Yashica Silver Auto Yashinon 5cm 50mm f/2 for M42 Japan 1961

This is an Auto Yashinon 5cm (50 mm) f/2 lens made for an M42 Universal mount. It features a 6-blade diaphragm and a minimum aperture of 16. Minimum focus is 21 inches, and it takes a 49mm filter. It came off the 1961 Yashica Penta J Vintage SLR film camera listed elsewhere on our site (while supply lasts). The first digit of the serial number on the lens (118233) suggests 1961 according to the usual Yashica date systems, but in this lens series, 11 may be a code for something else. It is a fast lens with crisp focus, even with the shutter wide open. It is in overall very good condition, and the glass is fine, and free of scratches, haze, fungus, or balsam separation. There are a few tiny specks of dust inside, but nothing that would affect image quality. This is a full frame lens, but it is remarkably compact compared to today's lenses. This is the early and more popular silver nose issue that is noted for its quality, and it was made by Tomioka Kogaku. Later versions are all black. The optical system is a typical double Gauss type with 6 elements in 4 groups. It comes with the original snap on plastic Yashica cap.

Although the lens is labeled Auto, it is really a semi-auto. The silver knob on the side of the lens is an iris charge lever, not a manual/auto switch. On the Penta camera, when the charge lever is cocked, it closes to the set aperture when the Yashica camera button is pressed. When adapted to a digital camera, the camera acts as a manual iris, and you do not need to use this lever. This lens requires a "Type 1" M42 adapter, which is the M42 adapter that lacks a shelf or lip on the inside rim. In Type 2 adaptors, the metal lip is used to depress the aperture pin. This Type 1 adaptor is needed for this lens because the pin does not press in all the way on most Penta J Yashinon lenses. If you try using this lens with an M42 adapter with an inside lip (Type 2), you will find you cannot focus the lens beyond 3 meters. We have an M42 to EOS Type 1 adapter at this link.

This is a very clean example of a popular vintage lens, and it looks great adapted to a modern DSLR or mirrorless digital camera.