Vintage Splurge: My Yashica Electro 35 G

So I was recently promoted at work. I was feeling fancy and adult-like. I wanted to celebrate, but I didn't know how.

Around the same time, I found this image of a beautiful camera on The Militant Baker. I did a little research into this particular model of camera, Yashica Electro 35 G, a Japanese camera manufactured primarily in the late 60's throughout the 70's, and it turns out, it's a great, affordable vintage camera that's easy to use and produces pretty amazing photos for the price. For a few days, I lurked on Ebay trying to find the perfect Yashica. There were lots, but many were untested since the original mercury batteries that these cameras used are no longer sold in the US. Finally, I stumbled upon one that appeared to be in beautiful condition AND included a battery and was tested to work properly. I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes over the Buy it Now price - $70, slightly more than I had been planning to spend - but then I was like:

And I bought that sucker.

It arrived yesterday, and it's every bit as beautiful as I hoped! It's in fantastic condition - no scratches on the chrome finish or on the lens, and no gunk stuck onto the textured part of the body. All of the compartments are clean and moving parts all move as they should. The battery works, as promised! There's a little bit of fog in the viewfinder, but that's my only complaint about the physical condition of the camera. Now I have the amazingly fun task of learning how to use it, which I will obviously chronicle here.

Excuse the foggy lens in these photos! It's about 90 degrees in my apartment and feels a bit like the inside of an iguana exhibit in here.

My hope is that learning to use a mostly-manual film camera (though this camera does have an automatic shutter) will ultimately help me become a better digital photographer. I have SO much to discover about photography, so if you have any tips for a first-time-since-high-school film user, send them my way! I need all the help I can get.