Playing With Lenses: Still a basic lens: Yashica Lens ML 50mm 1:2

Wednesday 3 July 2019

Still a basic lens: Yashica Lens ML 50mm 1:2

Cost: $14.99 (average market price $25)

And here we go with yet another Yashica ML lens. After the Yashica ML 50mm 1:1.9, it's now time for it's brother, the 50mm 1:2.0. Still a very small lens, but a little larger then it's 1.9 brother.

Some say these Yashica lenses are as good as Zeiss lenses. I would not make that statement, but they are pretty good and can hold their own.

Build quality is again nice with clear lettering, and both zoom and aperture are smooth to use. "Snaps" really easy into focus. A real pleasure to use.

Image quality is great, with perfect color rendering and very little color aberration. With center to frame sharpness, I like it a little more then the 1.9 version, but different copies might vary.

After reviewing these two lenses, I can't wait to find some other Yashica 50mm lenses. I believe there is a 1.7 and a 1.4 version, and not to mention a mouth watering 55mm 1.2.

Yashica DSB lenses are single coated, ML lenses are multi coated (ML stands for Multi-Layer) and were later renamed as MC for Multi Coated. Contrary to the quality jump from DSB to ML, there is no distinguishable quality difference between ML and MC lenses.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 50mm
Maximum Aperture: F2.0
Minimum Aperture: F16
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: C/Y
Optics: 6 elements, 4 groups
Blades: 6
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 5cm
Filter Size: 52mm
Weight: 161g
Length: 32-40mm
Production: unknown
Serial Number: A908630948
Made in: Japan

More information on: Yashica