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Post: 23 (4 liked)
Join date: April 2015
Status: Yashica ML Collector
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on Nov 1, 2015 17:41:34 GMT
Posted: Nov 1, 2015 17:41:34 GMT
Discussing lens rarity, we came across this lens. It's probably one of the rarer Yashicas, my little collection of serial numbers currently knows of 5 copies (A00006, A00008, A00025, A00026, A00028).   I got my copy from a former Yashica employee. According to him, the lens was presented at Photokina (1992/1994?), but never officially sold. He also doubted if the MC lineup was produced by Yashica - he suggested Tokina or Cosina. In the second picture, you can see the odd design of the zoom ring: it moves past the front element, making the use of a lens hood (maybe even some filters) impossible. The minimum focusing distance is 0.35m and the macro ratio is 1:4 (no special macro setting). Here's an overview of the sharpness at various focal lengths (70mm, 50mm, 28mm) at the center and left/right border. Wide open, the MC is quite soft, but from f/5.6 the sharpness is pretty good. Images were taken with a Sony A7 (24 Mpix full frame sensor).  I also compared the MC 28-70mm to a ML 2.8/28mm. At f/4 the ML28 is clearly better, but from f/8 I can't see much difference. On APS-C, they should be pretty equal at f/5.6.  (overview) 
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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 Nov 2, 2015 1:04:25 GMT
Posted: Nov 2, 2015 1:04:25 GMT
Thank you so much paguru for your contribution.
Most illuminating! It seems to be a lens that should not have been made as it's reversed geometry makes it impractical to use in certain situations; I'm sure it is not a coincidence that the top wide-angle to portrait zoom, the 35-70 f3.5 has the 70mm setting closest to the mount and even the MC 35-70 follows this practice. Indeed the majority of Yashica zooms have the widest angle nearest the front of the lens.
I would guess it is a Cosina lens that was rebadged. The loss of the Yashica/Tomioka optical and production designers during the '90s was the death knell for great lens design by Yashica; design and production were outsourced more and more as Kyocera started to lose interest in the brand and Cosina became their main go-to supplier. Having said that, I've not been able to find a Cosina equivalent for the lens, nor a Tokina.
I can understand why it did not go into production as I suspect the feedback from Photokina was not too positive, if only for the problem with fitting a filter and/or a hood. Also, existing lenses within Yashica's ML range covered the focal lengths but with better performance wide-open although your photos show the lens to be a pretty competent performer from f5.6-f11.
It seems to be a fascinating evolutionary dead-end. |
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Post: 23 (4 liked)
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Status: Yashica ML Collector
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on Nov 2, 2015 6:53:24 GMT
Posted: Nov 2, 2015 6:53:24 GMT
Yes, it's definitely a strange beast. It probably also failed because it came too late, everybody started to buy AF gear at the time.
From a photographer's perspective, I'd say you're better off with your kit zoom on a digital camera. As a collector, I have my problems with the whole MC series. It's not so much the outsourcing - Zeiss outsourced to Kyocera, Kyocery to Cosina, Cosina is Voigtländer, ... I just can't see a product philosophy in the MCs. Not a single decent prime, just a zoo of zooms. And too many oddities, like this one and the mysterious MC 28mm (Macro). I bought some when I could find them cheap, but I'd never spend a lot of money on a "collector's item".
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on Dec 28, 2015 19:46:29 GMT
Last Edit: Dec 28, 2015 19:46:59 GMT by dragos
My Christmas present just arrived today. I bought the A00025 one, is in almost new condition I will make tomorrow some tests with Sony A7.  |
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on Dec 29, 2015 17:07:54 GMT
Posted: Dec 29, 2015 17:07:54 GMT
I made today some quick tests. Hand held, no sharpen, just simple jpg out from camera and cropped for samples. I tested against the ML 28-50 only for 28, 35 and 50mm with appropriate aperture. I my oppinion, starting 5.6 is a good performer lens.  @ 28mm  @35mm  @50mm  |
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Group: Member
Post: 60 (7 liked)
Join date: November 2020
Status: My first SLR was an FX-2 in 1979. I’ve been shooting and collecting Yashica/Contax gear ever since.
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on Nov 11, 2020 1:56:28 GMT
Posted: Nov 11, 2020 1:56:28 GMT
Hello, guys. Very thankful to find this information. I had decided this was a unicorn lens. I have a collection of about 20 Yashica ML lenses, three MC lenses, and three DSB lenses, as well as two FX-2s that were overhauled -- and now like new -- by Mark Hama, Yashica's former USA service manger. The FX-2 was my first SLR in 1979. I later moved on to Nikon, and currently shoot three different systems as an Air Force photographer. But Yashica will always have a special place in my heart. They made great stuff in the late 70s! I'll post photos of my collection later if anyone is interested. I have all the primes except the 50mm f/1.2.
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Group: Member
Post: 60 (7 liked)
Join date: November 2020
Status: My first SLR was an FX-2 in 1979. I’ve been shooting and collecting Yashica/Contax gear ever since.
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on Nov 11, 2020 2:03:46 GMT
Posted: Nov 11, 2020 2:03:46 GMT
Also - I saw some discussion that the MC lenses were made by Cosina. I don't think that is correct. All my MC lenses were marked "Made in Hong Kong" in very sketchy blue paint on the rear of the barrel. This paint came off with the slightest touch of a fingernail. LOL. On purpose? Anyway, I had read in other places that these lenses were made by the same company that had produced the Yashica 2x teleconverter (also marked as made in Hong Kong). That vendor was Universal Optical. I am not aware of Cosina ever manufacturing optics outside of Japan (although they did offshore camera bodies like the abysmal FX-3).
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Group: Member
Post: 60 (7 liked)
Join date: November 2020
Status: My first SLR was an FX-2 in 1979. I’ve been shooting and collecting Yashica/Contax gear ever since.
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on Nov 11, 2020 3:15:29 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 11, 2020 3:16:39 GMT by dalegreer
The thing about this lens -- aside from the fact that some hoods and filters won't work -- is the visible cam slots on the inside of the barrel. This design really says amateur hour. It is not up to Yashica/Tomioka standards, and really not even up to Cosina's bottom-of-the-market standards. Cosina makes/has made excellent optics, including Carl Zeiss (as well as current Leica-mount ZM lenses) and Voigtlander, which I am proud to use on my Olympus Micro 4/3 system. But even their worst plastic-mount all-plastic construction lenses didn't sink to this level of poor construction. Has this lens specification surfaced in any other way? Vivitar? Samyang? I do wonder who the vendor was. Special thanks to the rare folks who have found this lens and made it part of their collections. It is a significant element in the decline of a once proud tradition. And thank you, Kyocera, for driving another company into the ground. Yashica/Tomioka > Kyocera > Kyocera Optec > Just another subsidiary that makes back-up lenses for cars.
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Post: 2,040 (562 liked)
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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 Nov 11, 2020 11:39:53 GMT
Posted: Nov 11, 2020 11:39:53 GMT
Hello, guys. Very thankful to find this information. I had decided this was a unicorn lens. I have a collection of about 20 Yashica ML lenses, three MC lenses, and three DSB lenses, as well as two FX-2s that were overhauled -- and now like new -- by Mark Hama, Yashica's former USA service manger. The FX-2 was my first SLR in 1979. I later moved on to Nikon, and currently shoot three different systems as an Air Force photographer. But Yashica will always have a special place in my heart. They made great stuff in the late 70s! I'll post photos of my collection later if anyone is interested. I have all the primes except the 50mm f/1.2. It would be great to see your collection! Keep looking for that ML 55 1.2...though you may need a mortgage! |
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on Nov 11, 2020 22:15:41 GMT
Posted: Nov 11, 2020 22:15:41 GMT
This 28-70mm kinda-sorta reminds me of the Minolta 40-80mm f2.8, sorta-kinda. The Minolta is top-notch quality-wise, and has an inner and outer barrel -- but it's the inner barrel that moves forward & back, and as you focus, not as you zoom.
Unlike the Yashica zoom -- which seems like it would work fine with filters, but not a lens shade -- the Minolta has a separate thread on each barrel. The inner one, 55mm, is for filters. The outer one, 62mm, can only be used for a lens shade. It's odd, but it works. It seems like the Yashica "solved" this problem by creating a lens shade from the barrel as the lens zooms. Novel for sure.
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on Nov 12, 2020 10:39:18 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 12, 2020 10:41:47 GMT by lenslover
It's a very cheapskate Lens, the "MC" Lenses Series have been ultra-lowcost, back into the Heyday from Yashica.
By F8, it is reasonable good enough for Pictures, but it's simply no Comparsion to a ML 28-85. I would even prefer the 28-80 Yashica DSB, which is being singlecoated only, compared to this 28-70 MC Yashica Oddball, nothing bad meant.
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on Nov 12, 2020 10:43:53 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 12, 2020 10:45:16 GMT by lenslover
This 28-70mm kinda-sorta reminds me of the Minolta 40-80mm f2.8, sorta-kinda. The Minolta is top-notch quality-wise, and has an inner and outer barrel -- but it's the inner barrel that moves forward & back, and as you focus, not as you zoom. The Difference is, the Minolta 40-80/2.8 was back into its Heyday even rare, and extraordinary expensive, too. It was being produced into very little Quantities, and at its time a very good Lens - not a cheapskate 08/15 MC Yashica, that was mostly sitting into it's Day usually onto a Yashica 107/108/109 Body, for which it was being meant to be.
PS: Nothing bad meant, but you pushed your Posts to >300 in almost no Time, i never saw somebody else here onto the Board to-do this exactly this Way, xkaes. No offense. 
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on Nov 12, 2020 13:50:12 GMT
Last Edit: Nov 12, 2020 13:51:06 GMT by xkaes
Thanks for pointing that out. I joined this board just to get some help/info on my trusty Spiratone/Tomioka/Yashica 500mm f8. I stuck around because of the thoughtful, considerate, helpful discussions -- pretty rare on most other boards. Here, when someone asks a question, they actually get help, instead of the all-too-common, "Why do you want to know that?", "You can't do that", or "If you don't know the answer, you shouldn't be asking!" NON-responses on other boards (photographic or not).
And then I started to realize how much other Yashica gear I have, from a few Y-16's, a couple of 16EE's, up to a couple of Samurai Z's.
Cheers!
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on Nov 12, 2020 14:06:15 GMT
Posted: Nov 12, 2020 14:06:15 GMT
You are right about the price of the Minolta 40-80mm zoom. It was expensive when it was being produced, but used ones sell for even more today. I bought my first one when a camera shop was going out of business, so I got a reasonable price. Shortly thereafter, my lens developed a common problem -- the zoom lever freezes. Because it was under warranty, I sent it to Minolta USA, but no one in this country would touch it -- "It's a VERY complicated lens". They sent it to Japan and it took six months for me to get it back.
A couple of years later, I bought a used one (not that I needed one), for next to nothing because its zoom lever was frozen. I bought, took it apart, and discovered that the zoom mechanism is extremely simple -- and easy to fix. The money I made when I sold it more than paid for the one I still have!
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