JeffM
Member
Thanks Ken! You will enjoy the 'cron. I hate to let it go, but I'm waay more excited to get this Yashinon. 
For those who inquired, the conversion cost 61500 JPY including return shipping. This did not include the cost of mailing the Electro gsn to Dirk. It wasn't cheap, but like I said in the beginning, this is a lens I would easily sell my summicron for... and in fact just did!
Ben, Dirk is indeed a pleasure to deal with. It's so great he's willing to be an in-between for the MS Optical crew and those of us in the states.
There will be many photos and posts to come once I receive the lens, (hopefully sometime this week.) Hopefully I'll be able to answer more questions by then. I can't wait!
For those who inquired, the conversion cost 61500 JPY including return shipping. This did not include the cost of mailing the Electro gsn to Dirk. It wasn't cheap, but like I said in the beginning, this is a lens I would easily sell my summicron for... and in fact just did!Ben, Dirk is indeed a pleasure to deal with. It's so great he's willing to be an in-between for the MS Optical crew and those of us in the states.
There will be many photos and posts to come once I receive the lens, (hopefully sometime this week.) Hopefully I'll be able to answer more questions by then. I can't wait!
Biggles
My cup runneth amok.
I'll bite: Why? Good all-aperture performance? A signature crunch or dreaminess? The bokeh of the Gods? The bokeh of the drunken gods, à la 40mm pancake Zuiko? Or because the coating's a pretty color?
I'm asking sincerely. Optics, characteristics thereof, interest me. And I hardly ever peek into this Yashica subforum, so I'm a naif.
JeffM
Member
Biggles, to answer your questions in order I'd say yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes... but not because the coating itself looks pretty, but because the coating and whatever magical properties this lens has render color so brilliantly and with such detail that it almost doesn't matter what stock I use, or what the subject is... well, to an extent. Of course that's just my subjective opinion.
I suspect if given the chance to use MANY many lenses one would hopefully come upon one that captures how one sees, or what at least what one loves to see in a photograph.
For me it's something with a classic look, not clinically perfectly sharp or smooth, something that has a punch and depth and grit, where the foreground blends gradually into the background so that the subject inhabits and creates space, as opposed to snapping and separating from it... but also a lens that has enough speed and sharpness to be versatile in many situations.
Also, many Electro users will attest to that camera's eerie ability to nail exposure, which of course aids in creating a great image... hopefully with manual control and higher shutterspeeds I'll only be able to add to the lens's versatility.
This is also a great thread that can probably answer your questions better than I can:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4392&page=24
Of course that's just my subjective opinion. I suspect if given the chance to use MANY many lenses one would hopefully come upon one that captures how one sees, or what at least what one loves to see in a photograph.
For me it's something with a classic look, not clinically perfectly sharp or smooth, something that has a punch and depth and grit, where the foreground blends gradually into the background so that the subject inhabits and creates space, as opposed to snapping and separating from it... but also a lens that has enough speed and sharpness to be versatile in many situations.
Also, many Electro users will attest to that camera's eerie ability to nail exposure, which of course aids in creating a great image... hopefully with manual control and higher shutterspeeds I'll only be able to add to the lens's versatility.
This is also a great thread that can probably answer your questions better than I can:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4392&page=24
Biggles
My cup runneth amok.
!! The GS, GSN, & GX pictures on page 15 of that thread... I get it. That lens is a Giant Killer®.
I think I don't blame you a bit, and I wish you the very best of luck for a perfect M-mount adaptation. I'll be lurking for pictures from it.
I think I don't blame you a bit, and I wish you the very best of luck for a perfect M-mount adaptation. I'll be lurking for pictures from it.
bronney
Established
I attest to that long time! Man that's the first thing I said after my first roll through the GSN
It does better than the D700, the Sekonic, and the M2.. wait not the M2 hehe.
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
I'm sorta wondering why not just shoot with the Yashica? I do get that a Leica is hard to beat for feel, the Yashica is (I think) bigger, different feel, etc. So if that's it, I understand.
Apart from that, now I'm wondering about conversion of a 40 Hexanon AR ... can't afford the Zuiko, but that one would be da bomb.
Apart from that, now I'm wondering about conversion of a 40 Hexanon AR ... can't afford the Zuiko, but that one would be da bomb.
Benjamin Marks
Veteran
Well, you might want to use the lens on an M8 or M9. I have a Yashica Electro sitting around that I used for years as my "take it to the beach" camera. In the case of my two MS Optical conversions (45, 28 G-Planar), I liked the way the lenses rendered on film, but wanted to use them with a digital body. Contax-G lenses were selling for a song at the time, so I didn't even have to give up my G-mount lenses to accomplish this. The output is sweet.
Ben Marks
Ben Marks
JeffM
Member
Lens has arrived! Service from Dirk and MS Optical was incredible, from shipment to conversion back into my hands in exactly two weeks. There will be much more to come but here is a teaser: a size comparison between the Yashinon and a 35mm pre-asph v4 summicron. This lens is compact!
(The MC Skylight is not a filter, but a permanently attached front thread to accept filters)
(The MC Skylight is not a filter, but a permanently attached front thread to accept filters)
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I would like to see a picture of the Cam. I want to see if it is indexed for the 45mm focal length- and how much of a cut was required.
ully
ully
Oh my,
Oh my,
the pains people will go to get Yashica quality with a Leica.
Oh my,
the pains people will go to get Yashica quality with a Leica.
JeffM
Member
Just got the first test roll back. Yeeeessss!!! These are some quick uncorrected scans. I'm using an R2a with this... so Yashica quality on a voigtlander! Perfect!! Both of these were wide open. Brian, I will upload more photos of the lens soon so you can see the cam. Woohoo!
Pretty cool, Jeff! I hope you enjoy your near-unique lens. Looks pretty good wide open, and maybe the bokeh will settle down somewhat at smaller apertures.
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Yes, the bokeh under those conditions has me a bit dizzy! But exposure and colour rendering is really, really nice.
LunoLuno
Member
I'm a little surprised to hear it was done just in two weaks, including shipment! Congrats, anyway! I'm interested in the aberration data that MS optical say in their homepage they mesure and include in the shipment with the converted lens. Did you recieve such kind of data?
LunoLuno
LunoLuno
aniMal
Well-known
Hmm... Really interesting! I have one working GSN, and also I think the remains of another lying around. How much was the conversion? You can PM me if you don´t wanna tell in the open I am not too interested in signature really, but with this one there really is a difference worth trying out it seems!
I am not too interested in signature really, but with this one there really is a difference worth trying out it seems!
fotomeow
name under my name
wow, I had seen that they could convert Contact G lens to M-mount, but didnt know they could do uber-custom jobs....so 61500 JY is about $675 USD??? ...your pics above are really nice, what kind of color film did you use?
I'd be interested in seeing some BW test shots (!?)
The possibility of custom lenses like this has my head spinning with ideas!
I'd be interested in seeing some BW test shots (!?)
The possibility of custom lenses like this has my head spinning with ideas!
JeffM
Member
fotomeow, the film in the shots above: 100 speed Kodak Ektar; a gorgeous film.
Luno, I did indeed get aberration data, but it’s mostly in japanese (I don’t speak it). Anyone willing to translate? I’ll upload a photo of the conversion slip below courtesy of Dirk.
Here are my thoughts on the lens thus-far:
Conversion is top quality. Materials used seem like the same materials in Contax G lens conversions which Ken Rockwell describes on his site: Anodized aluminum body and brass helicoid and mount. A notch has been thoughtful milled into the top edge of the mount that aligns to the click point on the camera body... kind of like the brass notch version of the Leica red dot. Another cool feature is a recession which has been milled into the mount for the code strip on the m8/m9... this way if you mark it it wont wear off from mounting remounting. Dirk offered to code it for me, and did just that! Lens feels super solid, with no play, and is very light! About the same weight as my 35mm cron pre-asph.
Handling on the conversion: the focusing tab is very sharp, but the front block of the lens rotates so you can easily achieve focus this way. I like the short focus throw, and it is SHORT. Damping on the focus feels just about right, VERY smooth. The aperture doesn’t have click stops and is damped very stiffly to prevent accidental turning. I would have preferred it to rotate more freely, but Dirk says there might be a screw that can adjust this. It could also just be that the lube used is a very resistant one.
The lens LOOKS collapsible, but it isn’t. Just has a minimalistic rigid design. Front filter ring has been converted from a skylight filter, works perfectly!
All in all handling is similar to a Jupiter 8 or other FSU lens with rotating front block, albeit a very nicely tuned one. I am very pleased. For the rareness of this kind of speciality lens work I couldn’t be happier, I just wish the aperture were easier to rotate.
Close focus specs are the same as the Electro series. The lens is marked to F16 on the aperture but you can stop it down a little beyond this... an initial test photo shows that stopping down past F16 gives some degradation... but F16 is perfect, just like on the GSN.
Most interesting is the entire aperture mechanism has been replaced, and now has no less than TWELVE, that’s right, twelve blades. The original Electro G lens had 5 blades.
Image quality: more on this to come, but my in my in initial tests it looks exactly like the Color Yashinon DX f1.7 I love so much. I’m planning on doing some side by side comparisons between my Yashica GSN and the newly converted lens. More coming soon!
Luno, I did indeed get aberration data, but it’s mostly in japanese (I don’t speak it). Anyone willing to translate? I’ll upload a photo of the conversion slip below courtesy of Dirk.
Here are my thoughts on the lens thus-far:
Conversion is top quality. Materials used seem like the same materials in Contax G lens conversions which Ken Rockwell describes on his site: Anodized aluminum body and brass helicoid and mount. A notch has been thoughtful milled into the top edge of the mount that aligns to the click point on the camera body... kind of like the brass notch version of the Leica red dot. Another cool feature is a recession which has been milled into the mount for the code strip on the m8/m9... this way if you mark it it wont wear off from mounting remounting. Dirk offered to code it for me, and did just that! Lens feels super solid, with no play, and is very light! About the same weight as my 35mm cron pre-asph.
Handling on the conversion: the focusing tab is very sharp, but the front block of the lens rotates so you can easily achieve focus this way. I like the short focus throw, and it is SHORT. Damping on the focus feels just about right, VERY smooth. The aperture doesn’t have click stops and is damped very stiffly to prevent accidental turning. I would have preferred it to rotate more freely, but Dirk says there might be a screw that can adjust this. It could also just be that the lube used is a very resistant one.
The lens LOOKS collapsible, but it isn’t. Just has a minimalistic rigid design. Front filter ring has been converted from a skylight filter, works perfectly!
All in all handling is similar to a Jupiter 8 or other FSU lens with rotating front block, albeit a very nicely tuned one. I am very pleased. For the rareness of this kind of speciality lens work I couldn’t be happier, I just wish the aperture were easier to rotate.
Close focus specs are the same as the Electro series. The lens is marked to F16 on the aperture but you can stop it down a little beyond this... an initial test photo shows that stopping down past F16 gives some degradation... but F16 is perfect, just like on the GSN.
Most interesting is the entire aperture mechanism has been replaced, and now has no less than TWELVE, that’s right, twelve blades. The original Electro G lens had 5 blades.
Image quality: more on this to come, but my in my in initial tests it looks exactly like the Color Yashinon DX f1.7 I love so much. I’m planning on doing some side by side comparisons between my Yashica GSN and the newly converted lens. More coming soon!
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JeffM
Member
The lens data slip from MS Optical. Anyone read Japanese and want to translate?
