Which 50mm is best: 1.7 Planar or 1.4 ML?

Which 50mm lens would you choose between

- a Carl Zeiss Planar at 1.7 maximum aperture

or

- a Yashica ML at 1.4 maximum aperture?

 

This question suggests another one: is any Yashica lens better than a

Carl Zeiss one with the same focal length?

I have had the Yashica 1.7 and later upgraded to the Zeiss 1.7. There is not much difference between the lenses concerning sharpness and OOF rendering, but I found the coatings on the zeiss more efficient in preventing flare. Generally a 1.4 lens should be less sharp than a 1.7 or a 2.0, so the Zeiss would be the lens to go for (besides it has a higher resale value.

Thankyou for your advice.<br> Although, a lens with a smaller maximum aperture (ie: 1.7) is not necessarily sharper than one with a greater maximum aperture (ie: 1.4). One must not confuse the notion of sharpness with the notion of in-focus. The in-focus zone of the lens with an aperture at 1.7 (compared to one with aperture at 1.4) will certainly be greater, but sharpness is another matter altogether. The in-focus part of a photograph taken at 1.4 can be sharper than the in-focus part of a same photograph taken with another lens at 1.7. I hope you cease this point. <br>Still, what lens should I choose?

"Still, what lens should I choose?"

 

Personally I wouldn't buy either. They cost too much money. Do you really want to rely on anonymous strangers to make this choice for you? You would be better served drawing straws or flipping a coin.

If you consider item by item variations of lenses, the answer may practically be a draw; depending ..... So please buy neither and spend the money on film! And your time on photographing. Instead of splitting hairs gearing up to IT. OK?

... if you are shooting slides with 100 ASA or less and project it big with a Leica lens, you will

see the 1,4/50mm is divine. This is not hair splitting. This lens gives something extra. I had

ML lenses, including the 1.7/50mm in the 80ies and they were not that good. I sold them.

Maybe they improved. Don't know about about the 1.7 Zeiss though.

Both of these CZ 50mm lenses were tested by photo magazines in separate tests with several other 50/1.4 and 50/1.7 lenses. Each of them won their respective category. The Yashica 50/1.4 and 50/2.0 are very good lenses, but not better than CZ. The Yashica 50/1.2 was reported to be fairly good wide open, but it is very rare.