YASHICA ML 50mm f1.7 Contax/Yashica C/Y mount Made in Japan

In good working condition for the age.

Scratch and fungus free optics (minimal dust). 

Smooth (vintage smooth) focus and aperture.

Signs of oil deposit on the aperture blades (see pic).

Good, used cosmetic state.

The lens comes with:

Back and front random caps.

Unedited samples shot on Canon 600D, hand held at ISO 100//200, use of hood highly recommended.

One of those lenses in no need for any additional recommendations, beautifully constructed, reliable companion anytime, anywhere.

Yashica's ML lenses were manufactured at the same time as the Carl Zeiss AE T* lenses under the licence. 

The Zeiss glass was made at the Tomioka Kogaku plant, bought by Yashica in 1968 but I don't have any information to what extend Tomioka was involved in production of ML design, possibly optical elements/coating only, unfortunately the exact details will forever be a mystery. 

ML stands for “multi-layered” coating and the series was designed to fill the gap between Yashica's own consumer-grade DSB lens line and the state-of-the-art Zeiss T*.

The ML series was produced until 1985 and earned over the years a reputation for high quality.

The above copy is very reliable and easy to handle despite being quite heavy. 

I was impressed by the quality of ML coating, which I am somehow sure was inspired partially by the almighty Zeiss T* formula at least on the “not totally secret” level, definitely the kind of "light loving" one, which easily compensate for not being the f1.4.

Relatively fast focusing indicates good potential for street photography or similar quick changing environments.

Not shy of close ups too.

The ML version is third in line of my all time favourite vintage "fifties" after Zeiss T* and Fujinon masterpieces, all of them are highly recommended.

The signs of oil deposit on the aperture blades does not affect the correct functioning, it was tested and analysed, I am fully accountable for the above statement.

This kind of “oil spill” happens usually over the years and not like some overnight sudden “leak”.

In my opinion it ’s more of a mind game for now than anything serious to be considered about and I will be the last person to advise watching a few Youtube “How to repair lens” videos and then go for it, please mind there is a monumental difference between dismantling and putting back together, so that everything works as it should.

Please mind, the above short review is subjective (I like to read online reviews too, but nothing is more accurate and unbiased than own test shots), based on my few year experience with vintage prime lenses and relate only to this particular lens, as quality may vary, tested on 18MP Canon 600D camera plus my personal skills as a photographer, the test samples are large JPEG (probably compressed by eBay automated system), you have a two weeks return option to try it yourself.

I do have a habit to test and look for any faults so they're exaggerated in the listing for you to avoid unnecessary disappointments, any relevant questions are also welcome.