The Yashica T4 - 15 Years Late

You could say fairly loosely that the Yashica T4 shaped the photographer I am today,

Which is actually a dramatic statement to make for someone that didn’t shoot on said camera till last week.

To explain what I mean I need to cut back to 2010 when I first took up photography.

Back in 2010 I had just taken up photography as a replacement for a pretty much non-existent career as a bedroom DJ. I had discovered lomography cameras and fell in love with shooting film on these plastic lensed lofi devices that almost deliberately shot out of focus images with light leaks.

Around that time hipster culture was in full force and there was a style of fashion photography that felt like a counterculture to the polished imagery you typically saw on the covers of Vogue.

Photographers like Juergen Teller and Wolfgang Tillmans were shooting fashion editorials with a ‘snap shot’ style often utilising direct flash to light their subjects.

There was also Terry Richardson.

Terry was a high fashion photographer shooting covers and campaigns for some of the biggest names in fashion. He was doing all this on a plastic point and shoot camera called the Yashica T4.

Where most fashion photography was being shot on high end medium format cameras, Terry was achieving incredible results with this little point and shoot.

His photography was raw, the direct flash flattened out a model's skin texture and gave an aesthetic that was unique and appealing.

The images that came out of the Yashica T4 were also incredibly sharp with gorgeous colours thanks to its stunning lens.

It would be nice to say that I smoothly transitioned from Lomography cameras into shooting fashion on film, but it didn’t pan out like that.

After shooting on film for several years and then buying a digital camera I started shooting editorial style images. I got made redundant from the job I had at the time and used the pay out to rent a desk in a local photography studio.

I wanted to be a fashion editorial photographer and there was a raw aesthetic associated with Richardson’s images and the independent, often self-published zines available at the time that I found very appealing.

Obviously Terry Richardson’s career was shrouded in a very heavy dose of scandal so anyone that knows this will know that not mimicking his work to the letter was going to be the way to go.

It would have made sense to buy a Yashica T4 at this time, but I didn't. Why? because it was over £200 and buying that camera felt restrictive when I was ultimately looking for commercial editorial and lookbook work.

I could achieve that direct flash look on my film SLR, whilst at the same time being able to change lenses.

How my photography career played out is another story but the Yashica T4 is a camera that has always felt like something I should have owned.

Of course over the years the price has climbed to over £500. If only I could go back to my past self and bag one for £200!

Terry Richardson, although now very much seen as a shamed celebrity, continues to influence the pricing of this little camera giving it cult status.

Cut to last week, Paul has a Yashica T4 ‘Safari’ in the shop and offered to loan it to me for review.

At its heart it's a very simple camera with a trick up its sleeve: autofocus, auto exposure, a built-in flash, a 170g plastic body but with a powerhouse 35mm f/3.5 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens.

When I held it in my hand for the first time what initially struck me was how much better quality it felt than expected. I always had it in my head that it would feel like a cheapo plastic camera but it really doesn't.

The action of opening the doorway to the lens feels solid and well made. When you depress the shutter to focus it feels measured and reassuring.

After all these years of never owning this camera I had an idea in my head about what it would be like but actually in terms of quality of feel it's certainly surpassed those preconceptions.

Loading film is quick and easy. Flip open the back, put the film in, drag it across and shut. Simple.

I shot two rolls with this camera. A roll of Kodak Ultramax and a roll of Cinestill XX black and white film.

For both I did what I call ‘lunch time rolls’. These are rolls of film that usually follow a particularly stressful morning and are typically shot very quickly for maximum mental decompression and mindfulness.

I do all 36 shots in one hour and try not to over think the framing. Just work on the basis of grabbing snaps as they jump out at me. This is a great way to shoot with the T4.

When mooching around taking these shots what I noticed first was how inconspicuous I felt. No one looks at you or indeed cares what you are doing with a point and shoot. With an SLR you look more purposeful so when you're taking a picture people think you're up to something.

So what did the shots look like? Lovely colours and beautifully sharp. The Yashica T4 certainly is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

It's obvious that the focus system requires a nice bit of juicy contrast latch onto. On both of the rolls there were a small handful of misses but that I'm sure would be reduced with a bit more practice.

I said at the start of this article that the yashica T4 has in a way shaped the photographer I am today. Although I’ve swapped shooting fashion for shooting landscapes and the street I still chase an aesthetic that is diverse and unconventional.

Would I use the T4 for how I shoot now? Probably not. I demand a bit more precision and control these days, something that you don’t get with this camera.

I don’t think that’s really why you would buy a T4 anyway.

The Yashica T4 is a camera for grabbing moments with the kicker of high quality images.

The essence of what a good quality point and shoot is all about.

I personally could imagine myself grabbing this camera and throwing it in my bag for a camping trip or taking it on a city break.

What an iconic bit of kit though. A camera that is one for the history books and I feel like now I've shot with it, I've ticked a box.