The lens is sharper than any zoom lens P&S you will find.

The 90 degree finder can be useful.

Weather resistant (but not waterproof).

Simple to use.

There is a fairly lengthy time required for the lens to move into place after you press the shutter button. Locking the focus by pressing the button partially doesn't help with this problem because the lens doesn't begin to move until the button is fully depressed. In fairness to the camera, though, I would note that almost every other P&S camera you can find has this same problem to some extent.

Speaking of the focus/exposure lock, it is very sensitive. You have to be very careful to avoid either pushing too hard and taking the picture before you want to, or not pushing hard enough and losing your focus lock. This is even more difficult if there is a lot of ambient noise (like at the beach) and you can't hear the soft audible "click" that the lock makes when it is activated. Expect to waste some shots unless you have the touch and finesse of a neurosurgeon!

You will never know what aperture, shutter speed, or focus point the camera has selected, nor can you exert any user control other than using the focus/exposure lock (although you can set the focus to "infinity"). Again, this is typical of P&S cameras.

I often saw light falloff (or vignetting?) towards the edges of my photos. This occurred even outdoors with bright daylight, so it was obviously not just the result of the lens being wide open.

The battery door is difficult to open without leaving scars on the camera.

The silver finish is easily damaged (I recommend the black model, even though the silver one is prettier when new).

Reliable sources tell me that Yashica has dropped this model, and aren't planning to replace it with a similar camera (supposedly a conflict with Zeiss). If you want a new one, you had better buy it now.

I bought this camera after reading numerous rave reviews on the web. I tried to like this camera, but eventually became so frustrated with it that I first relegated it to a camera for adverse conditions (beach, canoeing, etc.) and then finally sold it.

I just wasted too many shots with the camera. The shutter lag was the most annoying aspect of the camera. It is probably less than one second (depending on how far the lens had to move- it seems to be longest at short focusing distances where the lens has to move futher), but that can seem like an eternity if you are trying to photograph children or animals. They always seem to turn away or move between the time you push the button and the time the actual exposure is made. I would have forgiven any other faults of this camera if it was made so that the lens moved into position when the focus lock was activated.

I also lost a couple of pictures on almost every roll due to mis-focusing, even though I tried to line up the brackets carefully. I'm not sure if this was due to viewfinder parallax, a fault with the IR sensor mechanism, or just operator error, but due to the lack of feedback you get from the camera, you never know whether you were in focus or not until you get your film developed. By some quirk of Murphy's law, the mis-focused shots were always what would have been the best ones, whereas the shots where the subjects eyes were closed, head was turned, etc. were always razor sharp.

The lens IS sharp, and easily superior to any zoom P&S I have seen in both sharpness and lack of flare. I don't really consider it superior to my fixed focal length SLR lenses, though. Tessar designs are at their best stopped down at f8-16, so ideally, you should try to manipulate your film choices to achieve this if you seek maximum sharpness (of course, you will never know what aperture is actually chosen by the camera). I think the people who think the lens is perfect are maybe a little too impressed by the Carl Zeiss name (Yashica printed Carl Zeiss on the camera twice, so you won't forget it). Would the lens be just as good if they called it a "Yashinon" instead of Tessar? (I think so.) Would the camera still sell as well? (I doubt it.)

Despite its other flaws, I would buy another one in a second if Yashica fixed the focus lag problem. A metal body option (something cheaper than titanium) and some user overrides would be nice, too, but it's all just withful thinking now, since Yashica is dropping the camera, and non-zoom P&S cameras are becoming an endangered species, anyway.

As the camera is now though, I think it comes in second to the Stylus Epic, which has everything the T4 Super has, except for the 90 degree finder and Carl Zeiss name. The Epic also has a shorter (but still present) focus lag, faster (and equally sharp) lens, smaller size, and lower cost. If you are looking for another alternative, you might also consider the Konica Big Mini F.

I would suggest trying the camera before you buy it. If you aren't bothered by the focus lag, you will probably like the camera. If you expect perfection, you will be disappointed. If you want a good cheap camera that you can abuse, but still gives you some control, you can easily find good used SLR's with a sharp 50mm lenses for around the same price. It won't be nearly as compact, though.

Customer Service

I didn't need it.

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Olympus Stylus Epic

Magnificent lens, trick viewfinder, outstanding metering and autofocus, simply superb shots with ordinary 200 speed film, even better with slower film. Extreme value. Film scans of negatives from this camera produce oustanding digital images, better than any $1000 digicam by far.

None. You zoom lovers - read Philip Greenspun's article on the T4, and learn to use a fixed lens! As he explains, you need a $$$$ Nikkor zoom to equal the clarity of this lens.

Buy one before Yashica changes the design (let's hope they leave it alone!) ... if you're not getting sharp prints, you've just got a bad one; take it back for replacement! Equal to a $1000 SLR setup with the BEST lens available. Why pay yuppie prices for Contax and Nikons?

Customer Service

Have not needed in five years of semi-rough use.

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Olympus Zoom P&S

Top mounted viewfinder great for avoiding having to kneel down for low subjects.

Good lens.

Cheap.

Looks cheap so hopefully will not attract unwanted attention from thieves.

Excellent performance with fill flash with backlit subjects.

At this price no reasonable complaints. All the 'missing' features are available on other cameras such as Ricoh GR1s. You get what you pay for.

Excellent, inexpensive, easy to use and discreet with top lens and crafty viewfinder. As long as it used within the parameters of a cheap P&S then you will be pleasantly suprised. I use it with Kodak Supra 800 and 400 film to ensure the shutter speeds are as high as possible and get good contrasty , saturated images. I do not enlarge beyond 9 x 6 but up to this size prints are fine and detail good.

The camera is easy to use for non-enthusiasts. (Who probably get better results because they dont bother getting 'tweaky' and have more reasonable expectations of this sort of gear.)

Customer Service

Not had to use this yet.

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I have Contax T2 for more considered P&S shots. And Minolta SLR.

1. Its pocketable size

2. It looks like a cheap camera, so is less likely a target for thieves

3. Its lens is outstanding in every regard

4. The slow-sych flash works perfectly

5. Its meter is accurate enough for slide film (in fact, I've never run a neg film through mine)

6.Its robust build. Mine has survived all kinds of abuse, including many falls

7. I like the right-angle finder, even though I don't use it much

8. I like the wide shutter speed range

1. Shutter lag is sometimes a hassle

2. Very expensive in New Zealand - nearly US$300! The mju-II, arguably its closest competitor, retails at about US$160

3. You can't rewind the film & leave the leader out

4. Sometimes I wish it had some degree of manual exposure override, but this is a minor carp considering the camera is really only designed for making quality snapshots

A modern classic. Recommended to thinking photographers who need a small, robust, no-nonsense camera that they can carry with them at all times that's capable of making high-class pictures. The shutter time lag is less of a problem than you think; and remember, since the focus lock also locks the exposure you have more exposure control than you think. Buy one now before stocks run out.

Customer Service

None required.

Similar Products Used:

None, although I looked at many other P/S cameras before deciding on the T5/T4S.

Build quality (Made in Japan)
Superb Carl Zeiss lens
Small rangefinder for taking awkward shots

Shutter release button sometimes easy to overpress and take the shot

A truly excellent camera for all occasions. You take close ups and the flash works very well. The entire camera is made in Japan, which gives me confidence in the longevity.

I can't really say anything bad about the camera, it's a very good package. One thing that might help you is that the pictures taken by this camera are equally as good as the Leica Minilux (a $629+ camera).

The lens is Carl Zeiss, which is the reason for the excellent shots. There aren't many controls on this camera, but in my mind, that's less to play with and get wrong.

One thing I'm not keen on is if taking a picture in infinite mode, you press the shutter release and it resets the mode back to the default. Watch out for this.

All in all, it's made in Japan, got an excellent Carl Zeiss lens and is a compact camera - that sells it for me.

Customer Service

Never needed.

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Leica Minilux

1. Very sharp and contrasy.
2. Good image throughout whole range of F number and center to corner.

1. Plastic body and lens.

It is surprsingly sharp and contrasty all the way. T* coating is excellent. It is very portable and easy to use. It gives always impressive images.

Customer Service

Never contacted.

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1. Rollei Prego 90.
2. Olympus stylus Epic 80.

The Lens for the price (obviously).The quality of the results within the limitations of the camera itself.The second viewer (great for candids)

None that spring to mind.

For the price this camera is a marvel. I tend to scan my work and manipulate images in photoshop.Both transparencies and prints from this camera can take the scrutiny due to the detail in the images. My SLR is gathering dust whilst I skip along lightly with my T5 and GR1. It is a great P&S and anything not achievable can usually be remedied by post editing. I now have the same amount of affection for this camera as I do the GR1...I only wish there were a decent 50mm P&S on the market and I would have all the P&S` I need......If you find one of these then grab it because there are only a few left (in the U.K at least).

Customer Service

Never used them

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh GR1
Nikon 601 SLR with various lenses
Fuji Digital

Fabulous Lens. Very easy to use. Lots of features.

Pastic battery door difficult to open.

I now have two of these units, both silver, both date models. Wife has tossed her Canon. I use mine as backup to my Nikon F100. Did beautiful work in Amsterdam and Germany. Have blown to 11x14 with NO PROBLEM!! Too bad they are stopping production. Would have been more popular with zoom lens. Can you imagine Zeiss Zoom on a point and shoot?? Might buy a couple more for the kids.

Customer Service

Outstanding! Received replacement battery door very quickly.

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Canon Sure Shot & Canon Del Sol.

Small and light with an excellent Zeiss 35mm f/3.5 lens, weather-resistant, useful scope finder, champagne color looks sharp! AF seems to work very well for a PS camera. Has a three-year warranty, which is a bonus. It seems that buying PS cameras is a hit/miss thing, as there are variations in QC with these things. I got a good one!

Small viewfinder, wish the flash worked more effectively for fill lighting.

I wanted one of those smaller PS cameras with a fixed 35mm lens; I tried the Stylus, and that was a disaster, with poor AF and spotty exposure. I bought the Hexar about nine months ago, and am extremely happy with its high perfomance, but I, also, wanted a small PS camera to slip into one of my numerous Domke bags. The T4 was rumored to be on the chopping block, and I'm glad I got mine before it wouldn't have been possible. The AF works superbly; the exposure system works very well, certainly even OK for slides. I can live with this PS camera!

Customer Service

None required

Similar Products Used:

Konica Hexar, Olympus Stylus Epic

Easy of use. Compact. Visible battery indicator.

View finder and mode button too small. Cannot over-ride ISO. (However I have purchased--and yet to try--Porter's DX coded film labels.)

I've been using one of the earlier T4's since 1995. Put a couple of hundred rolls of film (slides, color,B&W)through the camera without a problem. The Zeiss T* 35 3.5 is an excellent lens. Sharp and rich. Don't try and compare it to a "full flavored" 35 mm camera. Use it for what it is, a point & shoot, and you'll be more than pleased!

Customer Service

Never needed servicing.

Similar Products Used:

Mamyia U