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on Oct 28, 2020 12:50:15 GMT
Posted: Oct 28, 2020 12:50:15 GMT
OK, I freely admit that this lens bypassed my radar entirely. What a mistake - the DSB 70-180mm f4.5 is a gem.  DSB 70-180 FX-3 Super 2000And not knowing anything about its performance, its macro capability came as a big surprise as the word is not carried on the lens at all. It has an excellent build quality - no zoom creep and an all metal body. It's about the same length as the under-appreciated ML 75-150 but more substantial and a wider diameter. Despite the lack of multi-coating, contrast is good and distortion is handled well. Anyone else here had much experience with this lens? |
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on Oct 28, 2020 14:48:23 GMT
Posted: Oct 28, 2020 14:48:23 GMT
It is an interesting lens, as you say. The DSB lenses remind me of the Minolta Celtic lenses -- which ran from 28mm to 200mm and included a 50mm macro and a 100-200mm zoom. They were very well made, and optically exactly the same as the more expensive Rokkor lenses, but Minolta cut a few corners, like single-coating instead of multi-coating, no cases or lens shades, push-on lens caps, etc. Still they are excellent quality shooters -- and typically over-looked.
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on Oct 28, 2020 20:48:09 GMT
Posted: Oct 28, 2020 20:48:09 GMT
It is an interesting lens, as you say. The DSB lenses remind me of the Minolta Celtic lenses -- which ran from 28mm to 200mm and included a 50mm macro and a 100-200mm zoom. They were very well made, and optically exactly the same as the more expensive Rokkor lenses, but Minolta cut a few corners, like single-coating instead of multi-coating, no cases or lens shades, push-on lens caps, etc. Still they are excellent quality shooters -- and typically over-looked. You make a good point; I had forgotten about Minolta's Celtic lens range. While I think about it, does anyone here know what DSB is supposed to stand for? |
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on Oct 29, 2020 14:59:05 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 29, 2020 15:00:14 GMT by lumiworx
... While I think about it, does anyone here know what DSB is supposed to stand for? Yashica seemed to use fairly simple labeling when it came to both model and part numbers before Kyocera and their marketing madmen got involved, so with that in mind... My guess is there was a basic name change that came with the change in mounting - from Yashinon DS (single coated for M42), that evolved into Yashica DSB (single coated for C/Y), where 'B' was the 2nd iteration. At the same time the mount changed, they dropped the 'nicknames' for optical diagraming (Yashinon, Yashikor, etc.); so that everything was just "Yashica" or "Yashica Lens", plus a 'lens model / coating type' lettering combination. If you add the YUS and MC lenses into the mix after the switch to a bayonet mount, it starts to get real messy. The YUS line was the uncoated and discounted end of the spectrum, and the MC lenses were multi-coated, but I presume they were not using the same AR coatings the ML line used, but maybe just dual/triple HR coatings. |
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on Oct 29, 2020 17:03:22 GMT
Posted: Oct 29, 2020 17:03:22 GMT
I've got to assume the YUS lenses were single coated, right?  Like the DS and DSB lenses??? |
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on Oct 29, 2020 17:35:10 GMT
Posted: Oct 29, 2020 17:35:10 GMT
I've got to assume the YUS lenses were single coated, right? Like the DS and DSB lenses??? Internet lore says that YUS lenses are DSB lenses, badged for the US/North American market, so they probably are single coated. |
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on Oct 29, 2020 18:47:45 GMT
Posted: Oct 29, 2020 18:47:45 GMT
... While I think about it, does anyone here know what DSB is supposed to stand for? Yashica seemed to use fairly simple labeling when it came to both model and part numbers before Kyocera and their marketing madmen got involved, so with that in mind... My guess is there was a basic name change that came with the change in mounting - from Yashinon DS (single coated for M42), that evolved into Yashica DSB (single coated for C/Y), where 'B' was the 2nd iteration. At the same time the mount changed, they dropped the 'nicknames' for optical diagraming (Yashinon, Yashikor, etc.); so that everything was just "Yashica" or "Yashica Lens", plus a 'lens model / coating type' lettering combination. If you add the YUS and MC lenses into the mix after the switch to a bayonet mount, it starts to get real messy. The YUS line was the uncoated and discounted end of the spectrum, and the MC lenses were multi-coated, but I presume they were not using the same AR coatings the ML line used, but maybe just dual/triple HR coatings. And then of course there are the C/Y DX versions too; whether they have any connection with the Yashinon DX lenses I have no idea but the DX 50mm f2 appears multi-coated while the DX 100mm f4 Medical lens appears to be single-coated... My brain hurts. |
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on Oct 29, 2020 19:42:18 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 29, 2020 19:44:12 GMT by xkaes
Add in to this mix that the definition of "multi-coating" is whatever you want to call it. Minolta, in my opinion, was the first Japanese lens manufacturer to use multi-coating by applying more than one layer of coating on some glass surfaces of some lenses. The only change they made was to apply more than one layer of different thicknesses. The color was the same -- unlike many (most?) later multi-coatings. Minolta was clear to state that not all of their lens elements received their multi-coating. "Achromatic coating", as they called it was only used when it was beneficial. It is the same with Fujinon EBC ("Electon Beam Coating") large format lenses, Zeiss T* lenses, and others as well. If only one surface on one side of one element in a lens has multiple coatings, a manufacturer can legitimately call it "multi-coated", but in reality it may be scarcely different from a single-coated brother. The Minolta 35mm Celtic line vs the Rokkor line, and the Fujinon large format W line vs the NW line are perfect examples.
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on May 14, 2021 20:42:16 GMT
Posted: May 14, 2021 20:42:16 GMT
OK, I freely admit that this lens bypassed my radar entirely. What a mistake - the DSB 70-180mm f4.5 is a gem. DSB 70-180 FX-3 Super 2000And not knowing anything about its performance, its macro capability came as a big surprise as the word is not carried on the lens at all. It has an excellent build quality - no zoom creep and an all metal body. It's about the same length as the under-appreciated ML 75-150 but more substantial and a wider diameter. Despite the lack of multi-coating, contrast is good and distortion is handled well. Anyone else here had much experience with this lens? I just received one of these today. Nice lens! Mine had no lens cap. What size is yours? |
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on May 15, 2021 8:53:08 GMT
Posted: May 15, 2021 8:53:08 GMT
Hi dalegreerI can't find the lens at the moment but I'm certain it takes 52mm filters so a classic Yashica 54mm on a filter would work. Mine came with a slip-on but until I find the lens I have no idea as to its size. More anon... |
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on May 18, 2021 14:58:55 GMT
Posted: May 18, 2021 14:58:55 GMT
Hi dalegreer I can't find the lens at the moment but I'm certain it takes 52mm filters so a classic Yashica 54mm on a filter would work. Mine came with a slip-on but until I find the lens I have no idea as to its size. More anon... Found it! The slip-on lens cap is 60mm. The bad news is that is one of the rarest Yashica caps - there are quite a few 62mm and 62.5mm Yashica caps available which could be packed so that the cap fits snugly or you could opt for a 52mm filter and Yashica's 52mm clip-on cap or their 54mm slip-on. I have spotted an older Yashica 60mm slip-on cap from a US seller on Ebay: check out item number: 284281481757 Although quite cheap, if you are outside the USA, the cost of shipping may prove prohibitive and will almost certainly incur additional import charges. |
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on May 19, 2021 21:13:37 GMT
Posted: May 19, 2021 21:13:37 GMT
Hi dalegreer I can't find the lens at the moment but I'm certain it takes 52mm filters so a classic Yashica 54mm on a filter would work. Mine came with a slip-on but until I find the lens I have no idea as to its size. More anon... Found it! The slip-on lens cap is 60mm. The bad news is that is one of the rarest Yashica caps - there are quite a few 62mm and 62.5mm Yashica caps available which could be packed so that the cap fits snugly or you could opt for a 52mm filter and Yashica's 52mm clip-on cap or their 54mm slip-on. I have spotted an older Yashica 60mm slip-on cap from a US seller on Ebay: check out item number: 284281481757 Although quite cheap, if you are outside the USA, the cost of shipping may prove prohibitive and will almost certainly incur additional import charges. Thank you for looking. I have a filter on the lens now, so the 60mm cap apparently won’t work. But I would like to source an original cap for the collection anyway. :-) |
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on May 19, 2021 22:13:06 GMT
Last Edit: May 19, 2021 22:14:17 GMT by lumiworx
Schneider-Kreuznach is probably the only maker of plastic slip-on caps (for their own lenses, and the aftermarket) that ever seem to fit correctly, are nearly bulletproof, and stand up over time without loosing their dimensions. Contax caps are probably near that level, but Yashica's versions always seem to fail early on. They usually expand in size or loose their 'grip'. The exceptions for me have been the ML 15mm, and the Distagon 18mm caps, but they're quite different in construction from the others; and a few of the very early 50's/60's caps that took over from the metal versions before them, can still work great. I'm actually expecting delivery on a 2nd OEM cap for the Zeiss 18mm as I type this.
My habit has been to replace any OEM caps for lenses I'll actually use (and most that I store), and not have to worry if they'll ever fly off on their own accord. I'll still buy a branded cap when one's missing, but I'm unlikely to keep them on when generics (pinch or slip-ons) stay in place with no effort, and are far cheaper to replace.
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on Jun 22, 2021 19:06:08 GMT
Posted: Jun 22, 2021 19:06:08 GMT
I just noticed something else that's unusual about this DSB zoom... I had the S2b standing next to the big Zeiss 70-210 and noticed for the first time that this lens does not have the coarse, diamond patterned grip that typifies the appearance of all DSB lenses; it actually has a Zeiss patterned focusing grip.  DSB 70-180 f4.5 grip patternIs it the only DSB lens that has such a grip fitted to it? My others all feature the traditional DSB rubber grip; it seems the 70-180 is unique in this respect. Unless of course, one of you has a similar DSB.... |
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on Jul 4, 2021 1:13:19 GMT
Posted: Jul 4, 2021 1:13:19 GMT
From earlier in this discussion, 60mm lens caps are readily available if you are willing to buy a DSB 70-210mm f/4 zoom, which are quite common and often priced for parts value.
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Like the DS and DSB lenses???
