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on Aug 11, 2020 21:25:20 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 12, 2020 22:30:02 GMT by biggles3
I realise that I've shown piccies of the fabulous little Yashica ML 100mm f4 Bellows lens before but I'd never bothered to allow it to be compared with its illustrious Zeiss alternative.
Well, I hope the photo below will help to illustrate the huge difference in relative sizes of these optics.
Zeiss 100 f4 - Yashica ML 100 f4
The Yashica has a 5/3 optical formula and the Zeiss a 6/4 - and you can see the impact it has on their relative sizes. Yet for all the greater complexity and sophistication of the Zeiss design, the little ML can pretty much match its big cousin for central definition. It's only when you look at the edges of the frame that you can see the effect of the extra glass but whether that equates to the 12x difference in price is arguable. Yashica's offering is a very competent performer.
Of course, these only work on a Bellows and here the Contax Zeiss combination completely outperforms a pure Yashica combination because of the swing/tilt movements afforded to the Contax Auto Bellows which are not present on either of the two Yashica models. But Yashica's piece of glass is no slouch...
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on Aug 12, 2020 1:13:50 GMT
Posted: Aug 12, 2020 1:13:50 GMT
OK. Yes they are "Bellows" lenses, but you can actually use them, admittedly with limitations, on extension tubes.
And if you happen to have the gear, if you need more extension, you can put either lens on a bellows AND extension tubes.
BTW, that S-Planar certainly has a deep, built-in lens hood -- which could be a problem at very high magnifications.
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on Aug 12, 2020 7:30:30 GMT
Posted: Aug 12, 2020 7:30:30 GMT
Hi xkaes,
You are quite right about extension tubes - I wish I could find one with a helicoid in a C/Y mount as it would be a lot less cumbersome than carrying a bellows. I have seen portrait shots taken with the Zeiss which were superb.
The S-Planar's front element is only 7mm from the leading edge of the lens which is not too bad; it would be more of an issue had it a shorter focal length but I've never found it a hindrance to date.
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on Aug 12, 2020 12:23:38 GMT
Posted: Aug 12, 2020 12:23:38 GMT
Good point, as bellows lenses and macro lenses don't have to be restricted to "close-up" use. They can even be used as enlarging lenses -- with a little ingenuity.
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on Aug 13, 2020 1:03:38 GMT
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 1:03:38 GMT
I went the 'mix-n-match' direction, with a Yashica bellows lens, and both brands of bellows to give me an option on using the lens shift for special circumstances. Sometimes going plain-jane is a lot easier when the extras aren't needed. I can happily use the Yashica without craving a Zeiss to take it's place, but you can't 'bend' the Yashica bellows even if you wanted to..
And something comes to mind when it comes to deep-set macro lenses working as a makeshift hood... the 50-60-ish macros/makros are usually far deeper than the longer 100/105's. There's the obvious 2x in magnification with a 100mm over a 50 and stray light is less of an issue anyway, and I don't recall seeing a shot of anyone's setup of a 100-ish macro of any brand having a hood attached. That's not to say they didn't exist or weren't used, but is there an underlying reason that the shorter focal lengths usually had the deeper front element as a quasi-hood? Were they designed to give that functionality, or was that the direct by-product of an extra long focus throw with such a short lens, in both dimensions and focal length?
I don't think I've ever used a hood on any macro lens of any length - bellows version or not - so I'd hate to think I've missed something along the way.
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on Aug 13, 2020 12:14:32 GMT
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 12:14:32 GMT
I've always assumed that it was "the direct by-product of an extra long focus throw with such a short lens".
On a 50mm, the glass has to be close to the film plane, but to get to "macro" it still needs a lot of extension -- which is "hidden" in the barrel.
On a 100mm, the glass starts out much farther from the film plane, so the glass can be closer to the front of the barrel.
Getting really close is impossible with a 50mm macro lens -- unless it is reversed. No so with a 50mm bellows lens.
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on Aug 13, 2020 15:55:29 GMT
Last Edit: Aug 13, 2020 16:04:03 GMT by matthiasausk
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on Aug 13, 2020 17:35:10 GMT
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 17:35:10 GMT
Thanks for mentioning this -- the tele-converters that convert (yuk,yuk) into helicoids. There is another thread that mentions this, but for another product. I have no idea how many of these are out there, but they are a handy accessory -- in more ways than one, and undoubtedly appear under various brand names. I have a Vivitar model.
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on Dec 9, 2020 19:57:21 GMT
Last Edit: Dec 9, 2020 20:00:48 GMT by biggles3
And just to prove a point, Yashica's ML 100 f4 Bellows lens has a large enough image circle to be used comfortably on medium format cameras. Here's it's paired with Fuji's genuinely impressive GFX-50S via a Fotodiox Pro Adapter and the Contax Auto Bellows.  Fuji GFX 50S_ML 100 f4_Contax Auto BellowsEagle-eyed members here will note that this lens pre-dates the one shown earlier by a few years as it still carries DSB patterning in the rubber grip and chrome front. Yashica never introduced a DSB version of the lens. I'll upload a piccie taken with this combo shrtly. |
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on Dec 10, 2020 2:18:36 GMT
Posted: Dec 10, 2020 2:18:36 GMT
Those bellows lenses that are designed for shift/tilt bellows (and "regular", non-bellows, shift/tilt lenses) are designed to have extra large image circles, so they will cover larger film format. Add in the larger image circle created by focusing closer -- increasing the magnification -- makes it easy to cover much larger formats.
My Minolta 12.5mm Micro Bellows lens -- with an RMS microscope thread -- will cover 4x5" film with about 200mm of bellows extension.
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