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on Jun 1, 2019 23:52:44 GMT
Posted: Jun 1, 2019 23:52:44 GMT
After thumbing through a manual for a Yashica FX-1, I found a short lens catalog with the first series of ML lenses. I say first series, since every one of them were trimmed just like a DSB lens, using the same diamond patterned rubber grip, and the visible edge of the middle and lower barrel sections and rings were chamfered an the silver metal showing through. Later ML glass had the squared rubber grips and no chamfers on the barrels or rings. The listed lenses: 28mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2.8. 50mm f/1.7, 50mm, f/1.4, 135mm f/2.8, and the 200mm f/4, plus the 2 Reflex/Mirror lenses, the 500mm f/8, and the 1000mm f/11. There are no other in-depth Yashica lens pages with photos and optical diagrams, but there's a table of basic Zeiss glass data of essentially the same focal lengths as the ML's - with the addition of the ultra-wides and the 85mm Planar/Sonnar pair. There's not a single zoom listed anywhere, of either brand, and only a brief note about the bellows macro with a small photo showing the whole rails and slide dupe setup. I know the DSB trimmed lenses exist in some numbers, since I have 3 (28mm, 50mm 1.7, and 200mm), but I haven't seen any of the others up for sale, and I doubt I've seen them pictured. I can vouch for them being identical underneath the trim, as I've Frankenlensed a 200mm together from 1 of each type. and cleaned both types of the 1.7's and the internals are the same. So... has anyone seen the other primes in DSB trim? Were any ML zooms produced with the earlier trim, or only the later style? A hasty phone shot of one of the manual pages for the 35mm f/2.8...  |
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on Jun 2, 2019 14:57:28 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 2, 2019 15:03:15 GMT by yashicanoner
I know about the following ML-primes: ML 3,5/15mm Fisheye ML 3,5/21mm ML 2,8/28mm ML 2,8/35mm ML 1,7/50mm ML 1,4/50mm ML 4,0/55mm macro (I have one of them) ML 4,0/100mm bellow ML 2,8/135mm ML 4,0/200mm As far as I know, there were only DSB-zooms with this design. Al the ML-zooms were manufactured with the newer design. If you take a look at the german olypedia-website, you can find a few pictures of some of the lenses with dsb-design: wide-angle primee lenses: olypedia.de/index.php?title=Yashica_ML-Objektive_(1)_-_Weitwinkelobjektivenormal prime: olypedia.de/index.php?title=Yashica_ML-Objektive_(2)_-_Normalobjektivetele prime lenses: olypedia.de/index.php?title=Yashica_ML-Objektive_(3)_-_Teleobjektivemacro lenses: olypedia.de/index.php?title=Yashica_ML-Objektive_(4)_-_Makroobjektivezoom lenses: olypedia.de/index.php?title=Yashica_ML-Objektive_(5)_-_Zoomobjektive |
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on Jun 2, 2019 18:39:54 GMT
Posted: Jun 2, 2019 18:39:54 GMT
... As far as I know, there were only DSB-zooms with this design. Al the ML-zooms were manufactured with the newer design. ... Thanks for the clarification and the links. They are a big help in trying to get a sense of where the FX-1 fit into the timeline, and the absolute flood of products that coincided with the Zeiss partnership. The first Yashica body I bought new was the FR, and the 5+ Yashica body choices of the period were unexpected when they were released at about the same time, when other makers had maybe 2 or 3 bodies, at most. Add in the Contax models, and it made it difficult to make a best body choice. With the manual's lens pages, I was struck by the limited lens lineup, and particularly that there were no zooms at all. I also found it curios that the FX-1 still has an Electro 'Atom' badge on the front lower-right body panel, so it's seems like there was a lot going on with everything in that transition period to the new and sleeker models. I presume there was a lot of old excess inventory to be used up too. yashicanoner ... The real shockers for me are the ML 20mm f/3.3 with an even older Yashinon/DS style grip, and that monster of a ML 300mm that's a third larger than the newer versions on your site. I didn't know that there was a 20mm ML, which I guess would be the DS version with the new bayonet mount and newer coatings. With the length and heft of a ML 100-300mm being more than enough to handle, comparing it to that early ML 300 prime, I assume it would be a little unwieldy and certainly not a hand-holder. |
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on Jun 23, 2019 21:15:49 GMT
Posted: Jun 23, 2019 21:15:49 GMT
The FR is a very old design, and with it's typical sort of defects, one of many is the defective frame counter...
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on Jan 19, 2022 19:18:24 GMT
Posted: Jan 19, 2022 19:18:24 GMT
Hi folks, I managed to buy a stunning 32pp brochure for the Yashica FX-1 which I'd never seen before. However, the real joy was the photo below of the range of 'ML' lenses...  Yashica ML range FX-1 resOK. we know that the mirror lenses were not ML coated in 1977 but one other thing you can see is that when the FX-1 brochure was being prepared, all the C/Y mount lenses carried the DS-M style of grip and front bezel which was to be found on the DSB range and the early ML-coated optics. Even more significant is the presence of the fabled ML 400mm f5.6 lens which is dwarfing both the ML 300mm and Reflex 1000mm at the rear of the assembly. Very few photographic images of the lens exist |
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on Jan 19, 2022 20:26:56 GMT
Last Edit: Jan 19, 2022 20:32:09 GMT by lumiworx
Thank you for posting the great family photo, Graham. It's proving yet again that some of the extra and included printed material has a lot more interesting details to offer. I should dig through some of what I have and see what I may have missed. I do have at least one 4x8 inch counter-top brochure for the C/Y lens line in full color that I've never seen anywhere else, so it might be as good a time as any to make a multi-page PDF copy to post online. It has photos showing the new grips, but there is some really descriptive ad copy that goes beyond the usual facts and figures, and even sample color photos. With the pic including the 400mm ML, a new question pops into mind and I really hope it's possible to find out a proper answer. Obviously this isn't a lens that existed on paper only, and at least it's safe to assume there was a single mockup done, if not several of them. I'd also be inclined to think that there were more than a few prototypes of working lenses made of one type or another, since they appear to have been destined to make it into production but were stalled and then stopped before making it a reality. Leica/Leitz prototypes (at least the ELCAN versions from Canada) have been available in the market for quite awhile - I own one myself - but other than the prototype CONTAX 137AF camera/lens pair, I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about any other Yashica production prototypes ever getting into private hands. I'm wondering where that 400mm ML is hiding now, and if there is a cache of lenses and bodies floating around in some dark warehouse and waiting for an accidental discovery...??? |
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on Jan 20, 2022 11:57:48 GMT
Posted: Jan 20, 2022 11:57:48 GMT
Hi Randy,
There are quite a few interesting items to be discovered if one reads the many pieces of literature for the Contax/Yashica range; equally, there are some gaps too as I have never found the ML 70-210 f4 or 24mm f2.8 DSB in any of my leaflets, brochures or booklets even though they may have been advertised in magazines.
Some of the brochures reward careful examination; the Contax 167MT had 2 almost identical versions but in one of them, there is a reference to what would have been a very useful item - a Zeiss Mutar Tripod Collar. In the FX-1 32-pager, there is illustrated a 'Super Telephoto', namely the ML 800mm f8 though, unlike the 400mm, I doubt this made it beyond a single prototype.
Someone, somewhere may have a few ML 400 lenses, perhaps even the ML 800, and it may take a death before they see the light of day though it is exciting to think that there may be a warehouse full of untouched goodies just waiting to be found...
Well, we can always dream...
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on Jan 21, 2022 12:29:28 GMT
Posted: Jan 21, 2022 12:29:28 GMT
there is my post from +1 year ago with a pic and a question about my ml 50 1.4 in diamond trim rubber grip and silver nose.
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