Miyazaki lens conversions
I have mentioned these on the site before, but I decided to get a couple done to my own lenses just to show you what the great man is capable of. Come and have a look at these impressive conversions.
I have seen a few Miyazaki conversions come and go since I have been doing this, and they have always impressed me with the detail and the thought that goes into them. Mainly though I see the regular lenses that always get converted…The contax G lenses and the ‘dream’ 50mm 0.95 from Canon. I decided that I want to see something a bit different from the norm. I knew that Mr Miyazaki could convert the lenses I was thinking of, but I had never seen them in the metal, so I got my hands on the cameras that I needed and set the great Miyazaki san to task.

The first lens on my list is a lens I wanted to convert for a long time. The Yashinon 45mm f/1.7 from the Yashica Electro. I used to have an electro and I really enjoyed the lens on the camera, so I thought it might be fun to have one on my Leica.

The main challenge that Miyazaki san faced with this lens is the fact that when on the camera it uses a leaf shutter so there is no aperture unit within the lens. Miyazaki san has to put an aperture unit into the lens before it was mounted onto an M-mount helicoid. Unfortunately there are no f/1.7 aperture units available, so the lens becomes a 45mm f/2 instead. Although the lens looks like it is collapsible, it is not, that it just the way it is made. Early impressions are that the lens is small, lightweight and well balanced. Mine has quite a bit of dust inside, but that is because I got a junker camera that only cost me 1000 yen, so the lens was not perfect. But it is still very sharp and bright. It is rangefinder coupled and looks the part too. I think next time I would get myself a decent lens just to make sure. I am going to run a few rolls through it and see how things go, but I imagine it will be the same as my old electro, except more easy to use and less prone to breakdown when a wire fails.

The second lens is one that I had not really thought of before, but I saw it on the list of lenses that he currently converts and it intrigued me. The Fujinon 28mm f/3.5 EBC lens from the Fuji Tiara compact camera. Now I never really thought all that much of the camera, I found it too slow and too noisy, but I liked the lens. I have heard many people rave about how good the lens on this little camera is so I though I would give it a go and have it converted.

And I am really glad I did. Look at this little gem. It is another fantastic pancake style of lens that Miyazaki has become so famous for. The lens is tiny, but put together very well and it feels solid. This one comes with a hood, which really is for protection from massive clumsy fingers like mine. I am very much looking forward to testing this lens. Basically you only need to supply the lens or the camera and let Miyazaki san do the rest (well, and pay him of course). The conversions are not all that cheap really. The Yashica was 65,000 yen and the Fuji was 60,000 yen. But what you do get for that is something really unique and very special. I am really happy with the choices that I made. Miyazaki san had these done in a week for me, which is amazing really. Basically for the price of a used Summiron 50mm I got two different hand-made lenses. I think that is a pretty good deal.

If you are interested in having a lens converted by Miyazaki san you can contact me here and I will arrange everything for you. And if you want me to find a lens or camera to be converted then drop me a line and I can find what you need. Cheers Japancamerahunter