| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15 | | Review Date: July 29, 2023 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great imaging and well made | | Cons: | Read the review | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Various
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Yep, it's a fine lens. It's one of the best standard vision lenses ever made alongside Yashica and Takumar 50/55mm varieties. Well, at least when shooting landscapes, long distance, or infinity work.
Whether orange or green print/numbering, this Chinon 55mm f1.7 is a re-branded Yashica Yashinon 50mm f1.7 DSM with an added auto/manual switch. The tokenistic extra 5mm makes little difference. I refuse to get bogged down in the vague and often unsourced online use of the word "Tomioka" as it's just a factory where many lenses were made for the Japanese production boom of the 1970's. Some good lenses were made in that factory and some not so good. Auction house sellers just stick that "Tomioka" word on to bump up the sale value and some buyers, for some reason, just go for it.
The Chinon 55mm f1.7 is excellent. Solid, well built and great optics. Some have amber coatings with purple, some are more blue. The outcomes are the same except I have one purple/blue coating version that seems to be less impressive.
Shooting at infinity - Performance sees CA at f1.7 at infinity but it goes fast. At infinity f2.8 is centrally sharp around a 30% middle with the edges neatly softer, as anyone would expect and no CA purple/green fringing. The sweet spot - as with all quality 50mm/55mm lenses is f5.6 to f11; as sharp and fine as Yashica 55mm f1.7 DSM. Infinity some 3-5mm before hard stop. Avoid digital use for longer than a day at a time as amber "Takumar" like Thorium in all sections.Talking of Takumar 55mm lenses, this is just as good as an f1.8 or f2 Super Takumar with infinity work. At infinity it's 10/10.
Shooting close up to middle distance - f2 to f5.6 sees a bit of variability in quality when shooting up close. Everything seems a bit lacking in colour and contrast and a little to wishywashy. It's sharp enough, but closer work up to about 10 feet leaves me cold as imaging is a bit lacking in vibrancy, while the Yashinon DSM 55mm f1.7 is lovely and the Takumar 55mm f2 and f1.7 look warm and rich and lovely. So not a lens for bokeh people or the bubbly buttery blobby brigade, or for flower lovers. Close up to middle distance and it's more of a 7/10.
You can find them cheap as some British folk assume they are poor quality as they were sold at a chain store called "Dixons" that has now closed own, so they do not value them for some odd reason. That's their loss, to be honest. US sellers seem to - oppositely - shove up the prices for Chinon items to incredible and ridiculous price levels that are simply unbelievable.
Easy to service, but the lens sections can be awkward to open up as they are both torque screwed and then glued shut.
I'd pay $20 to $30 for one and I'd avoid the "Tomioka made" sellers who want crazy dollars for a couple of added words.
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,897 | | Review Date: April 5, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Well built, sharp, good colour and contrast, decent bokeh | | Cons: | Sharpness at infinity, sharpness and contrast wide open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3, Lumix S5
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I should say up front that I've only used this lens for low importance stuff and mostly for shallow depth of field shots, I've not put it through anything really demanding.
Build quality is excellent, very comparable to Takumars though the lens is a little bigger than a Tak 55mm. The aperture clicks are lovely and the focus is beautifully smooth.
The lens lacks a little sharpness and contrast wide open but it's perfectly useable and PP can make up for the slight lack in contrast. Stopped down to f/2.8 both of those aspects improve (as with any legacy fast fifty really) and I've found that the lens produces very good colours which often make the subject pop if it's something colourful. Certainly above average for a fast fifty of that era. Bokeh is pretty good, again, I'd say better than average.
The situation where I've had trouble getting sharp results is stopped down at infinity - it always seems to be slightly mis-focused. Maybe I need to work on my MF technique but I haven't had that problem with other similar lenses. I haven't used it like this much either as I've only used it for shallow DoF so maybe I just need to give it more of a chance.
Overall, the image quality is much better than you would expect for a very cheap, very old, medium-fast fifty millimetre lens. I'd say it's on a par with the 55/1.8 Takumars but it can be found cheaper so it's great value.
I'll add that it has an A/M switch so adapting it to a K-mount or mirrorless camera is no problem.
Some sample images, the first two of which were taken wide open on my K-3 and the others at f/2.8 on my S5.
Wide open test III by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Obligatory christmas decoration bokeh #2 by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
First leaf by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
White flowers II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2013 Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 12, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light, cheap, colours | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: 5D
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It's hard not to love this lens, forget the big heavy f1.4 M42 lenses and get one of these or the Mamiya f1.8 they are abundant and cheap. Mine cost £3.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2013 Posts: 1
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 27, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, No CA, Gorgeous focus and excellent construction | | Cons: | Nil | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax SPII, Sony a6000
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I have a dozens of standard lenses - This is my second favourite after my Summicron R 50/2. Better than my Tomioka Chinon 1.4 and Contax Planar 50/1.7.
Why? It takes keepers, over and over again. It feels wonderful, the A/M switch is light and positive. The bokeh is very smooth but just can't reach my f1.2's or the summicron. The Contax is sharper, but only just and only wide open in the far corners. The colour and contrast and all the other components of the image come together in harmony. When I can't think of what to put on the camera, I choose this. Buy one.....I just bought a second mint one.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2014 Location: Washington Posts: 2,176 | | Review Date: December 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $4.99
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, durable, sharp | | Cons: | m42 | |
The lens I have is a later version, multicoated, greenish tint. Don't know who it was made by, but it is quite sharp. Attached is a picture of the lens and a shot at f1.7 and f4 to give you an idea of capabilities. The only reason I did not give it a 10 rating is it is not auto focus. 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24877856@N00/15858462460/ | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2012 Posts: 12
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 27, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Smooth focus action, well built, and sharp! | | Cons: | None. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-m
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Tomioka built Auto Chinon version, as pictured above.
This is a lens that always makes you glad you chose to use it - whether in low light, outdoors, portraits, flower shots, it always delivers really pleasing results. Sharp enough wide open (with a very shallow DOF) and very sharp from 2.8 on, and smooth bokeh with a nice 'painterly' quality.
Contrast and flare control is very good - mine seems to have a double coating (yellow and purple). Having said that I never shoot outdoors without a lens hood anyway.
Colour rendition is very natural.
Can't remember exactly what I paid for it, about £25 a couple of years ago I think. Worth every penny and more.
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