Best M42 Lenses

I recently picked up a mint condition Pentax SP 500 with a Super

Takumar 55mm f/2 lens and thought I might delve into the world of M42

screw mount lenses. There is a wealth of these type lenses available

on eBay for a relatively few bucks. I've seen some big name lenses

sell for $50 or less.

 

The question is "which lenses are worth buying?"

 

It would be nice to get some opinions (pros and cons) and maybe some

pics from members that use M42 lenses.

There's a wealth of nice and/or interesting M42 lenses available including offerings

from Schneider and Zeiss-Jena as the mount was used on lots of different cameras

(Pentax, Pracktica, Edixa, etc.). Then consider the different adapters available and you

can use these lenses on just about any camera you want. I'm not an expert by any

stretch of the imagination, but my personal favorites are the Schneider Curtagon f2.8/

35 and Pentax Super-Takumar f1.4/50 (I also have a Pentacon f1.8/50 that I like quite

a bit, too). The Pentax lenses from the 60's and 70's are of rather high quality.<div></div>

There's a wealth of nice and/or interesting M42 lenses available including offerings

from Schneider and Zeiss-Jena as the mount was used on lots of different cameras

(Pentax, Pracktica, Edixa, etc.). Then consider the different adapters available and you

can use these lenses on just about any camera you want. I'm not an expert by any

stretch of the imagination, but my personal favorites are the Schneider Curtagon f2.8/

35 and Pentax Super-Takumar f1.4/50 (I also have a Pentacon f1.8/50 that I like quite

a bit, too). The Pentax lenses from the 60's and 70's are of rather high quality.<div></div>

D'oh! Posted twice, sorry.

Nice going Homer!

 

Nice Portrait of your cat, the lens seems to have nice bokeh.

 

I've heard that the Super Takumars are excellent. OK, so to start I'll add the 50mm f/1.4 to the list. Any others?

Many of the M42 lenses were made by sometimes obscure manufacturers for cheap camera bodies. I don't have any personal experience but I was told several times that some of the Pentax and Fuji M42 lenses (the latter sometimes have a slightly modified mount) and also the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses are among the best ones.

Interesting that you should mention Carl Zeiss Jena. Those are some of the big names I've seen go for very reasonable prices. Even some of their more recent Multi-coated Auto lenses show up and sell for under $100.

Thanks for your contribution!

The Zeiss Jena lenses are IMHO not the best bang for the buck. They seem to carry some wierd collectors premiumn. Maybe it's just the Zeiss name. Maybe it's rarity.

 

What to get?

 

In 50,85,135mm any of the Pentax lenses should be just fine. The 50 and 135mm will be very very cheap. The 85mm will be over $50.

 

Mamiya just check and make sure it's a M42 mount. I think I remember Mamiya switched mounts back and forth a few times.

 

Ricoh/sears?

 

The older Vivitar lenses.

 

But if you're just looking for the common 50 and 135mm it won't hurt to just stick with the Pentax. I doubt you'd spend more then $35 for the Pentax 135mm and the 50mm should come with almost every body out there.

 

Since your body doesn't meter open aperture the only pro/con issue is image quality. Any of the ones I listed should be fine. Some will argue the later Pentax models have better coatings and I guess that's true. They are all from a time when things were better built then much of todays stuff so they feel better to use.

 

Normally I'd add some of the Soviet lenses but the Pentax lenses are so cheap it really isn't worth it unless you're looking for something special. If you wanted a cheap 85mm then the soviet lenses can be fine. Or even one of the MF 80mm with an adapter. I think the Soviet 58mm also focuses very close. But in general you don't need to look at anything but the Pentaxes.

BTW the 55m f/2.0 I vaguely remember is really a F/1.8 that pentax limited the aperture from opening all the way. It's been argued the image quality is better then the faster 50mm F1.4 but then when you need the speed you need it. Both have very good reps.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep an eye out for the lenses you mentioned. The 85mm is probable the first I'll go for since I like to do portraits. It'll be interesting to see how it compairs to my Zuiko 85 f/2.

 

Any other opinions on the Carl Zeiss Jena and maybe some pics?

Thanks Robert, sounds like I have a good one to start with!

If you're shopping for a Super Takumar, be aware that some of these lenses had problems with yellowing of the front element that renders the lens useless. It's worth asking about this if you're buying a lens you can't examine in person, and watching for it even if buying at pawn shops and the like. The front elements are also very slightly radioactive (it's the radioactive decay that causes the yellowing, apparently), though not enough so to be hazardous if you're not putting your eye right up to the glass for hours at a time. The 50 mm f/1.4 in certain ranges of serial number (which numbers I don't have handy) is one that has the radioactive element; I have one of the "hot" lenses, and mine is still clear, but some batches of glass apparently yellow faster than others.

I seem to recall reading about that. I'll be sure to watch out for lenses with that problem.

Gary Reese put together an excellent compilation of lens tests for the Olympus Zuiko lenses and some competing / third party lenses. It is the most useful resource when buying lenses for the OM system.

 

Does anyone know of a similar resource for the Pentax lens group?

the yellowed 50 f1.4 lenses can be cured....there is a discussion and other good information about lenses and all things Spotmatic at

<p>

<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spotmatic/">Yahoo Spotmatic Group</a>

It's interesting how this turned into a discussion on Pentax. Maybe I should have posted in the Pentax forum. I'm getting the feeling that the Super Takumar lenses are the way to go. I have a high opinion of the Japanese lenses. I own quite a few now between my Mamiya C330 and my Olympus system. They really did put out some outstanding lenses.

I really thought people would be in favor of some of the German lenses, like the Zeiss Jena, but I sounds like the Pentax lenses are held in high regard.

 

Thanks for all the input so far, I'm encouraged.

"It's interesting how this turned into a discussion on Pentax."

 

It's partly just what you can get easily. I love my 135mm f/2.8 Mamiya but good luck finding one. It's faster then the more common 135mm f/3.5 pentax and the optical quality seems better then the 135mm f/2.5 pentax. Maybe not much better so you'd spend the rest of your life looking for one.

 

Partly it's just that the Pentax lenses are so cheap and so good. There are other good lenses but they're harder to find. Avoid the zooms and I bet many [most?] of the primes will keep you happy.

Good advice! I usually stick to the prime lenses with few exceptions.

I own two Olympus zooms (ie 35-70 f/3.6, 28-48 f/4) both excellent lenses, especially the 35-70 f/3.6. I'm working on getting the 35-105 f/3.5-4.5 which I believe to be right up there with the others I own.

The nice Zuikos are pretty spendy though. The 90 f/2 macro is still selling for up to $800 so it's very unlikely I'll ever own one.

 

Thanks for the input. My list is growing, no I just need to figure out where the cash is comming from (looks like more eBay auctions are in order!)

I use my yellowed Pentax 50mm f1.4 for monochrome photography. If you're interested in screw mount, talk to your local dealer in classic cameras. He will have a box of fungussed screw mount lenses, ready to throw out. Most of them will be relatively easy to dismantle and clean. There are books and websites with advice on doing this.

Thanks John. I've had lenses sent out for cleaning before and it can run a few bucks. It would be nice to have the tools and knowledge to do it myself. I imagine the older lenses are quite a bit easier to dis-assemble and are probably be worth the effort.

You can buy tools from here: http://www.micro-tools.com/ This site has advice on repairs, and a forum dedicated to camera repair:http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/ I also find "Camera Maintenance and Repair" books 1 and 2 by Thomas Tomosy useful. Book 1 in particular covers the sort of tools needed to repair lenses - read it before you start.

Sorry for the slow response. I just went out to get the family Christmas Tree. Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll definetely check into it.

I've been trying to find info on changing a Synchro Compur shutter on my Kodak Retina Reflex. I picked up a brand new shutter on eBay for under $20.00 and was thinking of making the switch myself. Maybe I can find the instructions I need in the links you provided. Thanks!

 

Wow, we've covered some subjects in this thread. Thanks to all who contributed and feel free to post any other comments.

I have good results with a Carl Zeiss Jena 20mm lens, it is not small, but seems to me to be a good lens. I have noticed on a couple of non-Pentax lenses a less solid feel to the auto aperture switch. Anyone else noticed that. It may be no worry, because the Pentax lenses have a rock solid, well built feel, and may be over built thus making a little minor doubt creep in about the other lenses.

Another one you may keep your eye out for is a 135mm 1.8 I found on on *b*y for under 35 bucks it had the Spirotone name on it but I think it was made by Chinon.

I agree. The build quality of the Pentax lens that I have seems to be superb. As for the Spiratone/Chinon that brings up a question I've had tumbling around in my mind for a while now. It seems that there are only a few lens manufacturers out there building lenses for companies like Pentax, Olympus and others. Is Chinon one of those lens manufacturers building lenses to different specs for the big guys and who else is doing the same?

I can vouch for the following Pentax SMC M42 lenses: 28/3.5, 50/1.4, and 135/2.5 (6

element version). I've had good results with all these. Sharp, contrasty, beautiful

bokeh. Outstanding build quality. Note, I've only used them with B&W.

 

BTW, some of these lenses are constructed in such a way as to require drilling holes

in them in order to disassemble. They work fine when put back together, but look a

bit ugly. I would say if it needs this treatment, then forget it, and buy another lens.

There are plenty of these around in perfect condition, so there seems to be no need

to go buying lenses that need work done before being usable.

 

Neil