The Yashica A is one of the finest and most solid basic Japanese Twin Lens Reflex camera’s out there. It was produced around 1958 as a cheaper alternative to the Yashica D. Therefore, it is not as sophisticated as -let’s say- a Rolleicord. But its performance is like the smell of spring! Using it is a very intuitive process. Just set the shutter time, nail the focus, pull the trigger and fire!
The image quality is excellent for the money. The 80mm 1:3.5 lens is good. The bokeh is butter soft and the camera delivers you nice 6×6 negatives. If you really want to learn more about the elements of photography, you should really start using it. Everything is fully manual and you estimate by using ‘Sunny Sixteen’ or in the Netherlands ‘Depressing F4’. Moreover, there is only four shuttertimes to choose from 1/25 – 1/50 – 1/100 – 1/300. But no need to panic, because it covers the full range that you need when going out using 120 film from ISO 100 to 400 in my opinion. If you want to get yourself a basic TLR, go for this one!