M42 lenses

[kaliuzhkin]

<p>What is an M42 lens? Is it at all relevant to my Nikon cameras: F, F3HP, D300, D1?</p>

[Miha]

<p>Hi,<br>

please read this: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M42_lens_mount">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M42_lens_mount</a><br>

or this: <a href="http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/42mm_screw_lenses">http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/42mm_screw_lenses</a><br>

or this: <a href="http://lewiscollard.com/lenses/m42-dslr-compatibility/">http://lewiscollard.com/lenses/m42-dslr-compatibility/</a><br>

or this: <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/M42-Lens-Aperture-Control-on-Modern-DSLRs/">http://www.instructables.com/id/M42-Lens-Aperture-Control-on-Modern-DSLRs/</a><br>

or even google 'M42 lens' just as I did.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Thanks Miha. Those screw-mount lenses were popular in the "stone age." Some were still available, new, in the early 1970's when I was a kid starting to photograph.</p>

<p>Since those screw mount lenses cannot be adapted to Nikon (D)SLRs and focus to infinity, unless you use an adapter with optics, i.e. effectively teleconverters, they are not very useful for Nikon bodies.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>M42 was a screwmount used beginning in the early 1960s (maybe earlier) and often known as Pentax mount since it was used on early Pentax SLRs. It was widely used on other brands and was probably the most popular mount up until some point in the early 70s. Around that time most brands switched to various bayonet mounts.<br /><br />Nikon has had a bayonet mount since the original Nikon F SLR came out in 1959 and never used M42. For all practial purposes, it is irrelevant to Nikon cameras.</p>

[Miha]

<p>Hi,<br>

@Shun: You're correct, this were the lenses of my youth too - I just don't think it was 'stone age' - may be copper age ;-).<br>

But to be seriously: some of the Soviet made (and even later some Russian made) lenses, known to have a M42 mount are actually fitted with the outer part of a (universal) T2 adapter with the M42 thread. So if you remove three grub screws on the mount, you can remove the mount. Then you have to remove the three grub screws on the T2-Nikon mount to separate both parts of the T2 adapter. Now you can fit the outer part of the T2 adapter with the Nikon bayonet directly on the lens and fix it with the three grub screws you previously removed. You can then put the lens directly on your Nikon camera. No need for additional (adapting) lens to magnify the focal length. Even the infinity focusing is possible. I made it on my Tair 300 mm lens - it is functioning as a normal Manual focus T2 lens with a preset aperture. The same adaptation can be made with (almost all) mirror lenses (MTO, Rubinar, etc) to be used for astrophotography.<br>

Whether those adaptations make any sense, is another question. I made some modifications and adaptations with Soviet and East German lenses just for fun - to see how these lenses function and to learn how they were made. But for practical photography it is much wiser to buy an used Af lens with Nikon mount if you want a cheap lens - unless there are no such lenses available.<br>

To see if the lens(es) the OP had in mind, I would need a photo of the mount.<br>

Hope my experiences help someone.<br>

Regards, Miha.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>For the record, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M42_lens_mount">M42x1 mount</a> was first introduced soon after WWII on the first (don't quibble) eye-level SLR, the Contax S (which later became the Pentacon for reasons not required here). It was adopted by KW for the Praktica series of SLRs and that was carried over into the Japanese derivations such as the early Asahi Pentaxes. It was, aside from Exakta-mount, the "universal mount" that people have tried to get back to ever since.<br /> The original Leica mount (LTM) was M39 and the pre-war Praktiflexes were M40, so screw mounts were the going thing.</p>

<p>I would guess that there are more than a thousand different lenses available in the M42 mount, and (aside from lens coatings improvements) many of them are essentially the same as many modern AF lenses in design and quality.</p>

[jcuknz]

<p>The lens may be old but I still have a couple which with an adaptor can be used on ILCs but with the proviso that if Nikon made their camera with a greater lensmount to sensor distance you cannot focus to infinity<br>

My briief search didn't get me an answer as the site I used to use will not let me in any more :-( but Wikipedia has a couple of pages on the subject of interest to you ... now I'm with MFT just about any lens will work for me so one of my first purchases was a MFT-M43 adaptor. I have various gear from my film pentax days.<br>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_mount<br>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F-mount</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>I used these occasionally when I shot Canon, but I also had an EOS adapter for just about anything that M42 wouldn't fit. I wound up shooting regular Canon lenses in spite of all that capability for shooting other brands. Frankly, I missed auto-focus.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[kaliuzhkin]

<p>Thanks for all this information! M42 lenses made their appearance is searches for 50mm lenses, especially Russian lenses. The difference between $50 and $100 is significant to me. Now I know to just ignore M42s.<br>

Danek Kaliuzhkin</p>

[kaliuzhkin]

<p>Here is an example of a lens listing that confuses me. http://www.ebay.com/itm/272242546326?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2661&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT<br>

The listing includes, "Helios-81H 2/50 - standard lens for SLR cameras Kiev with an aspect ratio of 24x36 mm (Lens Mount Nikon F) on the M42 thread." Is it usable on a Nikon F or F3? Unfortunately, the listing doesn't include a picture of the lens' rear end.</p>

<p>Danek</p>

[Tony Parsons]

<p>Hi, Danek,<br /> Just had a look at that listing - in the eleventh and twelfth images, you can see enough of the back of the lens to discern the lugs for a bayonet mount, so it is definitely not M42. Whether it is a Nikon fit I cannot tell, I'm afraid, but I have a dim recollection of some Russian cameras (or is that kameras !?) using a Nikon F mount. The listing appears to indicate that this lens is available in both Nikon F and M42 mounts, not one mount which fits both camera systems.<br /> You may be able to find more info on this site :<br /> http://www.destoutz.ch/nikon_f_lenses.html<br /> if not, there is some pretty tasty eye-candy there !<br /> Tony</p>

[jcuknz]

<p>OOPs Sorry obviously I meant 42 and not 43 mm :-(</p>