I bought my first Electro 35 in the '70s and have used one ever since, I have bunch of them. I have big ol' Nikons (which I love) and big view cameras (which I love even more), but I take a little Yashica with me everywhere. I'm amazed at your initiative and camera moxie in adapting that lens as you have. Thank you.
A great video and discussion about harvesting and adapting vintage Rangfinder lenses. I've adapted two other RF lenses for use on my Canon RF system. The first was a Mansfield Mantinar Eye-Tronic 40mm f2.8, a super funky lens for sure, but wicked sharp. And a Konica Auto S Hexanon 47mm f1.9. That one I am waiting on a couple more parts before I finish that one up. I was hoping that I could keep that camera together as a proper film camera, but the reason it was so cheap was that the aperture was stuck and non-moving. So in attempt to fix that I accidentally damaged a non-replaceable part and was left with a very non-working camera. So I finished the job and removed the lens from the body forever. Sad really, but at least the lens will live on. as a M42 mount lens. Also, I loved seeing all the different shots of the Colorado High Country! I myself live here and after seeing all the different places that I recognized in your images, I plan to just go for drives and walks into mountains again. Thanks for that!
Thank you! Some of the old rangefinder lenses were absolutely amazing. I recently released a video in this series on how to make lenses at home and it covers a bit of how to remove rangefinder lenses. It doesn't always work but when it does, it can be worth it. And yeah, Colorado. I would be happy to spend the rest of my life here. It's an amazing place. If anything, I'd like to be able to live further in the mountains.
I use this lenses on my Fuji xe1 occasionally, and it’s sharpness is quite good even at wide open, closing it down to 2.8 or 4, it’s super sharp. It’s contrasty character compensates for its softness at wide open beautifully.
Thank you for this very fine review. I had Y35GS electro as a teen in 70ies and it was a beauty. I salvaged lens recently from a broken camera but I have hard time getting infinity with 10mm helicoid on Nikon z.
This is the first time in years, probably since the Helios, that I see photos taken with a vintage lens and said "wow, that's a charismatic lens!". These look so 60s to me, Kodachrome, my grandpa's slides... I should really have gotten that Electro on the flea market back then, it was only 30 Euros. :(
Excellent video. Having recently discovered the outstanding quality of various Yashica lenses in the past few weeks I was wondering how this lens compares to the 50mm 1.7 in m42. Have you had a chance to compare them side by side?
Hi David, superb, superb review as usual. One question: I have my eyes on these Yashica cameras for a while, but I heard the GSN/GTN models often suffer from the "pad of death" issue. In your opinion, is that enough of a concern to avoid the cameras? And if yes, I checked out the later Yashica GL, GX models, which have a 40mm lens. Are those optically as good, in the same ball park, as this 45mm? Thank you for your time.
Thank you! I would not be deterred by the PoD. If you find one with it I think it's a relatively easy repair and one it's fixed it won't be an issue again. If you can do that great if not there are some repairmen who still do. The best choice would be to wait for one that has had the repair performed. As for the latter cameras, I've never used them. Yashica had fantastic lenses back in the day so I would assume that they would be of exceptional optical quality, but I can't speak from experience.
@@mikechen121 I was feeling quite threatened by this issue also. Last night, I cut a tiny piece from an old leather belt... used some contact cement... and with very pedestrian narrow tipped tweezers, I managed to glue a new pad in place. It wasn't "easy", but it was damn simple, in the end. Good luck!!!
Hi Dave - Many Thanks for your generosity in sharing the tips. I am going through converting a parts grade Electro 35 GSN lens (among half a dozen other lenses , yeah it is addicting LOL) and am thinking to use (as advised by some other youtubers) a super-glued M42 to M52 adapter as the rear mount like some other large rangefinder conversions (e.g. Petri, Minolta Hi Matic 7s, Konica Auto S etc.). Problem is that the M42-> M52 adapter (used mainly for filter threads) has a very shallow thread depth and maybe also wrong pitch as it may be (?) .75mm pitch instead of a 1mm pitch for the M42 mount. Would a thin M42 macro tube extender work better as a mount (ground down to achieve infinity)? Can one source these thin (say 7mm) macro M42 tube extenders in bulk? What do the professional converted RF lens sellers on eBay use? I saw that they have mounted these M42 mounts using three threaded screws attached (presumably drilled) into the back of the Yashica Electro 35 lenses (instead of supergluing which is a temporary fix). Attaching M42 focusing helicoids (instead of the native Yashica helicoid) is an easier solution for those of us mechanically inept noobs who don't own a Sherline lathe. Thanks for your response in advance.
Thank you! It sounds like you're looking at making RF lenses into a swappable M42-like system, correct? If yes, the issue you'll run into is register distance. In general, the old RF lenses should have a focus point from their nodes to the film plane of the stated FL. If they all had the same lens housing construction, that would make a system pretty easy. The challenge is that the lens housing and focus mechanisms will be different for each of them. For grinding the parts to fir, that may help. I would caution against mixing thread pitches and would look at M42 step rings (there are a handful of these on eBay.) The only other tip I'd have is to get a stockpile of step rings and M42 focus adapters in different sizes. Then you can mix and match parts and see what combinations work well. That's how I do it. In general, you have an approach that sounds a lot like the one that I use and it's sound.
I discovered the yashica gsn some years ago watching your review about it and it has become my favorite camera. So thank you for that. Now I would like to know where did you find the data about the resolution of the lens (120-170 lp/mm). I have been searching for that without success.
i have this lens, and I can't seem to get the leaf shutter to open, and I think it has a conventional set of aperture blades as well, but I can't get them to move either. I've been wanting to adapt it for some time.
If you have it off of the camera, then you may be able to unfreeze the shutter leaves gently with a screwdriver (that's what I did) and then drop a small -- SMALL -- dot of glue on one single leaf as they're opening (that's also what I did) and that will hold them open (you may need to shove something like a rolled up sheet of paper into the opening overnight while the glue dries to keep the shutter leaves open.) Then the aperture should respond to the aperture ring all the time. If the aperture ring is spinning but the aperture leaves don't respond, there's something disconnected inside the lens. If the aperture ring is not spinning then there may be something wrong with the lens or the aperture ring.
"Cute little ptarmigan noises." LOL. Can you give us a window into the conversion process? Sounds fiddly as all get-out, and not for the inexperienced or faint at heart.
I can do that, and it's in the works. That video won't include this lens because I converted it a couple years ago, but with some others I recently converted I took video of the process. I have one left to do that just came in the other day, and I need to have some parts for that laser cut first because I can convert the camera body to a pinhole camera, too, so the video showing how to adapt and custom make lenses for mirrorless is on process but not quite ready.
@@DavidHancock Yes. Would love to watch a conversion video, even if it is a walkthrough of the process with a parts list. I have a few Electro lying around and I also use the first gen of Sony A7.
If one doesn’t plan on using an auxiliary focusing helicoid, would Leica M mount be an option or is the focal flange distance of 27.8mm for M too much for conversion? Are the shutter blades behind the rear element or inside the optical group?
Oh boy. That would be a hard mod to make. The shutter is right next to the aperture in the lens' optical (and physical) center. This should be a theoretically possible mod, but it's going to be a bit tricky as the focusing helicoid in these lenses does not like to come apart with the optical housing portion of the lens. The focusing helicoid is more attached to the camera's body than the lens.
The cheapest one that I can buy. For some pieces of photo equipment where brand relates to important aspects of quality, brand matters. This isn't ones of those cases.
I bought my first Electro 35 in the '70s and have used one ever since, I have bunch of them. I have big ol' Nikons (which I love) and big view cameras (which I love even more), but I take a little Yashica with me everywhere. I'm amazed at your initiative and camera moxie in adapting that lens as you have. Thank you.
Thank you! I also love a good view camera. :D
A great video and discussion about harvesting and adapting vintage Rangfinder lenses. I've adapted two other RF lenses for use on my Canon RF system. The first was a Mansfield Mantinar Eye-Tronic 40mm f2.8, a super funky lens for sure, but wicked sharp. And a Konica Auto S Hexanon 47mm f1.9. That one I am waiting on a couple more parts before I finish that one up.
I was hoping that I could keep that camera together as a proper film camera, but the reason it was so cheap was that the aperture was stuck and non-moving. So in attempt to fix that I accidentally damaged a non-replaceable part and was left with a very non-working camera. So I finished the job and removed the lens from the body forever. Sad really, but at least the lens will live on. as a M42 mount lens.
Also, I loved seeing all the different shots of the Colorado High Country! I myself live here and after seeing all the different places that I recognized in your images, I plan to just go for drives and walks into mountains again. Thanks for that!
Thank you! Some of the old rangefinder lenses were absolutely amazing. I recently released a video in this series on how to make lenses at home and it covers a bit of how to remove rangefinder lenses. It doesn't always work but when it does, it can be worth it.
And yeah, Colorado. I would be happy to spend the rest of my life here. It's an amazing place. If anything, I'd like to be able to live further in the mountains.
I use this lenses on my Fuji xe1 occasionally, and it’s sharpness is quite good even at wide open, closing it down to 2.8 or 4, it’s super sharp. It’s contrasty character compensates for its softness at wide open beautifully.
Nice! These are awesome lenses.
Thank you for this very fine review. I had Y35GS electro as a teen in 70ies and it was a beauty. I salvaged lens recently from a broken camera but I have hard time getting infinity with 10mm helicoid on Nikon z.
Thank you! Yeah, that might be a hair too long. There may be a 7-11mm helicoid that could work if you're using M42 helicoids and adapters.
This is the first time in years, probably since the Helios, that I see photos taken with a vintage lens and said "wow, that's a charismatic lens!". These look so 60s to me, Kodachrome, my grandpa's slides... I should really have gotten that Electro on the flea market back then, it was only 30 Euros. :(
Thank you! Electros, especially the ones older than the GSN, can still be had fairly cheaply.
Excellent video. Having recently discovered the outstanding quality of various Yashica lenses in the past few weeks I was wondering how this lens compares to the 50mm 1.7 in m42. Have you had a chance to compare them side by side?
Thank you! I have not had the Yashica 50mm 1.7 in my hands, no.
Very interesting. I have an Minister 700 that got some dings. Would be nice to convert that lens :D.
That could be a good lens. The Minister series was very good.
Great video! Can you please share Sony E mount adapter for this lens?
Thank you! I cobbled together an adapter from spare parts of other things.
Hi David, superb, superb review as usual. One question: I have my eyes on these Yashica cameras for a while, but I heard the GSN/GTN models often suffer from the "pad of death" issue. In your opinion, is that enough of a concern to avoid the cameras? And if yes, I checked out the later Yashica GL, GX models, which have a 40mm lens. Are those optically as good, in the same ball park, as this 45mm? Thank you for your time.
Thank you! I would not be deterred by the PoD. If you find one with it I think it's a relatively easy repair and one it's fixed it won't be an issue again. If you can do that great if not there are some repairmen who still do. The best choice would be to wait for one that has had the repair performed.
As for the latter cameras, I've never used them. Yashica had fantastic lenses back in the day so I would assume that they would be of exceptional optical quality, but I can't speak from experience.
@@DavidHancock Thank you for the reply!
@@mikechen121 I was feeling quite threatened by this issue also. Last night, I cut a tiny piece from an old leather belt... used some contact cement... and with very pedestrian narrow tipped tweezers, I managed to glue a new pad in place. It wasn't "easy", but it was damn simple, in the end. Good luck!!!
Hi Dave - Many Thanks for your generosity in sharing the tips. I am going through converting a parts grade Electro 35 GSN lens (among half a dozen other lenses , yeah it is addicting LOL) and am thinking to use (as advised by some other youtubers) a super-glued M42 to M52 adapter as the rear mount like some other large rangefinder conversions (e.g. Petri, Minolta Hi Matic 7s, Konica Auto S etc.). Problem is that the M42-> M52 adapter (used mainly for filter threads) has a very shallow thread depth and maybe also wrong pitch as it may be (?) .75mm pitch instead of a 1mm pitch for the M42 mount. Would a thin M42 macro tube extender work better as a mount (ground down to achieve infinity)? Can one source these thin (say 7mm) macro M42 tube extenders in bulk? What do the professional converted RF lens sellers on eBay use? I saw that they have mounted these M42 mounts using three threaded screws attached (presumably drilled) into the back of the Yashica Electro 35 lenses (instead of supergluing which is a temporary fix). Attaching M42 focusing helicoids (instead of the native Yashica helicoid) is an easier solution for those of us mechanically inept noobs who don't own a Sherline lathe. Thanks for your response in advance.
Thank you! It sounds like you're looking at making RF lenses into a swappable M42-like system, correct? If yes, the issue you'll run into is register distance. In general, the old RF lenses should have a focus point from their nodes to the film plane of the stated FL. If they all had the same lens housing construction, that would make a system pretty easy. The challenge is that the lens housing and focus mechanisms will be different for each of them.
For grinding the parts to fir, that may help. I would caution against mixing thread pitches and would look at M42 step rings (there are a handful of these on eBay.)
The only other tip I'd have is to get a stockpile of step rings and M42 focus adapters in different sizes. Then you can mix and match parts and see what combinations work well. That's how I do it.
In general, you have an approach that sounds a lot like the one that I use and it's sound.
I discovered the yashica gsn some years ago watching your review about it and it has become my favorite camera. So thank you for that. Now I would like to know where did you find the data about the resolution of the lens (120-170 lp/mm). I have been searching for that without success.
I believe I have a link to the resolution in the description. I found some old Yashica publications online that had that data.
@@DavidHancock oh yeah. Thanks a lot!
i have this lens, and I can't seem to get the leaf shutter to open, and I think it has a conventional set of aperture blades as well, but I can't get them to move either. I've been wanting to adapt it for some time.
If you have it off of the camera, then you may be able to unfreeze the shutter leaves gently with a screwdriver (that's what I did) and then drop a small -- SMALL -- dot of glue on one single leaf as they're opening (that's also what I did) and that will hold them open (you may need to shove something like a rolled up sheet of paper into the opening overnight while the glue dries to keep the shutter leaves open.) Then the aperture should respond to the aperture ring all the time. If the aperture ring is spinning but the aperture leaves don't respond, there's something disconnected inside the lens. If the aperture ring is not spinning then there may be something wrong with the lens or the aperture ring.
"Cute little ptarmigan noises." LOL. Can you give us a window into the conversion process? Sounds fiddly as all get-out, and not for the inexperienced or faint at heart.
I can do that, and it's in the works. That video won't include this lens because I converted it a couple years ago, but with some others I recently converted I took video of the process. I have one left to do that just came in the other day, and I need to have some parts for that laser cut first because I can convert the camera body to a pinhole camera, too, so the video showing how to adapt and custom make lenses for mirrorless is on process but not quite ready.
@@DavidHancock Yes. Would love to watch a conversion video, even if it is a walkthrough of the process with a parts list. I have a few Electro lying around and I also use the first gen of Sony A7.
@@wastro8092 That depends. What's your budget and what do you plan to photograph? Need video and if so what resolution?
If one doesn’t plan on using an auxiliary focusing helicoid, would Leica M mount be an option or is the focal flange distance of 27.8mm for M too much for conversion? Are the shutter blades behind the rear element or inside the optical group?
Oh boy. That would be a hard mod to make. The shutter is right next to the aperture in the lens' optical (and physical) center. This should be a theoretically possible mod, but it's going to be a bit tricky as the focusing helicoid in these lenses does not like to come apart with the optical housing portion of the lens. The focusing helicoid is more attached to the camera's body than the lens.
What brand of adjustable focusing helical do you prefer? I'm looking for a "how to" on this topic...
The cheapest one that I can buy. For some pieces of photo equipment where brand relates to important aspects of quality, brand matters. This isn't ones of those cases.
what battery do you use 🤔 i have one but the battery is dead and very old so i can’t tell
ruclips.net/video/1X8JeOnYpD8/видео.html
I have a whole video about the camera and cover battery options in it.