Advice to amend a (possible) bad decision

ChromaticAberration · Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 819 Location: Portugal

[size=small]I do not know if this is the best place to post this but if not please move it to the suitable forum category.[/size]

I am in a bit of a "panic" since I have started realizing that my first MF lens was probably not the best option for someone on a budget.

When I bought my Yashica ML I did it because it costed me 20€ shipped, looking at the average price from auction sites I believe that was an ok deal for a lens that overall deserves some respect among MF lovers.

However I did not knew about the.. how should I call it.. premium(?) status of the C/Y mount, associated with Zeiss glass and the cheaper Yashica alternatives.
Looking at the prices for C/Y mount lenses I come to the conclusion that very hardly I will find any reasonably good deals considering I will be paying for decades old lenses that in most cases cost as much as the brand new, state of the art, auto-focus, built-in stabilization, etc., lenses.

In the pursuit for having a shallow depth of field prime lens I ended up spending a fairly reasonable amount of money:

- the lens : 20€
- the hood : 9€
- the adapter 32€
- shipping for the last two: 5€
- shipping for returning the adapter that had no AF confirm: 2€
- new adapter with AF confirm I still have to purchase: (at least) 14€

In the end this single lens will have cost me: 50€

I wouldn't be making a drama out of 50€, which is partly my fault, but I still haven't shot a single photo with it!

Since I cannot spend dozens or hundreds of dollars in C/Y lenses, should I:

- Keep this one, play with it and later find lenses in cheaper mounts that suit my budget?
- Get rid of it right away, sell it for what it cost me and have zero money loss and start again?
- ?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Your problem is not a problem. You have one lens with CY mount, so what? Nothing forces you to buy more of them. Your next lens can be M42 or Olympus or Nikon or whatever mount is compatible with your Canon camera, without the need to sell the Yashica lens.
You like the Yashica lens? Keep it. You don't like it? Sell it.
You like it but you don't have time/will/dedication to use it? Sell it and buy something that you will use.

greg · Expire: 2012-12-03

+1 on the above advice

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

I read your post three times and maybe I am tired, but I can't seem to grasp what your problem really is.

Go out and shoot with the lens. Enjoy it. Post here images you've taken with it. What else can you get for 50 euros that could bring as much positive feelings to yourself and others around you?

ChromaticAberration · Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 819 Location: Portugal

martyn_bannister · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 1151

Not all adapters to make lenses fit your canon are this expensive Smile

M42 adapters can be had for 3 or 4 EU.

Keep the C/Y adapter in case you find a job lot with a C/Y mount lens in the future ? Or sell for almost as much as you bought.

I tend to buy one adapter a month. It spreads the cost and you never know when that lens you have been hankering for will turn up in a mount you've not used before Smile

Rolf · Expire: 2015-12-26

One aspect of our hobby/passion is that beside the lenses or cams you have to spent a certain amount for different adapters - or you will concentrate only to one mount/adapter (for example c/y) and try to find good/excellent lenses for a low price.

I think this is an aspect of our hobby too - to look here and there to get bargains. To buy it in a shop or *bay is the simplest way - but not very exciting and sometimes the way with the highest prices.

Anyway, at the end it is better to buy with the budget one excellent lens rather than 3 "so la la" lenses.

Wink

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

Remember there's plenty of third party lenses about with C/Y mounts too Smile

Plus Tamron Adaptall and Adaptall 2 lenses which sell for silly small amounts with C/Y mounts.

Also...as Martyn has already pointed out, most adapters are pretty cheap anyway (you paid a lot for the C/Y one, must have been very high quality). And do you really need AF confirm? Unless the chip is of the adjustable EMF type, it's pretty much useless anyway Smile

dude163 · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:41 pm Post subject:

50 Euros isnt that much Smile

RioRico · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:42 pm Post subject: Almost a universal solution

Do you have a PK-EOS adapter so you can mount Pentax bayonet lenses on your poor Canon? C/Y, OM and Nikon lenses can all be more-or-less easily alteried to fit a PK mount. Even less expensive M39-M42 and M42-PK adapters can be modified for Exakta-mount lenses to fit a PK mount also. So for very little money, all those lens types (C/Y, OM, NI, and Exakta) can use your PK-EOS adapter. There is no need to buy one adapter per lens mount.

bogolisk · Expire: 2011-11-18

fuzzywuzzy · Expire: 2013-11-30

Think of it this way, what's the local price for the cheapest Canon prime, the all-plastic 50mm/f1.8 II?

Your "new" lens will be fun. You can now take shots that your kit lens won't handle. Have fun, practice, learn new techniques.

Also, there aren't that many common "families" of adapters compatible with modern Canon bodies. If you added a m42 and a Nikon adapter (both cheap) you'd be able to mount 75% of the lenses I see for sale on Ebay that are compatible with your body.

jjphoto · Joined: 17 Mar 2009 Posts: 410

dimitrygo · Joined: 01 Apr 2009 Posts: 561