Contax / Yashica · Legacy SLR mount
Contax/Yashica (C/Y) — flange distance, protocol, and adapter compatibility
The bayonet introduced on the 1975 Contax RTS, born from the Carl Zeiss / Yashica partnership and built by Kyocera through 2005. Its claim to fame is the glass: Carl Zeiss T* Planar, Sonnar, Distagon, and Tessar lenses — manufactured both in Oberkochen, Germany (AEG / MMG code) and in Japan under Zeiss licence (AEJ / MMJ code) — alongside the budget Yashica ML line that shares the exact mount. Pure mechanical interface: manual focus, an aperture ring on every lens, and no electrical contacts in any iteration. The 45.5 mm flange clears every mirrorless mount with a plain glassless adapter (infinity preserved), which is why C/Y Zeiss glass — the Planar 50 mm f/1.4, Planar 85 mm f/1.4, Distagon 28 mm f/2.8, and Sonnar 135 mm f/2.8 in particular — is among the most-adapted vintage glass on Sony α, Fujifilm X, Canon RF, and Nikon Z bodies.
Mount specifications
- Flange focal distance
- 45.5 mm
- Throat diameter
- 48 mm
- Electronic protocol
- Mechanical only (no electronic coupling)
- Supported formats
- full-frame, APS-C
- Manufacturer
- Contax / Yashica
- Introduced
- 1975 (discontinued)
- Status
- Discontinued
Contax/Yashica (C/Y) on the flange-distance axis
Contax/Yashica (C/Y) sits at 45.5 mm — highlighted in orange below. The flange-distance gap between the mirrorless and SLR clusters is the room a mechanical adapter occupies; that gap is why almost every SLR lens adapts onto every mirrorless body, and why the reverse is mechanically impossible.
Adapting Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lenses onto other bodies
You own Contax/Yashica (C/Y) glass and want to mount it on a body with a different lens mount. Rows are sorted by feasibility.
| Body mount | Result | Adapter examples | Caveats | ||||
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Body mount Canon RF | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon FD | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon EF-M | Mechanical |
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Body mount Nikon Z | Mechanical |
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Body mount Sony E (incl. FE) | Mechanical |
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Body mount Fujifilm X | Mechanical |
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Body mount Fujifilm GFX (G-mount) | Mechanical |
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Body mount Micro Four Thirds | Mechanical |
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Body mount L-Mount | Mechanical |
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Body mount Leica M | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon RF (cine) | Mechanical |
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Body mount C-mount | Mechanical |
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Body mount Konica AR | Mechanical |
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Body mount Minolta SR / MC / MD | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon EF | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Canon EF-S | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF-S (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Nikon F | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Nikon F (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Sony A / Minolta A | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Sony A / Minolta A (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Pentax K | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Pentax K (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount PL (Positive Lock) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a PL (Positive Lock) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Canon EF (cine) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF (cine) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Exakta | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Exakta (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount T-mount (T2) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a T-mount (T2) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Praktica B | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Praktica B (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Olympus OM | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Olympus OM (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Adapting other lenses onto a Contax/Yashica (C/Y) body
You own a Contax/Yashica (C/Y) body and want to mount glass from other systems. Mirrorless-lens-onto-DSLR-body combinations are omitted (rear element collides with the mirror box).
| Lens mount | Result | Adapter examples | Caveats |
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Lens mount PL (Positive Lock) | Mechanical |
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Lens mount T-mount (T2) | Mechanical |
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Lens mount Canon EF | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon EF-S | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon FD | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Nikon F | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Sony A / Minolta A | Speed booster |
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Lens mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Pentax K | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon EF (cine) | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Exakta | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Praktica B | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Konica AR | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Minolta SR / MC / MD | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Olympus OM | Speed booster |
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Adapter SKU teardown
Curated adapter SKUs that involve the Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount on either side, with the operational specifics — body-side electronic contact count, firmware-update path, weather sealing, and whether optical glass is in the path.
K&F Concept C/Y-NEX
released 2018Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body
- no firmware updates
- not weather sealed
- no glass — pass-through
- Contax/Yashica (C/Y) bayonet — Carl Zeiss T* Planar / Distagon / Sonnar / Tessar and the budget Yashica ML line — onto Sony E. Mechanical-only: no electronics, no AF, no aperture coupling; focus by hand, set aperture on the lens's own ring.
- The 45.5 mm C/Y flange clears Sony E's 18 mm by 27.5 mm, so this is a flat glassless ring with infinity focus preserved (no focal reducer needed, unlike adapting C/Y to Canon EF). Matte-black interior helps suppress flare from bright vintage elements.
Urth Contax/Yashica to Sony E
released 2020Contax/Yashica (C/Y) lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body
- no firmware updates
- not weather sealed
- no glass — pass-through
- Contax/Yashica (C/Y) bayonet onto Sony E with an anodised recycled-aluminum body and plastic-free packaging; one tree planted per product. Mechanical-only — no AF, no electronic aperture; focus by hand, aperture on the lens ring.
- Flat glassless ring: the 45.5 mm C/Y flange clears Sony E's 18 mm by 27.5 mm, so infinity focus is preserved without corrective optics. Mechanically equivalent to K&F's Pro-line internals at a finish / sustainability premium.
References
Common questions
- Can I adapt Contax/Yashica Zeiss lenses to a Sony E or Nikon Z body?
- Yes — plain mechanical C/Y-to-E, C/Y-to-Z, C/Y-to-RF, C/Y-to-X, and C/Y-to-MFT adapters are widely sold ($15-50 from Fotodiox, K&F Concept, Urth, and premium Novoflex builds). The 45.5 mm flange leaves 27.5 mm of clearance on a Sony α (18 mm) and 29.5 mm on a Nikon Z (16 mm), so infinity focus is preserved with no corrective glass. Focus is manual; aperture is set on the lens ring. The Zeiss Planar 50 mm f/1.4, Planar 85 mm f/1.4, Distagon 28 mm f/2.8, and Sonnar 135 mm f/2.8 are the most sought-after for this.
- Are Contax/Yashica lenses the same as Contax G or modern Sony Zeiss lenses?
- No — three different systems. Contax/Yashica (C/Y, 1975-2005) is the manual-focus SLR mount this page covers. Contax G (1994) is a separate autofocus rangefinder mount with no focus ring on the lens, which makes it awkward to adapt (manual-focus G adapters exist but are fiddly). Modern Sony/Zeiss optics (ZA, Loxia, Batis, the Otus/Milvus DSLR line) are entirely different native mounts. Only the C/Y Zeiss glass uses this 45.5 mm bayonet.
- Will Contax/Yashica lenses focus to infinity on a Canon EF or Nikon F DSLR?
- Not cleanly. C/Y's 45.5 mm flange sits only 1.5 mm above Canon EF (44.0 mm) — too thin for a reliable glassless infinity adapter, so a focal-reducer adapter with corrective glass is the practical route on EF. Nikon F (46.5 mm) and Pentax K (45.46 mm) are equal-to-longer than C/Y, so glassless infinity is physically impossible there; only corrective-glass adapters work, with some image-quality cost. Mirrorless bodies are the sensible adapting destination for C/Y glass.