Home > Consumer Reviews > Yashica T4 Compact 35mm Camera w/ Zoom Kit

As somebody who travels a fair amount I always like to have a camera ready to take with me. During my last trip to the tropics I took my aging Pentax Espio zoom with me which unfortunately packed up half way through the trip. Knowing that I needed to get a new camera I made a list of my needs which are:

Compact dimensions
Sharp lens
Robust
Value for money
Good zoom lens range.

First off I had to decide where I stood on the Digital vs Film camera debate. This was fairly easily resolved as it is clear that Digital cameras are still some years away in terms of image resolution and cost. My view then is that my new camera would be film-based and if it lasted until Digital overtook then that would work out quite neatly. In other words I'm expecting this to be the last film camera I will buy.

Then I had a look at the available film options and the field narrowed down very quickly. In this sector of the market the quality brands are Leica, Contax and Rollei by virtue of superior optics. Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus and Pentax are in the next group; don't get too carried away by these names - even though they make superb SLR cameras they tend to out-source the production of their compact cameras to China, Malaysia etc. fair enough but don't expect the high level optics the SLRs give. Compact cameras are generally sold on features (length of zoom etc.) not quality of lens. People only find out about this after purchase so it's not a key sales driver. It is however the most important aspect of getting good pictures which is what this is largely about(!)

Taking the three quality brands then: Contax cameras use Carl Zeiss lenses which are generally regarded by many pros as the best in the world, prices however are high. Rollei models seemed expensive with a lesser reputation than Contax for optics. The styling on the Leicas (C1, C2 and C3)is very "clunky" - they're trying for a retro look and failing but the optics are highly regarded. Downsides all round and not an easy decision to make. I was edging towards the Leica C3 (worth checking out despite styling issues) when a helpful sales assistant pointed out the Yashica. This was interesting for the following reasons:

The lens is a Carl Zeiss T* lens as in the Contax range (Contax, Yashica and Carl Zeiss are all owned by Kyocera Corp.). *This is just about the highest quality lens which can be bought regardless of money*. As well as pin-sharp precision it is also a faster lens that many others including the Leica.
The zoom on the lens starts at 28mm which means you get a full wide-angle range. More useful that the more common 35mm.
The camera is compact and nicely styled. Controls are well designed.
The price far undercuts all of the other models.

While not having quite the cachet of Leica or Contax this camera is in the same league of quality. The results I have had from this camera are better than I had hoped and make the pictures from my old Pentax look rather second rate. My dealer also informs me that many pros use this camera for fast, spontaneous shots and the results are indistinguishable from SLR quality.

Highly recommended.

After Yashica withdrew the T5 we lost what was one of the best point and shoot camera [reasonably priced] (maybe the best). Here was a camera which takes a good camera body and marries it with an excellent pin sharp lens. Pros loved it as a alternative to their bulky SLRs when the situation requires a small unobtrusive camera.

Looks like Yashica have done it again, this time listening to T5 owners. We now have a great zoom lens with a great wide angle 28m which is better then most p&s, spot metering, toughened up with an aluminum front body. Slightly smaller the camera oozes quality at a very reasonable price. Get one before Yahsica discontinues this one!

A really superb camera, the Carl Zeiss 28-70 zoom alone incredible, I,ve owned it for about 5 weeks now, did not have a chance to use it , did that today and had the results shot on Fuji 200 done at a one hour lab, when I opened the envelope and took a peek, it was hard to believe.
This camera can easily to stand up to any SLR or digital. Exposures were great, I love the feature of being able to underexpose or overexpose by 1 1/2 stops with ease.
It is also a great looking camera.
In some on line reviews it has been criticised for the shutter and the preflash, yes, the shutter is very sensitive, it does emit a preflash in a dark place to get the range, I got used to it very quickly, just inform your subjects it preflashes, thats it, you will get a second flash, no one gets very upset and it works well.
This is not an inexpensive camera for a 28 to 70 lens, but, its worth every penny, you,ll get it back in gorgeous photographs, much better than the average run of the mill PS will do, if you want a great camera, buy it.

This is a great camera. I looked around for a while for a 35mm point-and-shoot camera that took great outdoor pictures and was durable enough to go with me hiking. This one fit the bill. The Zeiss lens takes excellent photos. It is handy and durable. The indoor pictures are less desirable -- if you want a small size, very good pictures indoors and outdoors, but less durable, try the Olympus Stylus Epic. Yes, I also have a digital camera, but it stays home during vacations and hiking (there are many reasons). My longest period of shooting was a 23-roll set at Disney and all the shots turned out very well. Very impressed with this camera.

I am a fan of the Yashica T4 Super, which featured a fixed focal length 35mm f3.5 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. I still own this superb little gem of a camera since it takes pictures whose quality I can't readily discern from other, more expensive cameras I use, most notably the Contax G2 autofocus rangefinder camera and Carl Zeiss lenses, and the manual focusing Leica M6 with an assortment of Leica M lenses. Kyocera has updated the Yashica T4 into a phenomenal zoom P/S (Point and Shoot) 35mm camera which I wouldn't hesitate to bring along if I wanted to carry one light camera. The new Zeiss lens is superb, though it may lack a little of the Tessar's sharpness (I'm not sure why the lens is designated a Vario Tessar as opposed to a Vario Sonnar, which would make more sense, but I will leave this aside to those more familiar with Carl Zeiss lens lore.). I have seen superb 8 x 10" color enlargements made from this camera that have excellent contrast and resolution. If you are looking for a first-rate, yet relatively inexpensive zoom P/S 35mm camera, then the Yashica T4 Zoom has to be your first choice.