They did it! The Yashica Y35 is getting an upgrade
Good news for backers of the Yashica Y35 camera–it’s getting a lens upgrade. The new lens is something that the company announced would be possible after hitting a specific stretch goal and on top of that they’re adding in what they’re calling a 4G lens. We’re not exactly sure what that means and the comments on the update shows equal amounts of confusion as well.
At this point, if you were complaining about the camera, there really is less reasons to do so now–especially at the stupid low price point.
Let’s backtrack a bit about this Yashica first returned to the scene after saying that they’d be returning to the photography world with a much different camera that what has been proposed already. After some extra teasers, a Kickstarter came to life. Photographers were very divided. Many were angry as they were expecting a film camera or a small full frame point and shoot. But instead what they’re getting is a point and shoot with a small sensor and a significantly different interface and way to work than many other cameras on the marker. Yashica listened to their backers and said that if they reached a stretch goal that they’d upgrade the lens to an f2 aperture. It’s a start for sure, but many photographers still want at least a 1″ sensor. However, at the price point, I think that’s a bit too much to ask for. There are even more stretch goals too.
Originally, the lens for the Yashica Y35 was supposed to be an f2.8 lens in front of a 14MP sensor. That sensor is around the same size as the one in your phone. The camera also doesn’t have aperture control, focus control, etc. But again, it’s a super affordable option using a format that hasn’t been seen before. To take photos, the Yashica Y35 uses DigiFilm. Digifilm is essentially a film simulation loaded onto the camera that locks in that specific look. If you’re both a film and digital shooter, you’ll completely understand it and embrace the fact that you’re only going to shoot with that specific look. It makes a whole lot of sense if you’re shooting with their black and white film simulation. And now you get to do that with a little bit more light albeit still with not a whole lot of bokeh that you may be addicted to.
Be sure to check out their Kickstarter update for even more. The project still has 27 more days to go, and it’ll be amazing to see where it ends up.