Appliance Roadkill

Yashica T4 Super, Kodak 400CN

I recently acquired yet another super film camera. This one is the cult classic, Yashica T4 Super (known as "T5" outside of the U.S.). I already have an original Yashica T4 that I purchased new in the early-1990's. My original T4 has been my favorite film P&S camera because of its superb Carl Zeiss Tessar 35mm f3.5 T* lens. Over the years, I've often thought about buying a newer example of this camera because mine was getting old and a bit dusty in the viewfinder (though it continues to perform well).

This little camera has such a cult following that prices for used ones have remained high even with the advent of the digital revolution. I got this T4 Super free because someone had moved onto digital. This is my first test roll through the camera just to make sure that it was working properly. The T4 Super adds several improvements to the original T4, but keeps the same, excellent Zeiss lens. The main improvements are: weather sealing, and a "Superscope" waist level finder. However, in practice, my middle aged eyesight cannot really cope with the tiny auxiliary finder.

This shot was taken on one of my lunchtime walks around the Civic Center/Hayes Valley neighborhoods. The shadows and odd appearance of an appliance on the sidewalk caught my eye.

--Warren