The GSN and GTN were Yashica's fourth Electro model rangefinder cameras and were introduced in 1973 following the Electro 35, the G, and the GS/GT.

The Electro GSN is, in my opinion, an outstanding camera for anybody interested in picking up a quality vintage auto-exposure rangefinder at a great price. However, you must be very careful before buying to be sure that the auto exposure system is functional. My wife is the original owner of our GSN and after the camera spent a couple decades in the closet we discovered that the electronic auto exposure was not working. I replaced the dead battery in the camera to see if that made a difference. Yashica specifications calls for a 5.6V mercury battery (such as the Mallory PX32 or Eveready E164.) Since mercury batteries are no longer sold in the United States, I had my local Radio Shack place a special order for the equivalent battery. The new battery arrived at my house about 10 days later in the mail.

But alas! Our Yashica still did not function with the new battery so I brought it to a local camera repair shop that will remain nameless (but is located in the airport plaza outside of T.F. Greene Airport in Warwick, RI). They told me that the camera is unrepairable because the electronic board is dead, a common condition in these auto exposure cameras from the Vietnam War era, they said.

Crushed, I sent the camera to Essex Camera in New Jersey as the avenue of last recourse. Essex is far and away the best camera repair service I've encountered and I highly recommend their services. On their web site they list prices for standard repairs of the most popular camera designs. The prices might seem a bit high, but I can attest to the high quality and speed with which they work. Within a month of having sent our camera to them via USPS Priority Mail, it was back in our hands and working like new!

One of the features that I love about this camera is the very fast (f/1.7) and very sharp six-element Color-Yashinon DX 45mm lens. The camera also has a big, bright viewfinder with a coupled rangefinder. It is easy to focus and produces outstanding contrasty photographs.

My only criticism of the Electro is related to the Auto Exposure system. It works very well, but has no provision for manual override and it can be near impossible to determine which shutter speed the camera will select for any given exposure.

The Electro GSN has eight f/stops that may be selected by the photographer by rotating the Exposure Control Ring (aperture ring) on the lens barrel and they are categorized into three groups per the owner's manual.

• Bright Sun allows apertures of f/16, 11, or 8
• Heavy Overcast or Open Shade allows apertures of f/5.6, 4, or 2.8
• Indoors allows apertures of f/2, or 1.7

After selecting the desired aperture, the photographer composes her subject and focuses. Then she depresses the shutter release half way to check for correct exposure. There is a red and a yellow warning arrow in the viewfinder and on top of the camera that are actuated when the shutter button is depressed half way. The absence of either arrow indicates that the camera has calculated the proper exposure can be attained with the current camera settings.

If the red arrow appears, then there is too much light and the image will be overexposed. The owner's manual advises the photographer to turn the Aperture Ring in the direction of the arrow until it disappears. Should the yellow arrow appear, then there is too little light and the image will be underexposed. Again the owners manual suggests turning the Aperture Ring in the direction of the arrow until it disappears.

My favorite accessory for the Yashica Electro GSN is the Auxiliary Lens Set. This consists of an auxiliary telephoto lens that extends the focal length to a whopping 58.4mm and an auxiliary wide-angle lens that reduces the focal length to an impressive 37.7mm. (Do you sense the sarcasm here?) Both lenses appear saucer sized, having significantly larger diameters than the already wide-diameter standard lens.

Being auxiliary lenses, these two lenses screw into the end of the standard 43mm lens much like a lens filter. They came with an accessory viewfinder with masks for telephoto and wide angle composition that mounts in the hot shoe socket. The following image depicts our Yashica GSN with the telephoto auxiliary lens and accessory viewfinder attached. Next to the camera is the auxiliary wide-angle lens (and in the background is our newest cat, Smapdi!).