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Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on Aug 5, 2015 0:39:39 GMT
Posted: Aug 5, 2015 0:39:39 GMT
I took delivery today of one of my all time favourite lenses - the Zeiss 55mm for the Yashica Contax system.
It is difficult to over-emphasise just how big and heavy it is compared to most 50/55/58mm f1.2 lenses BUT in its defence, no other superfast piece of glass comes close to its image quality. I have enjoyed using the Yashica ML, Olympus (50mm and 55mm), Minolta (50mm and 58mm) and Porst f1.2s, but none can match the contrast and sharpness wide open of the Zeiss - but they are all much lighter and cheaper.
Is the Zeiss worth 22 times the cost of the 50mm 1.4 Planar or 15 times the Yashica 55 1.2? At f4-f16, no - the difference in quality of image is minimal. But wide open, it is in a league of one. For portraiture, it is outstanding as it's shallow dof makes it ideal for creating real impact.
To help illustrate just how big the Zeiss is compared to its siblings, I've attached a piccie; I've also included one of the two Yashica lenses which shows the greater similarity in size achieved by the designers of the ML series.
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on Aug 5, 2015 1:01:49 GMT
Posted: Aug 5, 2015 1:01:49 GMT
How long did it take you to land that monster? If it's as good as you say wide open, then it's well worth the bait you had to use.
PF
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on Aug 5, 2015 9:38:55 GMT
Posted: Aug 5, 2015 9:38:55 GMT
This is not fair. How can I continue today to work after seeing this pictures?  |
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on Aug 6, 2015 0:50:57 GMT
Posted: Aug 6, 2015 0:50:57 GMT
Sorry dragos - I just can't resist lovely glass...
Tehcnically, ridgeblue, it has taken me 2 years to land it as that was when I sold my last one and regretted it the second I posted it off to its happy recipient. As you know, they don't appear that often and usually attract crazy prices - breguetcamera in HKG has one discounted to $7700 right now and there's an unused one on Ebay for $12,995 - but I found one here in the UK for a more sensible price. Even so, I had to ignore a few favourites that appeared for sale to be able to afford it.
Now, if only the guy who bought my 600 f4 Tele ApoTessar a few years ago would sell it back, my photographic menagerie would be complete again.
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on Aug 6, 2015 1:55:46 GMT
Posted: Aug 6, 2015 1:55:46 GMT
I know what you mean about making choices. I was perusing the auctions today, making up a list of ML lenses I wanted to get from my Watch list. I had three Reflex 500/8s to decide from. The first one I'm pretty sure was the older version you talked about in another thread (no tripod mount). The other two were newer, but in opposing conditions. It was coming down to whichever one had the best included filters, and that meant the older one. So I took a look at filters, to see if they were available, and instead found another Reflex that didn't show up in the other search. It was the later version, and it had the proper filter mix (Y, O, R, ND, SKY). And even with the $45 shipping from UAE was still less expensive than two of the other three.
But. I had to drop getting some other lenses on the list for now. But this will make it easier for me to cut loose some of my Minolta gear, of which I have the 500/8. I didn't care for it because you had to put the filters on the rear of the lens with a special tool, and there was no tripod support, putting all that stress on the lens and tripod mounts.
I do still wonder though if there is a UV filter for the ML.
PF
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on Aug 6, 2015 11:57:16 GMT
Posted: Aug 6, 2015 11:57:16 GMT
You do need to be careful when buying the 500 f8 if you want the very best version (in terms of sharpness and contrast) which was the final iteration of the ML. It is distinguished by having a wide focusing grip covering most of the barrel, a screw-in hood, no tripod mount and a single rear-mounted filter marked 'Normal'; it was also more compact than previous versions. Marked ML on the front disc, it carries the serial number in the usual place for ML lenses around the base of the barrel by the mount and should start with A580... There was also a genuine ML version that was not marked ML on the front disc and carried the tripod mount, had an integrated hood and 5 filters. Most other versions were essentially the Yashinon-DX 500 f8 with a C/Y mount and like the Yashinon, serial numbers started with 520... and no 'A' prefix. None of the 500 f8s had a UV filter, all being given a 1A for normal use; looking at the final version of the lens, the Normal filter looks to be a 1A too.
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on Aug 6, 2015 13:18:48 GMT
Posted: Aug 6, 2015 13:18:48 GMT
Jeez, I could fit my head into that thing. And I have a big head.
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on Aug 7, 2015 2:14:07 GMT
Posted: Aug 7, 2015 2:14:07 GMT
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on Aug 7, 2015 3:26:13 GMT
Posted: Aug 7, 2015 3:26:13 GMT
Although it's not the final version, you're still getting a very good lens.
Yashica made things very confusing with the 500 f8 in C/Y mount - in addition to those lenses on Ebay, there's another variant which is not marked ML but has the coating and a detachable, rather than integrated, hood along with a single rear filter and no tripod mount. Talk about making life complicated....!
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on Aug 7, 2015 17:48:22 GMT
Posted: Aug 7, 2015 17:48:22 GMT
Wow, that 55/1.2 is a monster. I have huge sympathy for your 'seller's regret' too. I did the same thing (albeit on a cheaper level) with my Zeiss 18mm Distagon. It's also, in a way how I ended up down the rabbit hole of contax/yashica after finding a cheap 50/1.7 planar, selling it then immediately buying another with a Contax 159 attached... I now have 3 contax bodies, 11 Zeiss lenses, 3 Yashica MLs and a Yashica 124G!
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on Aug 10, 2015 21:09:20 GMT
Posted: Aug 10, 2015 21:09:20 GMT
Although it's not the final version, you're still getting a very good lens.
Yashica made things very confusing with the 500 f8 in C/Y mount - in addition to those lenses on Ebay, there's another variant which is not marked ML but has the coating and a detachable, rather than integrated, hood along with a single rear filter and no tripod mount. Talk about making life complicated....!
Well that's a relief. Thanks for the information. It arrived this morning looking really good. I've also got an ML 200/4 on the way. PF |
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