Lumaxar lens on Yashica Mat

Hello,

 

I bought a Yashica Mat from KEH that has Lumaxar lens. Never read

anything about this lens, are these good lens. My other camera has

Yashinion & Yashior.

 

Peter Koch

Mount Prospect IL

I believe that the Lumaxar is the same 4 element design as the Yashinon (i.e Tessar formula).

Peter,

 

The Lumaxar lens was the earliest form of a four-element lens mounted on the Yashica-Mat. According to Mark Hama, the Lumaxar was made in Germany to Yashica specifications. Cameras with these lenses were produced from 1957 to around 1960, when the lenses were renamed Yashinon and the 75mm focal length was dropped in favor of the 80mm (Lumaxars had been offered up until then in both focal lengths).

 

My particular Lumaxar-equipped Yashica-Mat has produced very sharp images at f/8 and below, and is surprisingly capable wide open. One shot I took was of the interior of a local church in the evening. I was perched on the edge of the choir loft, high above the pews, and shot at 1/10 of a second at f/3.5 handheld. With a 6x loupe, I can clearly read the gold-letters "Holy Bible" printed on the Bibles stuck in the backs of four or five pews far down below! These letters are almost invisible on the negative when viewed without a loupe.

 

Enjoy your camera!

 

JW

The Lumaxar was made by Tomioka Optical Company and made in Japan. Tomioka was the lens supplier to Yashica from early. Yashica later bought Tomioka. Both of which became parts fo Kyocera. Tomioka made the Zeiss lenses for the Contax. The Lumaxar infringe on names in the UK in the late 50s so Yashica renamed the lens the Yashinon. Both are 4-element tessar-type lenses.

I agree with Joseph Wei and Mark Hama and here is why.

 

 

1) I have two Yashicas: one with Yashinon lenses and one with Lumaxar lenses. The Lumaxar lenses clearly produce sharper negatives.

 

2) Only the Lumaxar fitted shutter utilizes the following Sec times:

B, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25,50, 100, 250 and 500. All other Yashica TLR both before and after the Lumaxar shutter use the following Sec times:

B, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250 and 500. In addition only the Yashica TLR with Lumaxar lens has a ? symbol next to the Serial Number. Also the Rolleicord from the same years uses the same Sec times ... is that a coincidence?

 

3) Lastly I read an article by a college photography professor who states that the color coating used on the Lumaxar lenses was only available at the time in West Germany.

 

Happy Shooting

 

Tom O'Brien

PS - The ? Symbol mentioned above is the ® registration R with circle.