For sale is a Yashica ML 50mm f/2, a compact vintage standard prime lens for Contax/Yashica C/Y mount film cameras.
This is a small, lightweight 50mm lens from Yashica’s respected ML lens series, designed for the Contax/Yashica mount system. It gives a classic normal field of view on 35mm film and full-frame digital, making it a simple, practical everyday lens for film photography, street, travel, portraits, family photos, and adapted mirrorless use.
The f/2 maximum aperture makes it bright enough for general low-light shooting and subject separation, while keeping the lens compact and easy to carry. The rendering is generally clean and natural, with a more classic vintage look than modern clinical glass. Stopped down, it becomes a very handy little standard lens.
The ML designation refers to Yashica’s multi-coated lens line. These lenses were made as more affordable companions to the Contax/Yashica system, sitting below the Zeiss-branded Contax lenses but still offering solid optical quality and good real-world usability.
It is compatible with Contax/Yashica mount film cameras including Yashica FX, FR, and Contax RTS-style bodies. It can also be adapted easily to many mirrorless camera systems including Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Micro Four Thirds, and L-mount with the correct C/Y adapter.
Key Specifications
Lens name: Yashica ML 50mm f/2
Mount: Contax/Yashica C/Y mount
Focal length: 50mm
Maximum aperture: f/2
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens type: Standard prime
Format coverage: 35mm full-frame
Focus: Manual focus
Optical construction: commonly listed as 6 elements in 4 groups
Aperture blades: 6
Minimum focusing distance: approximately 0.5m
Filter thread: 52mm
Weight: approximately 140g
Length: approximately 32mm
Country of manufacture: Japan
Digital compatibility: Adaptable to most mirrorless cameras with a Contax/Yashica C/Y adapter
The Yashica ML 50mm f/2 belongs to the Contax/Yashica manual-focus SLR era. Yashica partnered with Carl Zeiss and introduced the Contax/Yashica mount system in the 1970s, creating a shared mount where photographers could use premium Zeiss T* lenses alongside more affordable Yashica lenses. Digital Camera World notes that Yashica and Zeiss collaborated on the Contax RTS and C/Y mount system, with Yashica later producing FX-series cameras that accepted both Zeiss T* lenses and Yashica ML optics.
The ML lenses were Yashica’s higher-quality multi-coated manual-focus lenses for this system. They were generally positioned as more affordable alternatives to Contax Zeiss glass while still giving good optical performance, proper manual handling, and compatibility across the C/Y mount ecosystem.
The 50mm f/2 was one of the compact standard lenses in the lineup. It is less famous than the faster Yashica ML 50mm f/1.4 or Zeiss Planar 50mm lenses, but that also makes it cheaper, lighter, and easier to justify as an everyday vintage lens. It is the sensible sibling at the lens family dinner: not dramatic, not expensive, still quietly useful.
For sale is a Yashica ML 50mm f/2, a compact vintage standard prime lens for Contax/Yashica C/Y mount film cameras.
This is a small, lightweight 50mm lens from Yashica’s respected ML lens series, designed for the Contax/Yashica mount system. It gives a classic normal field of view on 35mm film and full-frame digital, making it a simple, practical everyday lens for film photography, street, travel, portraits, family photos, and adapted mirrorless use.
The f/2 maximum aperture makes it bright enough for general low-light shooting and subject separation, while keeping the lens compact and easy to carry. The rendering is generally clean and natural, with a more classic vintage look than modern clinical glass. Stopped down, it becomes a very handy little standard lens.
The ML designation refers to Yashica’s multi-coated lens line. These lenses were made as more affordable companions to the Contax/Yashica system, sitting below the Zeiss-branded Contax lenses but still offering solid optical quality and good real-world usability.
It is compatible with Contax/Yashica mount film cameras including Yashica FX, FR, and Contax RTS-style bodies. It can also be adapted easily to many mirrorless camera systems including Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Micro Four Thirds, and L-mount with the correct C/Y adapter.
Key Specifications
Lens name: Yashica ML 50mm f/2
Mount: Contax/Yashica C/Y mount
Focal length: 50mm
Maximum aperture: f/2
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens type: Standard prime
Format coverage: 35mm full-frame
Focus: Manual focus
Optical construction: commonly listed as 6 elements in 4 groups
Aperture blades: 6
Minimum focusing distance: approximately 0.5m
Filter thread: 52mm
Weight: approximately 140g
Length: approximately 32mm
Country of manufacture: Japan
Digital compatibility: Adaptable to most mirrorless cameras with a Contax/Yashica C/Y adapter
The Yashica ML 50mm f/2 belongs to the Contax/Yashica manual-focus SLR era. Yashica partnered with Carl Zeiss and introduced the Contax/Yashica mount system in the 1970s, creating a shared mount where photographers could use premium Zeiss T* lenses alongside more affordable Yashica lenses. Digital Camera World notes that Yashica and Zeiss collaborated on the Contax RTS and C/Y mount system, with Yashica later producing FX-series cameras that accepted both Zeiss T* lenses and Yashica ML optics.
The ML lenses were Yashica’s higher-quality multi-coated manual-focus lenses for this system. They were generally positioned as more affordable alternatives to Contax Zeiss glass while still giving good optical performance, proper manual handling, and compatibility across the C/Y mount ecosystem.
The 50mm f/2 was one of the compact standard lenses in the lineup. It is less famous than the faster Yashica ML 50mm f/1.4 or Zeiss Planar 50mm lenses, but that also makes it cheaper, lighter, and easier to justify as an everyday vintage lens. It is the sensible sibling at the lens family dinner: not dramatic, not expensive, still quietly useful.
