The Yashica Mat-124 G is one of our favorite medium format cameras at Central Camera Company. Photographers love this TLR, and so do we! It has a well-deserved reputation for producing high-quality images on 120 film, and it’s a great value, selling for about 50% less than a similar Rolleiflex TLR.

Many reviews have been written about the Yashica Mat-124 G, including this one by mattsclassiccameras.com. Paul Sokk’s yashicatlr.com is an indispensible resource if you’d like to learn more about the 124 G and other Yashica cameras, and Mike Eckman has also done a number of Yashica camera reviews.

Like many vintage medium format cameras, the Yashica Mat-124 G is getting harder to find, especially clean and fully-functional examples. Central Camera Co. offers a 90-day warranty nearly all used cameras and lenses, so we carefully inspect equipment to be sure all problems are serviced prior to sale. However, some defects simply aren’t repairable, or would cost more than the value of the item to repair.

Such is the case with a 124 G we recently acquired, which has a less-than-perfect lens: our intake inspection showed some dead fungus around the rear len element periphery, very light haze, and many fine cleaning marks on the front of the taking lens. The best we can do in a case like this is note the flaws and sell the camera with a warranty on function, but defects noted as-is. (NOTE: We have another Yashica Mat-124 G available in our Shop with a flawless lens).

We shoot a test roll to see how the camera would perform with these lens flaws, so we could share the photos with potential buyers who may be concerned regarding image quality. The following images were shot on Kodak Ektar 120, at box speed in various light conditions and apertures, by Johnny Sisson, Central Camera Co. Camera Department salesman and long-time TLR user. Photos were made at all apertures and in a variety of light conditions (shade, open sun, directly towards the sun) with the intention of making any image quality defects apparent. Scans are straight from our lab, with no sharpening, color adjustments, or edits, aside from slight gamma adjustment. A lens hood was used to minimize the possibility of flare, which is always recommended with vintage lenses.

We were surprised to see how well this lens performed — have a look and tell us what you think!