. The flash can fire as full flash, fill-in flash along with red eye reduction depending on where the button is positioned. On the right is the exposure lock button, very welcome. Lastly on the bottom left is the proprietary release socket. There is a data back for the 270AF which allows date and time imprinting.

The lens mount is Yashica AF.You’ll notice from the photo above that the focus window and selection of which focal length is not in the customary place but rather offset to the right of the camera…why?? There is a 1.6 AF converter that allows you to use manual focus Contax/Yashica lenses.

The camera is an enjoyable camera to hold. Although there may be a lot of plastic in evidence it is quite substantial with the 28 mm to 70 mm lens. What does it sound like? Take a listen by clicking on the video below.

I also have the 70mm – 210mm f 4.5 lens, below, which is quite noisy and the camera is inclined to whirrr a bit trying to achieve focus. To redeem itself, it focuses internally.

I would normally have just checked the light meter for accuracy before going out but didn’t for whatever reason. I do remember thinking, on a few occasions, that the shutter speed chosen was a little high but hey I was having a good time. I wish I had checked though because on developing the negatives all except two images were well underexposed. In fact when testing I found the light meter to be 7 yes 7 stops under. Wooahhh How did that happen???

These two images were the only ones approaching anything like correctly exposed.

Scanning the negatives had to be done manually, selecting an area where I thought an image was.

I thought the above image would be better as a black and white. The grain actually works I think.

So while I enjoyed being out and about with this camera, the problems with exposure has definitely marred my enthusiasm.

A quintessential camera? It could have been. The impementation of some of the features causes its downfall though. The lack of information in the viewfinder is a deal breaker. But then I have to remember the cameras brief – simple to use while allowing for more creative expressions.

So quirky then. Yes. In fairness though am I in a good position to make this judgement? What to do about the errant exposure meter? One option is to go out with a hand held meter. While I might do that with an Edixa Mat or Paxette it doesn’t feel quite right with the all singing 270 AF. Alternatively I could do some open camera surgery? What to do???