Good lenses for m42 / Fujinon

[january_weiner]

<p>A while ago I have asked for a nice m42 with a bright viewfinder. I decided

to go for Fujica st801 and bought one on ebay. While I am waiting for the packet

to arrive, I browse occasionally through m42 lenses on ebay, decided to stock up

my m42 collection.

 

<p>Presently I have a revuenon 50/1.8, some revue zoom 28-70/3.5, a Zeiss 135

and a Flektogon (20/2.8). The Fujica should come with a 55/1.8.

I am considering getting a better zoom and possibly a brighter 50mm (Takumar or

Fujinon 50/1.4). Also, possibly, a telezoom (70-200 or similar).

 

<p>While trying to find out what to buy, I have stumbled across some comparison

pages, but I assume I did not find all of them.

 

<ul>

<li> http://www.pbase.com/knickles/lenstests

<li> http://oomz.net/135/

<li> http://m42.povlab.org/index.php

</ul>

 

Questions:

 

<ul>

<li> what other comparison websites do you know?

<li> what lenses can you recommend from your own experience?

<li> has anyone experience with "FUJINON-Z" 43~75mm f3.5~4.5? How does this lens

compare to other m42 zooms with similar parameters? Can you recommend this lens?

<li> what about the Fujinon 50/1.4 and Pentax 50/1.4 comparison? Which one

would be better?

</ul>

 

My regards,<br><br>

 

January

[tony_lockerbie]

Hi January, I have a Fuji AZ1 with the 43-75 zoom which I rarely use but can confirm that the lens is of excellent quality. However, I wouldn't bother with a zoom of this limited range, it's really only three steps forward or back!

There is a myriad of M42 lenses out there and should keep you amused for years. I have only Takumars, the 24, 28, 35, 85, 100 macro, 135, 150 and 200, plus some 50mm 1.4's and 1.8's. Of these the most used are the 28mm 3.5, 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.9, all great quality.

The 50mm 1.4 seems to have a big following and is prized as a low light lens, but I don't know how it compares to the Fuji.

Tony

[riccardo_mottola]

I have both the 55/1.8 and the 50/1.4 fujinon. Honestly, do you think that 0.4 will make any difference? the 55 is very sharp and weights quite less. Also its color rendition is more neutral. That said, the 50/1.4 is a pretty good lens, sharp and contrasty. I have noticed some aberration on light points at full aperture on the corners (coma?) but it is pretty normal for such big glass, some compromises had to be made. Some manufacturers went the route of best full aperture but maybe later they lost in some other quality.

 

As a 35mm I have the flektogon 35/2.8. While I have always wondered why a 2.8 has such a big front lens, the quality is impeccable.

 

About zooms, I don't know, I ignore the matter.

[bueh]

In my humble opinion, the best lens there is for M42 is the rare 55mm f/1.2 by Tomioka. It was produced under different names (Revuenon, Cosinon etc) and since it is the fastest M42 lens ever built, it is very expensive. If you ever see a bargain for this lens, don't pass it up, it produces exceptional, Noctilux-like images. It is also my favorite portrait lens on my Canon <abbr title="digital single-lens reflex camera">dSLR</abbr>, but it is next to impossible to focus there due to viewfinder issues (so I use continuous drive mode and just fire away).

<p>

I would stay away from any zooms except maybe the most professional ones (with a constant f/2.8 aperture). Primes are where the fun is.

[User_502260]

I have many Takumars but I think I enjoy using the non-Takumars more. Which ones? Vivitar 20/3.8 Fixed Mount, Vivitar 28/2.5 Fixed Mount, Vivitar 28/1.9 Series 1, Vivitar 35/1.9 Fixed Mount, Vivitar 55/2.8 Macro, Vivitar 135mm f/2.8 Close Focusing, Tamron 90/2.5 SP Macro (2nd Version), Vivitar 200/3 Series 1, Vivitar 200/3.5 Fixed Mount, Vivitar 35-85/2.8 Series 1, Meyer Lydith 30/3.5, Noflexar 35/3.5, Apla (Japan) 50/1.7, Mamiya Sekor 55/1.4, Vivitar 135/2.5 TX, Vivitar 24/2.8 TX. It must have been more than 10 years ago that I found a 55/1.2 Tomioka lens in M42 mount and gave it to my brother-in-law as a birthday present. It was great for burning holes in leaves on a sunny day. The 55/1.8 Super-Multi-Coated Takumar and 55/1.8 SMC Takumar are about the sharpest M42 standard lenses you will find. The late 50/1.4 Super Takumar and later 50/1.4 Takumars are all also very good.

[walter_degroot]

is thAT CAMERA BODY THAT HAS A LOCKING FEATURE THAT CAN CAUSE A REGULAR ( PENTAX OR OTHER) LENS TO JAM AND NOT BE REMOVED?

ISN'T THERE A MOD SO THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN?

sorry aboput caps

[frank.schifano]

"I have both the 55/1.8 and the 50/1.4 fujinon. Honestly, do you think that 0.4 will make any difference?"

 

Well, that .4 number translates into 2/3 stop. Not a deal breaker most of the time, I admit, but once in a while it might come in handy.

[ralf_j.]

January ? nice buy with the ST-801, it is one of the nicest cameras made in the screw mount in the 1970?s. I just used mine a month ago with 50mm F1.8 standard and the negatives were fantastic. Their viewfinders(st801 and st605) are much brighter than that of their contemporaries

 

<P>I remember your original post, and remember that I was recommending the ST-605 as well. As far as lenses are concerned, it will be easier for you to use a much greater variety of the M42's with the ST605 option as this body does not have the annoying lens locking feature mentioned by Walter above. Fuji for some reason, in the same

 

fashion as Olympus FTL system, decided to use this locking feature which I dislike. I bought my ST-605 for a song, about 2 years ago, something like $19 USD at the auction site. Here is a quick snap of my Fujicas( I have circled the lens locking mechanism on the ST801):<p>

 

<table><tr>

<TD>

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/483420377_2cb6ccc1ab.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Fujica ST-605" /></TD>

<TD><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/483387432_49233772d4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Fujica ST-801"

 

/></TD></tr><p><tr></tr><tr><TD><center>

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/483387444_b7995bb80a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Fujica ST-801 Lens Lock Mechanism" /></center></td></TR>

</table>

[david_m]

Only the EBC Fujinons will allow full-aperture metering (which makes shooting so much easier!) unless you get the special Tamron Adaptall-2 mount for Fujica. This will allow you to use the superb Tamron Adaptall-2 lenses such as the 24F2.5, 28F2.5, 90F2.5, 135F2.5, and 70-150F3.5. Those are my recommendations based on 25 years of Fujica use. Treat your ST-801 gently, they are great cameras but not made for hard use.

[january_weiner]

<p>First of all -- thanks for all the answers!

 

<p>@Riccardo:

 

<i>"Honestly, do you think that 0.4 will make any difference?"</i>

 

Well, I don't know, but I can definitely see a difference between 2 and 2.4. The more you photograph indoors, especially if you do not like flash, the more it matters, I guess. And -- wouldn't you like to have a 50/1.2? Do you think that the 0.2 makes a difference? :-)

 

<p>@Ralf Jakoel:

 

Ralf, the part that you have circled (lens locking) is not the problem, because you can hide the knob -- but the small protrusion at in the right upper part of the mount (2 o'clock) for aperture measurement is.

 

<p>My Fujica, which I received yesterday, turned out to be in a quite poor condition. You can see that someone loved this camera and used it very intensively for many years :-) But that's OK, that shows character, otherwise than that, both the body and the Fujinon seem to work very nicely. I have already cleaned it and the only question that remains is whether it is light tight.

 

<p>@David M:

 

<p><i>

"Treat your ST-801 gently, they are great cameras but not made for hard use."

</i>

 

<p>Well, this one apparently survived a storm and an earthquake :-)

 

<p><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/483539075_6eb60598ec.jpg">

 

<p>(sorry about the poor photograph)

 

<p>In general, about the camera:

 

There is this problem with mounting non-Fujinon lenses. My lenses do not fit (I cannot focus on infinity), which essentially means - back to the drawing board, lets get yet another camera. But other than that:

 

<ul>

<li> it feels very "solid", more like a Zenit than a Praktica. This is a complement for the Fujica, not for the Praktica :-) I loved my Zenit 12XP. It is smaller and heavier than the Praktica.

 

<li> The viewer is excellent. Really, really nice. Better than some modern DSLR viewers I have seen. The focusing works way better than in my old Praktica ("old"? well, the Fujica is some 10 years older...).

 

<li> Being able to see the shutter speed while looking through the viewer is a nice thing, however, the shutter speed wheel is not comfortable to operate when looking through the viewer.

 

<li> I like the LED-meter display. Much clearer and faster than the one I had in Praktica (again, more like Zenit 12XP, which also has LEDs).

 

<li> I do not understand the advantage of the full-aperture metering. Maybe I don't get something, but it takes almost identical movements to set the aperture in the Praktica and in the Fujica. Well, to measure in Praktica you have to press another button; but then, the Zenit had a system exactly like the Fujica (that is, half-press the shutter release knob) and it did not have full-aperture metering. So unless you are setting the aperture and focusing <i>at the same time</i>, there is no advantage in full-aperture measurement.

 

<li>average light-meter. I will have to do more tests, but I am so used to spot-metering that I do not feel very comfortable ("so what exactly is being measured?").

 

<li>1/2000 s -- cool, can't wait to test it!

 

</ul>

 

<p>All in all, I am quite happy that I bought it, although the mount forces me to get another camera. This time I will look for a Spotmatic... :-)

 

<p>Cheers,

 

<p>January

[ralf_j.]

The Spotmatics are more likely to arrive with a broken light meter, so be careful on your next investment. If spotmetering is what you appreciate, then I would suggest the Mamiya 1000 DTL, which offers spot mettering match-needle style, and it is a very rugged camera. Also the mamiya M42 lenses are excellent, and by the same token are not picky which manufaturer the M42 lenses are from. Good luck.

[vincenzo_maielli]

Hi, January. The Fujica ST 801 is a very good camera. The CZJ Flektogon 20 mm f/ 2,8 is a wonderful wideangle. For me those lenses are excellent too: CZJ Flektogon 35 mm f/ 2,4 - CZJ Sonnar 80 mm f/ 1,8 - CZJ Sonnar 180 mm f/ 2,8 - Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 35 mm f/ 2 - Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 50 mm f/ 1,4 - Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 85 mm f/ 1,8 - Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 105 mm f/ 2,8 - Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 300 mm f/ 4 - Russian Jupiter 9 85 mm f/ 2.

In the universal lenses range: Tamron Adaptall-2 24 mm f/ 2,8 - Tamron SP Adaptall-2 90 mm f/ 2,5 - Tamron SP Adaptall-2 70-210 mm f/ 3,5 - Tamron SP Adaptall-2 80-200 mm f/ 2,8 - Tamron SP 500 mm f/ 8 Catadioptric - Tamron SP 300 mm f/ 2,8 - Tokina AT-X 28-85 mm f/ 3,5 - Tokina AT-X 80-200 mm f/ 2,8 - Vivitar Seies 1 28-105 mm f/ 2,8-4 - Vivitar Series 1 70-210 mm f/ 2,8-4 - Vivitar Series 1 105 mm f/ 2,5.

Ciao.

[david_m]

<p>"this one apparently survived a storm and an earthquake"

<br><p>

That is not hard use. Hard use is <i>using</i> the camera for many exposures. Transporting it for years in cars, airplanes and in handled baggage. Mounting it on and off a tripod thousands of times. Some of the typical things that break in Fujicas: the take-up spool loses its fingers (very common). The strap lugs fall off. The wind lever breaks off. The cap to the film speed control comes off. Screws come loose and get lost (especially on the camera baseplate).

[dick_boschloo]

The Fujinon-T 100 mm 2.8 EBC is also highly regarded. The automatic aperture feature which is a drawback when used on other camera systems without a properly matching m42 adapter is a plus for use with the ST-801. I've got one for sale:

 

kopen.marktplaats.nl/search.php?ui=2456465

[roy_ng]

<p>0.4 is one stop difference between 1.4 and 1.8. Fujinon 50mm 1.4 is abit soft wide open, and make it a very good protrait lens on APS-C frame body. It's solid built, very smooth focus ring.<br>

Very good colour rendering especially green, blue and skin tone.<br>

The ST801 is one of the good machine too, everything still working fine after it born more than 30 years, you may need to calibrate the metering if you want to use it. It's not a spot meter, what you see is a full frame metering system, quite accurate under bright condition. You can test it with a 18% grey card, it's as accurate as my DSLR．</p>

[roy_ng]

<p>0.4 is one stop difference between 1.4 and 1.8. Fujinon 50mm 1.4 is abit soft wide open, and make it a very good protrait lens on APS-C frame body. It's solid built, very smooth focus ring.<br>

Very good colour rendering especially green, blue and skin tone.<br>

The ST801 is one of the good machine too, everything still working fine after it born more than 30 years, you may need to calibrate the metering if you want to use it. It's not a spot meter, what you see is a full frame metering system, quite accurate under bright condition. You can test it with a 18% grey card, it's as accurate as my DSLR．</p>