Zf with Yashica 45mm f/1.7

[Browncoat]

I've been shooting with a Zfc for the last few years after dabbling in the Fuji ecosystem for awhile. There's just something about scaling down, taking your time with manual focus, and the retro form factor that scratches an itch for me. Last week, I upgraded to the Zf.

Found this gem of a lens on Facebook marketplace. It's from the Yashica Electro 35 cameras from the mid 60s-70s. The camera itself wasn't much to write home about, but the lenses were legendary. This was a fixed-lens camera, so it's been modified and adapted for Z mount. It looks right at home on the Zf.

I haven't had a chance to play around with it much, but it's crazy sharp even wide open and has a bit of character, like a lot of lenses from that era.

 

[hark]

I had a Yashica 35mm film rangefinder camera which was superb compared to the Kodak 126 film cameras. After I purchased a Minolta 35mm manual focus SLR, I gave the Yashica to my brother. Yashica has excellent glass!

 

[Browncoat]

Went to a little car show yesterday to play with the Yashica 45mm. Not the ideal setting for a manual focus lens, but at least I got to put it through the paces.

The top photo was shot with the Yashica. Bottom photo is the same car with a Nikkor 28mm, a modern lens. For cars, I generally use a pretty dramatic Lightroom edit that brings out the blacks and reflections in the paint. The headlight LEDs on this car changed color - that's not a tweak in post.

Not too shabby for a lens that's 60+ years old.