Yashica T-Zoom (aka T4 - Zoom)

Those who read regularly my blog, will probably have figure out by now that i am not a point & shoot fanatic. I have sold all of my compact cameras to further invest in SLR cameras. So when i came across this little camera, i knew that it was a buy-to-sell buy to finance my next SLR adventure. The seller told me that it works fine, the price was right, so camera and money swapped hands quickly.

The T-Zoom ( or T4 Zoom in America), is Kyocera's fifth incarnation of the T-series cameras, all well known to the photographic world for the beautiful Carl Zeiss lenses that they carry. With this model, Yashica pushed the concept one step further, offering a zoom range between 28mm to 70mm. The lens bears Zeiss's famous T* coating which means that we should expect high quality results from this little beauty. Comparing it with Yashica's T4 lens, the lens on the T-Zoom is a full stop slower at 28mm reaching a gloomy f/8 at 70mm. Although this might sound pretty dark, it is in line with other camera offers of it's era. The camera is made half out of aluminium, that gives a nice feeling to it and half of (mostly the back) plastic. I would love it to have been all metal like the little Fuji but, hey, this is not a deal breaker for me. The flash comes with the usual programmes (red-eye, auto, etc..) and the camera has a data-back which i find extremely annoying and needs to be disabled. A very useful feature is the +1.5/-1.5 exposure compensation that the camera offers. Very useful feature that adds a level of flexibility and control over the exposure. Having said that, the exposure system was accurate enough for print film. Haven't tried slides though. Did i mention that it offers infinity focus lock? Yes it does, you can go on and shoot through your car's windows now.

Comparing this camera with the other compacts i had, i would say that the Yashica T-Zoom has the edge on picture quality over the rest. As expected, the camera controlled flare better and gave -what appears to me - sharper pictures between 28-50mm. At 70mm you need loads of sunshine and fast film. In general, i would recommend this camera to be used with high ISO film (400 minimum) and mostly outdoors.While the pictures have a nice feel and clarity, i don't feel that they reach Yashica T-4's or Fuji DL Supermini's performance. The camera is not a lemon though, at 28mm in nice and sunny outdoors the camera produces beautiful results with loads of details. Autofocus performance is fairly quick and and there is also the option of spot AF. Film advance is quite quiet.

My sample has had quite a bit of hard life it seems. The lady who sold it to me said that it was the family's main camera and it has seen many films through it. I do believe her, the camera has seen quite some use, most of the letters have gone with the wind but the camera still works fine. There seems to be a dent on the top corner, probably from a fall.

I find the camera's brochure a bit obscure and misleading. Reading the ad brochure it says that the T-zoom's lens is a "4 elements/3 Groups - World renowned, Carl Zeiss lens incorporates the exclusive T* multi-layer coating to suppress multiple internal reflections. The Tessar lens used on the T4 is a legendary high performance lens. It has been used for many years only in the finest amateur and professional cameras." It appears that they talk about the T4 while describing the lens on the T-Zoom. But when you look on the specifications it states that the lens consists of 7 elements in 6 groups. Unless if it is a Tessar at 28mm and the more you zoom the more elements get added to the lens structure.... Eerie... Seriously now, it doesn't sound like Tessar to me but i am no expert to dispute it.

Conclusion

Point & shoot fanatics will probably appreciate the camera's T* coated Zeiss lens and the camera's overall nice feel. Although it feels more substantially built that it's previous siblings, the T-Zoom does not reach their lens performance that made them famous. It is a solid performer though with good reputation and a lens better than any other zoom lens I've used on a compact. Sure, a zoom lens cannot be compared with fixed focal length ones and having this restriction in mind, the T-Zoom was a very good offer for the high-end competitive marked of the early 2000's. 

Me, being an SLR-guy, thinks that this camera will probably end down the eBay route to finance another camera to be reviewed in this blog.