Sunday, February 3, 2008

A note regarding the Contax/Yashica Cable Releases


Cable releases are especially important if you plan to use two of these cameras for twin camera stereo/hyperstereo.

There are two Yashica/Contax plugs: One is known as the R-plug and it fits the Contax RTS and Yashica FR series of cameras. The other is known as the S-plug and is used (among others) for the cameras of interest here (Contax 139, Yashica FX-D, 103). The S-plug is pictured in the photos here.

The S plug looks similar to the Minolta plug, but the Minolta is larger in size, as you see from the picture here. I tried to fire a Minolta camera with a C/Y cord and it did not work. The reverse works but I do not want to risk damaging the threads.




There is another important difference: The C/Y plug is entirely electrical, while the Minolta is electromechanical (can be triggered with a mechanical release cord). DO NOT plug a mechanical cable release to the Contax/Yashica cameras. It will fit but it will not work and you can damage the plug if you apply excessive pressure.

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