D60 and old Quantaray Prime

[bert_smith1]

I have an old Quantaray 400mm prime that I happily used on a Pentax ME Super for many, many years. It's a low

end lens, but hey it still works. To attach it to the Pentax required an adapter to go from the Pentax K mount

to a screw mount.

 

So.....is such an adapter even possible for my new D60. I don't think that I'm concerned about auto anything. I

can focus manually, and I expect most shots would be at infinity anyway.

 

Thanks,

Bert

[Michael R Freeman]

Such an adapter <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/97559-REG/General_Brand__Nikon_AI_Body_to.html">exists</a>, however it requires a weak lens element in the adapter to maintain infinity focus. This acts as a very weak teleconverter, and of course will also optically compromise what is already a less than stellar performer.<P>

><i>"I don't think that I'm concerned about auto anything."</i><P>

You'll have auto-NOTHING. No exposure metering in any mode, no autoexposure modes, and of course no autofocusing. Strictly manual in M mode only. And manually focusing a slow long telephoto on a focusing screen not optimized for such might be a bigger challenge than you think. But if you want to spend $37 plus shipping, I suppose you have nothing but that to lose.

[lex_jenkins]

"...I expect most shots would be at infinity anyway."

 

Unfortunately that's what limits most non-Nikon mount lenses on Nikon bodies. Any non-optical adapter will limit use to the near focus range.

[tri-x1]

Shot with a D300 and Soligor f2.8 28mm lens in Pentax mount with Nikon adapter with compensating lens. Of course this wasn't shot at infinity and the WA lens was tough to focus with the digital viewfinder. But you can shoot with Pentax mount lenses after a fashion.<div></div>

[lester_hawksby1]

Hang on a moment guys. If the lens had a built in Pentax mount it would certainly need one of those irritating lensed adaptors which are never quite satisfactory. However, from the sound of the original poster's description, it might well be a lens with a generic kind of screw mount which then has a Pentax converter screwed on it. Quite a lot of old third-party long lenses work this way. If this is true, is almost certainly possible to replace the (glassless) Pentax adaptor with a (glassless) Nikon adaptor and use the lens on a d60 in fully manual mode, still being able to reach infinity focus. A glassless adaptor would, of course, save money and not degrade quality.

 

However, the hard part will be finding exactly what adaptor part is needed. Google suggests the existence of a Quantaray 400mm T-mount but I have no idea if there are other possibilities.

 

I have an old mirror lens which is just like this - an Optomax (never heard of them elsewhere) - the mount is not M42 screw although it looks very much like it - it is 42mm diameter but the pitch is smaller. T-mount. Anyway, the chances are high that this Quantaray works on something very similar. Bert, when you remove the Pentax adaptor, is what's inside a 42mmx0.75mm screw thread? If so, you probably only need a T-mount-to-Nikon adaptor which should cost about $10 or $15.

[peter_petrov1]

If this is a screw-mount lens, you can try a simple glassless adapter. I think you will loose infinity focus with it.

 

Alternatively, it can be possible to remove the screw-mount part at the back of the lens and replace it with a

dedicated Nikon mount. The latter can be manually produced by an experienced turner, you can try to find one.

This way you will have infinity focus.

 

HTH,

Peter

[bert_smith1]

I was turned on to this site my my brother in law, and it's great. Although I do seem to be spending way too muck time reading posts. Eventhough he and his dad both went for Pentax DSLR's, they're still OK.

 

I didn't explain very clearly. Yes, I was thinking I wold skip the Pentax adapter, trying to find one to mount the Quantaray directly to the Nikon with an appropriate adapter. The Quantaray has screw threads. As best I can measure, they are 42mm. Unfortunately, there are no marking on either the Quantaray nor the adapter for the thread size.

 

So is the T to Nikon adapter what I'd need? Be best if I can find one at a store to try rather than buying it online and finding out the threads are weird.

[lester_hawksby1]

The measurement is very helpful, thanks. There are only two commonly found 42mm screw threads in this sort of

photographic equipment - 42x1mm (Pentax screw mount) and 42x0.75mm (T-mount). Unfortunately, both can be adapted

to Pentax bayonet, whereas only the T-mount can be adapted to Nikon bayonet - so this is not in itself absolutely

conclusive. If the adaptor is very thin, though, it is likely to be Pentax-screw-to-bayonet; if it is relatively

thick it is probably T-mount. (The T mount is not only a different thread, but it is designed to hold the lens a

different distance from the film - my T adaptor has a little over 8mm between the Nikon and screw faces)

 

So if the adaptor part is skinny like this

http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/pentax-adapter.htm

(it will have a 1mm thread)

then it's a Pentax screw to Pentax bayonet adaptor and I'm afraid you're out of luck, whereas

 

If the adaptor part is bulky like this

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1002292

(it will have a finer, 0.75mm thread)

then it's a T-mount to Pentax bayonet adaptor and you can easily buy a T-mount to Nikon bayonet adaptor to

replace it.

 

(I hasten to add I am making no recommendation of either seller or part, and in fact the second one seems rather

overpriced to me)

 

It should be possible to measure the screw thread with a ruler to discern between the two. I just tried that on

my T-mount lens and on a 42mm screw and it's pretty easy to tell - look sideways on against the light so the

thread is silhouetted like a range of mountains, then hold a ruler against it - do four peaks and their

associated troughs fill 4mm or 3mm? (I tried to take a photo of this but I haven't enough hands!)

 

(I'm really pretty convinced it's a T-mount, as Quantaray 400mm in T-mount seems relatively well known and well

thought of...)

[aether]

"42x1mm (Pentax screw mount)" is an M42 mount and can be used on Nikon F mount with adapter ~ of course you have to use the adapter with glass element as other posters have mentioned and this will have some degrading effect on the image but D60, Quantaray, I don't think you're looking for prize-winning images? just looking to have fun with an old favoured lens, right? I use loads of M42 lenses on my D200 and enjoy using them, I don't care if they won't win prizes ;-) Mamiya 645 lenses can be used with a glassless adapter on Nikons and produce excellent images ...

[bert_smith1]

Here's a photo of the lens. Measuring the threads looked like 4mm. But too difficult to say for sure that it's 4 rather than 3.<div></div>

[bert_smith1]

Here's the adapter.

[lester_hawksby1]

That's a T-mount adaptor, I'm sure of it. It is far too thick to be Pentax Screw to Pentax K. In fact, it looks *exactly* like my T-mount adaptor (except it says Pentax).

 

So, looks like you're in luck - no expensive glass adaptors or custom machining needed.

 

Strange about the screw threads, but then it can be hard to tell. At this point, the chances of it *not* being T-mount seem extremely low to me.

 

Let us know how you get on!

[zachery_darnell]

<p>I just want to say thank you to all the posters in this thread. I was trying to do the same thing with the same lens and this thread helped so much. So thank you.</p>