Yashica Lenses

magkelly · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 182

I picked up a really nice lot of Yashica lenses a while back at Goodwill. I've been reading a lot about c/y lenses since and I can't quite figure out something. All over the place people are talking about the basic DSB kit lenses and the Carl Zeiss ones. I gather those are two separate things a lot of the time, but 2 out of 3 of my lenses for c/y seem to be made by someone else, I think, yet I never seem to see anyone talking about other manufacturers making much in the way of c/y lenses.

I know Vivitar definitely did, because my 300MM is one of their lenses. But I was just wondering, besides the Zeiss lenses, and the DSB's if anyone else made anything that I should be on the lookout for? I'm seeing a lot of cheap c/y lenses, but not so much the Zeiss marked ones. Anything else worth a grab if I happen to see it going for a song?

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Carl Zeiss c/y lenses are top lenses mostly on top prices... so I doubt about you can find them on low price frequently . If you need c/y lens on low price look yashica branded ones , yashica ML is latest in line.

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1387 Location: Berlin, DE

Yashica lenses to look for are ML series. DSB were cheaper, older, single-coated versions that were not nearly as good as their ML replacements (and not quite from the same planet as Zeiss lenses).

Yashica ML stuff is mostly good to very good, on par with offerings from other big manufacturers such as Nikon and Minolta. They can be often had cheaper than those because the C/Y mount is dead, and not many people know what the heck the "Yashica" is.

That said, some Yashica ML's are highly sought after, including ML 21mm and ML 24mm which enjoy good reputation. ML 100mm 3.5 Macro is a nice one, too.

alex · Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 561 Location: UK

Whilst the Yashica ML lenses are not Zeiss lenses in disguise, they frequently offer a large fraction of the performance for a small fraction of the price. As mentioned by 'aoleg', the DSB range lenses were single coated inexpensive and fairly average offerings, but the multicoated ML and MC (compact version) lenses were more than a cut above, and some have a cult following because they really are good. The ML 1.4/50 is a corker that really does snap at the heels of the Planar, though it sometimes fetches close to the price of the 1.7/50 Planar. The ML 1.7/50 is another one to keep an eye out for.

If you like zooms, the two to get are the 28-85 (don't confuse it with the 28-80 from the same range) and the 70-210. The 28-85 is not a dwarf, and needs a hood to tame flare from the large front element, but it's an excellent lens that covers most of the bases, especially if you pair it with the rather petite 70-210.

The 21mm ML now commands quite a premium, in some measure because digitographers are snapping them up to mount them on EOS-CY adapters. Something similar has been happening to the 24mm ML. I think the Yashica has the edge on the better known 20mm Flektogon.

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1387 Location: Berlin, DE

Re: YML 24mm; I've got this Yashica, Nikkor, and Zuiko 24/2.8, and the Nikkor with the little Zuiko are ahead of the Yashica in terms of performance. I see little difference between the Zuiko and the Nikkor, with Olympus lens having maybe a bit lower CA than the Nikkor. Otherwise, the two are pretty much comparable, albeit their optical design is absolutely different.