Best Russian m42 prime lenses

[juergenf]

I am looking for a few relatively fast (2.8 or faster) Russian made

m42 lenses in the 28mm to 60mm range, what are my best bets (they

have to be 'auto' lenses).

[david_m]

The Helios 44 58mmF2 lens. Get the latest model you can find, this is indicated by the number after the 44 i.e. 44-6. The later models are auto diaphragm and multicoated, also better resolution. I must say, however, that something like the 55mmF1.8 Takumar would be vastly superior.

[ben conover]

Mamiya have excellent 35mm lenses in m42. They are also very cheap.

[bruce_appel]

While mine is older and non auto, I must chime in and say that my helios 58mm lens is truley the best 50mm I have. The only normal 35mm lens I own that is better is on my contax g2. My pentax 50 is good, but I was appalled at how good the helios is considering I paid $8 for it and the zenit it came on. I also have one of the 35mm lenses that is outstanding (again, non auto). If the newer auto versions are as good, you will not be disapointed I think, unless the build quality went down over time- a distinct possibility.

[tri-x1]

A couple of years ago I picked up a Soligor C/D 28mm F2.8 multicoated M42lens online for about $20 -- new in box. There were quite a few of them being offered then. The Soligor is very sharp and has excellent contrast. I use it on my M42 cameras and with an M42-LTM adapter on my FED and Zorki rangefinders

[alan c.]

fastest common lenses for M42: there are others but these are not that rare and can

be easily found on eBay or at big online stores

 

50mm f/1.4 pentax super-takumar, also chinon, CZJ 50mm f/1.8 pancolar

there are f/1.2 lenses but these are more rare

 

35mm f/2.0 pentax super-takumar, 35mm f/2.4 CZJ

 

28mm f/1.9 vivitar series 1 (hard to find for M42 but they do exist) most everybody

else made their 28mm lenses in f/2.8 or slower

 

24mm f/2.5 tamron adaptall, with M42 adapter (there are vivitar 24mm f/2.0 but i've

never seen one for M42)

 

20mm f/2.8 CZJ (only one faster in any mount is Olympus 21mm f/2.0)

 

80mm f/1.8 CZJ, 85mm f/1.8 pentax super-takumar

 

100mm or 105mm in f/2.5 and f/2.8, various companies

 

135mm f/1.8 Spiratone, Sigma -- i think these are the same YS lens marketed under

different names. also 135mm f/2.0 Soligor

 

180mm f/2.8 CZJ Sonnar -- the Pentacon Six lens with auto-aperture M42 adapter

 

as you can see the Russians didn't make the fastest lenses for M42 but the East

Germans were quite competitive. mamiya/sekor as pointed out made nice M42

lenses. there are some Yashica M42s out there (including a 50mm f/1.4?) west

german zeiss lenses in M42 are real nice but slower and much more expensive. Fujica

M42 lenses also great, there were a few fast ones in their line too.

 

But your Pentax and Carl Zeiss Jena/Pentacon lenses are the mainstays of M42.

[don_mckeith]

well yeah the Zeiss /Pentacon are nice-

 

as are the Takumar,Mamiya,Yashica, Chinon,Rikenon and some of the Meyer-

 

Best? dunno

[don_mckeith]

forgot to mention-

 

Industar,Helios

[varjag]

The modern MC Zenitar 2/50 is by far the best Russian m42 50mm lens available.

 

I would advise against 1970s-80s Helios-44. They had very poor reputation back in the USSR. The older (silver finish) samples are better, but lack automatic diaphragm and often come in M39 mount, albeit can be used with M49 conversion ring.

[victor_randin]

The INDUSTAR 61 ZL, macro MC, 50mm F2/8, black is a very good prime lens.

[frank.schifano]

As you can see from the previous posts, there are many, many M42 mount lenses out there. I can't say there is anything specifically wrong with any of the Russian lenses; some have good reputations and some are, well, not so good. But why limit yourself when there are so many good choices?

[juergenf]

I don't really want to limit myself to Russain lenses but cost/quality they seem to be the best choice. I am willing to pay about 40 USD for a good quality lens and the best mint Russians seem to be around that price. However, I am also open to other non-Russian lenses, but 100 USD for a 2nd hand 50mm Takumar is a bit over the top IMO.

[alan c.]

no, no, if you hunt through flea markets you can often find a pentax spotmatic body

WITH a 50mm f/1.4 lens for $50-$100. if you don't need the body you can sell it on

eBay for a bit of money.

[don_mckeith]

If you're looking for lenses on Ebay,

I've found that buying one on a camera is often less expensive than buying the lens alone.

 

I was looking for a Ziess DDR 2.8/50 zebra Tessar and prices ranged about $25-$40- so I bought a Praktica TL with case and the same lens for $15-

 

make sense? no, but that's the way it is sometimes.

[kymtman]

Don; that "Ziess DDR 2.8/50 zebra Tessar" lens takes real good Black and White photos. Tee-hee., no pun intended, I just read the 'Zebra' part and it just hit me to make a comment on that. A little laughter is good for the soul.

[don_mckeith]

Ron-

 

LMAO- never thought of it that way :>)

 

another M42 I didn't have-somebody stop me!

[berk_sirman2]

Juergen, if you cannot find an affordable Takumar 50/1.4 try the 55/1.8. It goes for a lot cheaper on ebay and it is a great lens. It is actually sharper than the 50/1.4 past f/5.6, especially at infinity (on my samples at least) But the 50/1.4 is a lot better at fast apertures and has very smooth out of focus areas unlike the 55/1.8. The 50/1.4 is a more special lens than 55/1.8

 

The 55/2.0 is identical to 55/1.8 optically. There is just a mechanical stop under the aperture ring preventing it from opening up all the way to f/1.8. If you find one cheap go for it.

 

Berk

[juergenf]

Thanks for all responses so far, this kind of input is what makes PN such a helpful source, no useless info, just straight forward reports from the 'field'.

[mawz]

KEH often has 50mm f1.4 SMC Takumars for $60-70, no reason to pay $100 on the 'Bay.

[larrydressler]

As was said by a great person

The Helios 44 58mmF2 lens. Get the latest model you can find, this is indicated by the number after the 44 i.e. 44-6. The later models are auto diaphragm and multicoated, also better resolution. I must say, however, that something like the 55mmF1.8 Takumar would be vastly superior.

I must add to this though be careful I have had to cut Russian cameras apart to get my Takumars off them. Here is an example of a Tak on a Zeinet 122 this time I did not need a saw to remove it.

 

Larry<div></div>

[grahams]

David M said "I must say, however, that something like the 55mmF1.8 Takumar would be vastly superior."

 

Not necessarily - the Jupiter and Helios lenses are extremely good, if you get a good one.

 

Juergen - There are plenty of Carl Zeiss Jena M42 mount lenses around for silly money, making it not worth your while to search for anything else. Really.

[michael_p6]

The Peleng 8mm fishy is a great lens, it costs about $100 and it's a steal, stop it down and you can have very, very sharp results.<br>

<br>

The MIR 1B (37mm f2.8) is absolutely awesome, it's only slightly down on the fantastic Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f2.4, the Mir is a real hidden Gem of the M42, it's a very sharp lens and delivers almost "velvia" colors. Highly recommended!<br>

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I never tried seriously the Helios 55ish russians, I have too many primes in that range already !<br>

However I do have, and use, an Industar 61L/Z and it's big brother the Volda 9 50mm f2.8 "macro" (1:2); both of these lens are really good fifties, with a totaly unique bokeh. They are Lanthanium based and are very very sharp.<br>

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The Jupiter 9 85mm f2 is also a hidden gem. It's soft at f2, but stopped down it's razor sharp. It's also very small !<br>

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The Helios 40 85mm f1.5 is also reouted to be excellent, but it's almost 1Kg in weight ! I'v seen fantastic results with one, and I'll surely snatch one up if I get the occasion !<br>

<br>

Nothing like the smell of good old russian grease!<br>

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I haven't used anything longer on the russian side. For generic M42 135s (not russians) you might want to have a look at <a href="http://oomz.net/135/">my 135 "war"</a> where I compared plenty of 135s primes against my Canon 135 f2 L.<br>

<br>

Also check <a href="http://gallerie.oomz.net/pub/">my gallery</a> of tests shots with various M42s.