Yashica Mat Aperture Marker: Sweet Spot?

russell_w_b · Nov 21, 2018

Hello.
I've just acquired a Yashica Mat with a Yashinon 80mm f3.5 lens (had one before years ago) and I've just noticed that there is a black line marked between f16 and f22. Is this the 'sweet-spot'? There's nothing in the manual about it.

I ask because my Mess-Baldix has a red dot on the aperture between f8 and f11 (f9.5?) which will yield optimum results if used as a 'quick setting' in conjunction with one of two red dots on the focussing ring. I thought the Yashica Mat may have something similar.

If this is not the case, what IS the Yashinon lens 'sweet-spot'?
--
Kind Regds,

R.

GRHazelton · Nov 22, 2018

I'd guess that the Yashinon's "sweet spot" would be perhaps f8. Between f16 and f22 might be where diffraction limiting might begin.

russell_w_b · Nov 22, 2018

Thanks for that - it does seem rather high for optimum performance. Someone elsewhere suggested it might be as an inter-aperture mark (f19?), there being no room to write the number on the dial. F8 seems a more reasonable place. I'm trying to determine this without using too much film!

Randy Stewart · Mar 17, 2019

Years ago, I did an on-film lens performance comparison of a number of TLRs, including the Yashinon. It's sweet spot, such as it is, is at f 8.0, +/- a half stop. I am not closely familiar with the Yashicamat (owned one briefly years ago), so I do not know what the line marked on the aperture scale might represent. Best guess: it marks aperture setting for some sort of depth of field adjustment for point-n-shoot usage.

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Yashica Mat Aperture Marker: Sweet Spot?

russell_w_b

GRHazelton

russell_w_b

Randy Stewart