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Auto Yashinon-DX 1.7/50
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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 8:06 am    Post subject: Auto Yashinon-DX 1.7/50 Reply with quote
This post is a follow up to the recent discussions that we have been having about the Auto Yashinon-DX 2/50.
It is the slightly wider sibling with a maximum aperture of f1.7.
I would like to give this lens a proper workout, but I have been busy with other things so a quickie is all a I could manage.
My copy has been through the wars and is suffering ...............
# auto/manual switch is frozen in the auto position so will only work with a flanged adapter
# the lens has been dropped and the lens barrel has been bent and re-straightened - the filter is a fixture to allow some threading on the front
# aperture and focus marks don't line up with the indicator on the lens barrel for some reason

........... but the optics are very good indeed.
Here is the lens:






Here are some very exciting shots taken at 1.7, and f8 I think (it is a bit of a guess on this lens)





And finally a trademark bokeh shot at f1.7 of our native dahlia sans petals.
Note that this is not the original shot but a small crop (100%) from part of it




Yashinons are not too shabby
OH


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is an interesting lens in how it looks,I think it needs to be run over by a car to finish its panel beating journey. Laughing ...what a rough life! I always think a rough looking lens has character but your story is almost a horror story for a lens.

The results are pleasing enough for some quick test shots.


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Excellent, goes to show how lenses can take a beating and keep on working. The 50/1.7 is a really superb lens, mine is the DS-M version:
The Plant in the Stair by Nesster, on Flickr
Ferrania 100 in a Yashica TL Electro-X camera.


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:56 am    Post subject: Re: Auto Yashinon-DX 1.7/50 Reply with quote
Oldhand wrote:


Here are some very exciting shots taken at 1.7, and f8 I think (it is a bit of a guess on this lens)


Exciting meaning your next task is to hang up the laundry? Wink
Nice test shots though.
How do you find this lens in comparison to the 2.0? Maybe too soon to say.
I see these lenses for sale on ebay for a low price. I wonder if there is any
benefit to buying a 1.7 if I already have the 2.0.


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
As I said on the other thread , I have this lens and in very good condition.
I have also the DS-M version. My DX is better but I think there is no conclusion to be made from that.
The DS-M has this yellowish rendition due to radioactivity.
My 1,7 DX produces cold colours. It is sharp but suffers from slighty weak contrast on some occasions. Nothing that you cannot correct in PP.
Very well built. Smooth and precise focusing and exposure rings . Cheap . I paid 15 euros with a Yashica ElectroX.
I recommend this lens which I use on a Sony A7.


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 3:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
In my experience these silver nose Yashinons don't age gracefully. Last one I had had to be stripped down to the last screw. I had to hammer and dremel some parts before it could be put back together Shocked
My biggest issue with these is that they protrude back like nothing else I've seen - I kind of feel like digging out a spotmatic and checking if it clears the mirror there.


PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gardener wrote:
In my experience these silver nose Yashinons don't age gracefully. Last one I had had to be stripped down to the last screw. I had to hammer and dremel some parts before it could be put back together Shocked
My biggest issue with these is that they protrude back like nothing else I've seen - I kind of feel like digging out a spotmatic and checking if it clears the mirror there.


Yes, the front silver barrel seems to be somewhat soft. I have seen plenty of damaged examples on ebay.
The optics are very good and make the effort in finding a good one worth it.
As to whether there is much difference between an f2 and an f1.7 example - I'm not sure that there is a lot of difference really.
Across the range of nifty fifties, the f1.7 versions always seem to produce the best sharpness generally but that is a bland generalisation.
Here are a couple of quickies from this morning. My battered example has focusing issues as you can see from the picture of the mis-aligned lens barrel.
Nonetheless here we go - one wide open and one at somewhere around f4/5.6
OH





PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gardener wrote:
In my experience these silver nose Yashinons don't age gracefully. Last one I had had to be stripped down to the last screw. I had to hammer and dremel some parts before it could be put back together Shocked
My biggest issue with these is that they protrude back like nothing else I've seen - I kind of feel like digging out a spotmatic and checking if it clears the mirror there.


That is a problem at infinity focus and it is worse on the f1.4 lens than the f2 and f1.7
When using these lenses that becomes a limiting factor unless you use an extension tube or your camera adapter has some extension.
OH


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The images from the earlier posts have disappeared so I will post some others taken recently.
Most are wide open, and those that are not will be self evident.
OH












PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice shots.
It is a very nice lens indeed . It suffers with light sometimes and looses contrast. It is a pity because it is a joy to use.
I bought then a DS-M version because of its better coating. Unfortunately my sample is mediocre and gives excessively yellowish pictures.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nesster wrote:
Excellent, goes to show how lenses can take a beating and keep on working. The 50/1.7 is a really superb lens, mine is the DS-M version:
The Plant in the Stair by Nesster, on Flickr
Ferrania 100 in a Yashica TL Electro-X camera.


Now guess how good the Yashica ML Series are - because the DS-M is the single coating bread & butter Yashica Lens, not multicoated,
as the ML stands for into the Yashica ML name....they're way close to Contax Carl Zeiss C/Y lenses...so much for this. Smile


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
memetph wrote:
Nice shots.
It is a very nice lens indeed . It suffers with light sometimes and looses contrast. It is a pity because it is a joy to use.
I bought then a DS-M version because of its better coating. Unfortunately my sample is mediocre and gives excessively yellowish pictures.


Sorry, which coating? Never buy the way cheap DS-M lenses which imply only single lens coatings, go for the Yashica ML series, the DS-Ms are mediocre. Only the Yashica ML line does have multi coated lens elements. (= ML, multilayer coating, or -coated)


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm actually not at all impressed with my ML 50/1.4, I had hopes it would challenge the Contax C/Y50/1.4, but it's not even close.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It depends on your very personal sample copy quality, and which kind of Zeiss you are comparing, most MLs came close to the older
Zeiss AE Type, which was made into (west)germany and japan, therefore named AEJ or -AEG. The same goes for the improved MM-Types,
(MultiMode) MMG and MMJ Variants are avialable. The MMs are avialable since circa 84, around Serial 68xxxx, but also earlier.
The smallest aperture, usually aperture 16, is marked in green instead of white onto the lens tubus.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unlike the early DS lenses, the Yashica DS-M lenses are multi-coated.

Lightshow wrote:
I'm actually not at all impressed with my ML 50/1.4, I had hopes it would challenge the Contax C/Y50/1.4, but it's not even close.

Get a Germany made HFT Planar 50/1.4 then. Wink


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice try! Very Happy All my Contax Zeiss C/Y Mount Lenses are MMJ type, so made in Japan, and mint. Smile
Besides that, the DS or DS-M Yashica Lens series are sitting under the Yashica ML line, and are cheaper, optically
usually not that good, but they're a few nice DS-M ones, too. Wink Afaik all Yashinon M42 DS/M & DX ones are
containing radioactive stuff like thorium inside the glas elements.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I do have the HFT 50/1.8, though it's not been mounted yet for some strange reason, I'll have to fix the that this summer.
I've been more impressed by the ML 50/2 than the ML 50/1.4 which surprised me, I would have expected the 1.4 to be better since they are usually a flagship.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
This could perhaps only being explained by "sample variation"...because the 50/2 was the cheapest ML prime of the whole
series, and onto many cheap Yashica SLR bodies as "Kitlens" mounted. The 50/1.7 does render images better, also a nicer bokeh,
whileas the 50/1.4 was the top-of-the-line 50 lens from Yashica.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm very impressed with my ML 50 / 1.7.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
doomed-forever wrote:

Now guess how good the Yashica ML Series are - because the DS-M is the single coating bread & butter Yashica Lens, not multicoated,
as the ML stands for into the Yashica ML name....they're way close to Contax Carl Zeiss C/Y lenses...so much for this. Smile


1. as Calvin said DS is single coated... DS-M is multicoated... guess what the M stands for.
2. ML lenses aren't automatically better, they are just a later lineup for the CY cameras. Some of them may be better, other are even inferior
3. DX Yashinons don't contain radioactive materials


PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tedat wrote:
doomed-forever wrote:

Now guess how good the Yashica ML Series are - because the DS-M is the single coating bread & butter Yashica Lens, not multicoated,
as the ML stands for into the Yashica ML name....they're way close to Contax Carl Zeiss C/Y lenses...so much for this. Smile


1. as Calvin said DS is single coated... DS-M is multicoated... guess what the M stands for.
2. ML lenses aren't automatically better, they are just a later lineup for the CY cameras. Some of them may be better, other are even inferior
3. DX Yashinons don't contain radioactive materials


Jan, you really always need the last word, don't you`? I've written already that yesterday, some DS-Ms are really good,
but not all & everything from these M42 series. About that multicoated, guess what i've written before <plonk>
Last, but not least: check the web before you write such statements.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
doomed-forever wrote:
Tedat wrote:
doomed-forever wrote:

Now guess how good the Yashica ML Series are - because the DS-M is the single coating bread & butter Yashica Lens, not multicoated,
as the ML stands for into the Yashica ML name....they're way close to Contax Carl Zeiss C/Y lenses...so much for this. Smile


1. as Calvin said DS is single coated... DS-M is multicoated... guess what the M stands for.
2. ML lenses aren't automatically better, they are just a later lineup for the CY cameras. Some of them may be better, other are even inferior
3. DX Yashinons don't contain radioactive materials


Jan, you really always need the last word, don't you`? I've written already that yesterday, some DS-Ms are really good,
but not all & everything from these M42 series. About that multicoated, guess what i've written before <plonk>
Last, but not least: check the web before you write such statements.


I guess it is clear that you made mistake, just man up and admit it ...simples [sometimes too much adrenaline on the forums Very Happy]


PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
There is a YT video and also posts onto the net, that the Yashinon DX is indeed leaking (even small amounts) of radiation - no offence. Wink


PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
doomed-forever wrote:

Jan, you really always need the last word, don't you`? I've written already that yesterday, some DS-Ms are really good,
but not all & everything from these M42 series. About that multicoated, guess what i've written before <plonk>
Last, but not least: check the web before you write such statements.


please excuse me for having the last word again Wink


1. Yes you wrote that some DS-M Yashinons are really good... but also "go for the Yashica ML series, the DS-Ms are mediocre" and "the DS or DS-M Yashica Lens series are sitting under the Yashica ML line, and are cheaper, optically
usually not that good"... there I say it's just wrong. Maybe you got it mixed with DSB which was the cheaper lineup for CY cameras...

2. Next you wrote "Only the Yashica ML line does have multi coated lens elements."... wrong again.. ML is multicoated, DS-M too (that's what the "M" stands for). DS, DSB, DX and earlier Yashinons are single coated.

3. "Afaik all Yashinon M42 DS/M & DX ones are containing radioactive stuff like thorium inside the glas elements."... nope.. DX and DS lenses don't contain radioactive materials. Some DS-M Yashinons do..


That's what I wrote before, but maybe not clear enough. I also see no words from you where you changed your mind about those three points, so I replied and do this now again.


PS: I don't write anything to offend you or anybody else


PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Errare humanum est .
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