• Review of Pentacon Auto 29mm / 2.8 m42
• Review of Pentax Super Takumar 35mm/3.5
• How to remember your manual lenses without EXIF
• Cheap Yashica lens and it’s bokeh
• Review of Yashica MC Zoom 35-70mm/3.5-4.5

I think this was shot with Yashica 35mm/2.8, however I’m not certain. I almost got stuck there, with a leg dissapeared completely in the snow.

• The warm and cold part 2
• Leg of ice with Super-Takumar 105mm/2.8
• Orange sundown and blue snow
• Greenfilter + Photoshop = Graphical
• The Yashica MC Zoom 35-70mm 3.5-4.5 on a cold decemberwalk…

Eastermorning sun in the woods

• Another Aquilegia vulgaris
• With a manual lens on the hill
• Sweden is in bloom
• Garphyttan in morning mist
• Wanted for discussion on old cameras

Easter sunrise in the woods

• Garphyttan in morning mist
• Woodland strawberry with Super-Takumar 135
• Split wood with Yashica ML 50mm/2
• Some summer closeups from a field
• Pekaboo-photograph with Mir-1V on the EOS-camera

Yashica ML 50mm/2 Front

The purchase
I got this lens from Richard for free – thanks :) I also bought one on swedish ebay Tradera, just because it was so cheap and I didn’t wan’t it to go unsold. They are easy to find, buy one if you can!

Side of the lens Yashica ML 50mm/f2

The lens
This is perhaps the most common Yashica ML 50mm lens, but there are other faster versions also f1.4, f1.7, f1.9. It is small in size. The build quality seems good – turning rings feels smooth and reminds me of the feeling with some Pentax-lenses. It is multicoated and fully manual (it has no auto/manual-swtich or preset or anything like that). It is Contax/Yashica-mount so you need such a camera or adapter. I have used the lens on a Canon EOS 350D, for which I bought an adapter from China.

Mount of this manual lens

Results
It’s very sharp. The bokeh is soft and wideopen it reminds me of some russian lenses, with almost a spinning feeling in the background. Good saturated colours. It gives a clear bright image in the viewfinder to focus on. Imagewise I can’t find anything to complain about with this lens.

Yashica ML 50 f2 from front

The Yashica ML 50mm/2 is small. The size feels nice but there is one thing that can be annoying sometimes: the aperturering is the most inner thing on the lens, that is it sist nearest the camerabody and can be hard to get a grip on. The focusring is easy to grip and feels very well built.

As mentioned above there are faster Yashica ML 50mm. However, I think many underestimates this lens because it’s the slowest in the series. In fact I think it can match many faster lenses I’ve tried.

Images

Bokeh example

Long exposure on water

Tree and branch

Autumn tree

Ice with bokeh

Post your Yashica ML 50mm/2 images on YashicaForum.com :)

Pros

+ Sharp, like most wide and normal ML-lenses I’ve tried.
+ Good bokeh, similar to some expensive russian lenses.
+ Saturated colours.

Cons

- Not the fastest 50mm lens, but f2 is often enough.
- Aperture ring very close mount (and therefore camerabody).

Reading & images
On pbase
My flickr-set

• Review of Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 M42-lens
• Review of Pentax Super Takumar 35mm/3.5
• Review of Yashica MC Zoom 35-70mm/3.5-4.5
• Review of Asahi S-M-C Takumar 55mm/1.8
• Review of Auto Yashinon-DX 50mm/1.7 m42-lens

• Easter sunrise with Yashica ML 35mm/2.8
• Garphyttan in morning mist
• A day with Yashinon-DX 50mm/1.7
• I discovered a new world 2008
• Beginning autumn with Yashica ML 35mm/2.8

Tree against clouds

Tree genitals

Berries with bokeh

• Yashinon DX 50mm f1.7 – interesting bokeh
• Review of Yashica ML 50mm/2
• Review of Pentax Super Takumar 35mm/3.5
• Cold bokeh with Yashica ML 50mm/1.4
• Review of Tele-Tokina 105mm/2.8 preset T2