230-AF - revisiting an under-rated camera
Mar 22, 2023 11:39:38 GMT
on Mar 22, 2023 11:39:38 GMT
Posted: Mar 22, 2023 11:39:38 GMT
Hi folks,
This delightful combo arrived a few days ago and warranted a Yashica 230-AF revisit.
230-AF kit-18_03_2023
The unpopularity of Yashica's AF 35mm SLR system was probably due to two main reasons: firstly, existing Yashica SLR users were not willing to junk their M42 or C/Y gear for yet another mount; secondly, Kyocera was late to the AF market, having killed off the Contax 137AF project in 1982/3, and other manufacturers were well established by the time this camera appeared in 1987. Incidentally, when shown at Photokina 1986, it was not marked as the Yashica 230-AF but I can't read my notes as to what marque the body carried. One further problem was its premium pricing relative to the larger producers when launched, though this had reduced considerably within the year.
One of this camera's most innovative and useful capabilities was insufficiently communicated to some key potential audiences: wildlife, sports and surveillance specialists. The facility in question is its trap-focusing.
This allows you to preset the focus to a point where you expect something to appear; as soon as the subject moves into frame, the shutter fires automatically. You can also use it in a slightly different way; if you see a static object and decide, for example, that you want to shoot at a distance of 15 feet from it, if you keep the shutter release (or cable switch) depressed while moving towards the object, the shutter will fire only when you reach that predetermined spot.
When you remove the CS-110 AF flash unit from the top of the camera, it takes on the form of a conventional SLR, revealing a hot shoe designed to work seamlessly with Yashica's CS-250 AF sophisticated, top-of-the-range flash unit. This adds even more versatility to the use of the camera. With a decent set of lenses available from 24mm, 28mm, 50mm and 60mm Macro prime lenses, plus a wide selection of zooms allowing you to shoot from 28mm to 300mm with just two lenses, you can cover most photographic needs. There is also a small number of 3rd party lenses that can extend your options to 400mm, in the form of Sigma's 400mm f5.6 AF model.
Although Kyocera produced a 1.6x AF Converter to allow the use of a modest selection of Zeiss and Yashica C/Y lenses, the introduction of additional glass elements rarely helps to deliver optimum sharpness and contrast - it is not a Zeiss Mutar! However, at least you can use a number of those classic C/Y lenses in AF mode on any of the Yashica AF models; central sharpness is not too bad.
I'd forgotten just how good the 230-AF is; its lack of popularity means you can pick one up for a song and the lenses (excepting the 60mm Macro) are cheap too. Well worth a visit...
This delightful combo arrived a few days ago and warranted a Yashica 230-AF revisit.
230-AF kit-18_03_2023
The unpopularity of Yashica's AF 35mm SLR system was probably due to two main reasons: firstly, existing Yashica SLR users were not willing to junk their M42 or C/Y gear for yet another mount; secondly, Kyocera was late to the AF market, having killed off the Contax 137AF project in 1982/3, and other manufacturers were well established by the time this camera appeared in 1987. Incidentally, when shown at Photokina 1986, it was not marked as the Yashica 230-AF but I can't read my notes as to what marque the body carried. One further problem was its premium pricing relative to the larger producers when launched, though this had reduced considerably within the year.
One of this camera's most innovative and useful capabilities was insufficiently communicated to some key potential audiences: wildlife, sports and surveillance specialists. The facility in question is its trap-focusing.
This allows you to preset the focus to a point where you expect something to appear; as soon as the subject moves into frame, the shutter fires automatically. You can also use it in a slightly different way; if you see a static object and decide, for example, that you want to shoot at a distance of 15 feet from it, if you keep the shutter release (or cable switch) depressed while moving towards the object, the shutter will fire only when you reach that predetermined spot.
When you remove the CS-110 AF flash unit from the top of the camera, it takes on the form of a conventional SLR, revealing a hot shoe designed to work seamlessly with Yashica's CS-250 AF sophisticated, top-of-the-range flash unit. This adds even more versatility to the use of the camera. With a decent set of lenses available from 24mm, 28mm, 50mm and 60mm Macro prime lenses, plus a wide selection of zooms allowing you to shoot from 28mm to 300mm with just two lenses, you can cover most photographic needs. There is also a small number of 3rd party lenses that can extend your options to 400mm, in the form of Sigma's 400mm f5.6 AF model.
Although Kyocera produced a 1.6x AF Converter to allow the use of a modest selection of Zeiss and Yashica C/Y lenses, the introduction of additional glass elements rarely helps to deliver optimum sharpness and contrast - it is not a Zeiss Mutar! However, at least you can use a number of those classic C/Y lenses in AF mode on any of the Yashica AF models; central sharpness is not too bad.
I'd forgotten just how good the 230-AF is; its lack of popularity means you can pick one up for a song and the lenses (excepting the 60mm Macro) are cheap too. Well worth a visit...
