Formula 5 lens?, Anyone heard of this brand??

[daveish182]

Hi, I've just spotted a M42 mount 40-85mm f3.5 Formula 5 lens on ebay. Anyone

heard of the brand? Just curious really I probably won't try and buy it but it

would be good to hear it's a true optical star, lol and I could pick it up

dirt cheap. Sounds like a good focal length range on sub-miniature digital.

[matt_mccarthy3]

I remember that name. I worked in a camera shop in New Jersey for a few years. The whole

time I was there, there was a Formula 5 lens that just sat there. It's just one of many no-

name, generic oddball kinds of aftermarket makers of lenses that existed for years. It might

serve a better purpose as a paperweight or a very small ashtray.

[c2500]

Well,

 

I happen to own two of them. A 135mm f2.8 and a 28mm f2.8. They are k-mounts. I used them in high school for yearbook and newspaper pictures. (1981-85) They saw alot of use and still work fine to this day. I actually think my dad bought them at K-mart. Anyway, I am sure they were not the best, more than likely though I bet they are a rebadge from another maker.

 

Oscar

[daveish182]

Thanks for the info I'll have a search for others like it, maybe that will give me some clue.

[markku_ylilammi]

There is not much point to buy M42 lenses any more. There is a very low cost Pentax-M 40-80 mm zoom on the second hand market. It is optically OK and has a nice macro feature.

[butch_riebe1]

I have one and use it on my F4 Nikon, I like it.

 

It was written about several decades ago in Modern Photography, and while I still have the mag, I am too lazy to spend hours digging it out (I checked it before I got mine, on Ebay)and it said that generally the lenses were better than average.

The term Formula 5 is a lens formula that was supposedly applied to these lenses but Modern Photo. said it did not know it it had been.

Butch