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I’ve come across an interesting offer where I can get the following for just $90 bucks:

1.Yashica ML 28mm f2.8

2.Yashica 50mm f1.9

3.Yashica 135mm f2.8

4.Yashica to Canon EOS Adapter

Now let’s assume that the wear and tear on these lenses is minimal, i.e. there’s no lens separation and fungi, and very few scratches. Do you think it’s a good deal? Ok maybe it’s the wrong question.

What sort of problems can I face using these lenses? Two problems would be, I reckon, the lack of auto-focus and the inability of the camera to control the aperture. What else? Does the use of adaptor reduce the quality of the image? What effect does the adaptor usage have in general?

How would the Yashicas 50mm 1.9 compare against the Canon’s 50mm 1.8? Would there be a great difference in quality of images taken by these two, minor or no difference at all? Remember the Canon 50mm cost about $100 bucks while all these lenses combined are on offer for less than that.

How would the Yashica 135mm f2.8 compare with Canon 70-300mm f3.5-5.6 at 135?

Any other suggestions?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Remember that these lenses won't be able to take advantage of auto-focus or auto-exposure. Not that this can't be a good deal, I use an adapted lens myself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Evan Pak
    Commented Oct 5, 2013 at 17:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ I can't make a direct comparison to Canon lenses, but manual lenses are fun to have. Keep in mind that these are old lenses, so they don't take advantage of advances in technology. The "ML" designation from Yashica indicated a better quality (coated) lens, so that should be preferred. See here for some info: cdegroot.com/photo-yashica/yashica-slr-faq-4.html on the basics of the lenses. Anyways, if they're really cheap, why not go for it? \$\endgroup\$
    – Joanne C
    Commented Oct 6, 2013 at 15:43

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I'm not sure exactly how close they would be in terms of sharpness, but it's worth pointing out that since they are legacy lenses, you are not going to have AF or Auto-Aperture. You also aren't going to have the anti-reflective coatings on the inner surfaces that modern optics have. This is important because CMOS sensors are much more reflective than film and bounce light back into the lens.

Without the coating, internal reflection and ghosting is a far bigger problem. Outside of those shooting scenarios where that is a problem though, legacy lenses can be a good option to save money and get some solid capability. Overall, it sounds like $90 is a pretty competitive deal for the lenses you are talking about, so I'd honestly probably take it even if the quality isn't as good, that's a lot of lenses to be able to play with for very little money (comparatively speaking anyway).

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