3.2.1. FX-D Quartz
Description
This article is from the Yashica SLR FAQ, by cg@evrl.xs4all.nl (Cees de Groot) with numerous contributions by others.
3.2.1. FX-D Quartz
The FX-D Quartz is a scaled-down version of the Contax 139 with
reduced compatibility (though it can use the Contax 139 winder which
gives 2 fps). Compared to the FR-I, several advances were made:
exposure time measuring with quartz oscillator, a flash-ready function
and 1/100th flash sync, a larger time range in automatic mode (11 to
1/1000th), a vertical metal shutter, and auto-exposure lock. Apart
from this, it wasn't a lot better than the FR-I, on the contrary: the
material quality was inferior, and a lot of small features were
missing. The viewfinder didn't give aperture information, the x-sync
socket was gone, as was depth-of-field preview button. You couldn't
change backs, and exposure compensation was done by changing the ASA
setting (on the FR-I, the ASA setting is locked). The ASA range was
smaller, too: 25-1600 vs. 12-3200 on the FR).
In the beginning, Yashica didn't offer a special winder for the FX-D,
so you had to buy the expensive Contax 139 winder. Later on, Yashica
made this up with a dedicated FX winder which misses the vertical
release button featured on the Contax version. The body was available
in black, but a FX-D SE (special edition) was in chrome and sold as a
set with a zoom lens.
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