Yashica's metered 6x6 TLR — crank-wind fixed-lens twin-lens reflex, selenium meter, 1958.
The Yashica-Mat LM is a fixed-lens medium-format twin-lens reflex from Yashica, a late-1950s development of the Yashica-Mat. The LM designation refers to its added light meter, a selenium cell fitted to the crank-wind Yashica-Mat body. It belongs to the metered branch of the Yashica TLR line aimed at photographers wanting built-in exposure reading.
It is a twin-lens reflex shooting 6x6cm square frames on 120 roll film, twelve per roll. It keeps the crank film advance and fixed-lens layout of the Yashica-Mat, with a separate taking lens for the film and a viewing lens feeding the mirror and ground-glass screen. The leaf shutter sits in the front lens standard, focusing is by knob, and composition is through a waist-level finder. A selenium exposure meter is built into the body.
The Yashica-Mat LM is bought as an affordable metered route into 6x6, suiting portraits, landscape, travel and general work where a light medium-format camera and crank advance are welcome. The selenium meter needs no battery, which some users prefer, though selenium cells lose sensitivity with age. As a fixed-lens TLR it offers no lens changes and the reversed viewing image 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 correctly. Check the film-wind and counter, and look at the ground glass for brightness. The selenium meter is often weak or dead after decades and is best confirmed against a hand-held meter rather than relied on.