Yashica's 120/220 6x6 TLR — affordable fixed-lens twin-lens reflex, CdS meter, 1968.
The Yashica-Mat 124 is a fixed-lens medium-format twin-lens reflex introduced by Yashica in the late 1960s, and the immediate predecessor of the well-known 124G. It combined crank film advance with a CdS meter and could take both 120 and 220 roll film, the '124' name reflecting the twelve- or twenty-four-frame options. It is among the most familiar Yashica TLRs.
It is a twin-lens reflex shooting 6x6cm square frames, handling both 120 (twelve frames) and 220 (twenty-four frames) roll film. It has a fixed lens, with a separate taking lens for exposure and a viewing lens feeding the mirror and ground-glass screen. Film is advanced by crank, the leaf shutter sits in the front lens standard, focusing is by knob, and composition is through a waist-level finder. A CdS exposure meter is built into the body.
The Yashica-Mat 124 is one of the most recommended affordable entries into 6x6 photography, suiting students, travel, portraits, landscape and general work. It is light and quiet for a medium-format camera and the dual 120/220 capability adds flexibility. As a fixed-lens TLR it offers no lens changes, and the laterally reversed viewing image, as on all TLRs, takes practice.
When buying used, inspect the taking and viewing lenses for haze, fungus and separation, and check the focus knob for smooth travel. Test the leaf shutter across its speeds and confirm the crank advances film and cocks the shutter. Check the film-wind, counter and the 120/220 pressure-plate setting, and look at the ground glass for brightness. The CdS meter used a mercury cell and is frequently inaccurate now; verify it against a hand-held meter before relying on it.