Zenit automat

[Gero Giambrone]

For a few days now, as the happy owner of a 1990 Zenit Automat in excellent condition (well, its Helios is a patch of meadow mushrooms, but dismantling it and cleaning the lenses is done in a few minutes, while the exposure meter is being calibrated...), I have been asking myself, and I ask those who are much more knowledgeable than me: which Soviet lenses were produced with a Pentax mount?

 

[loccdor]

If you get an M42 to Pentax-K mount you increase your range of options a lot. For example I have a Jupiter-9 85mm f/2 in the M42 mount. I'm not sure if many Soviet lenses at all came in Pentax K.

 

[Gero Giambrone]

Thank you so much. I have many Soviet M42 lenses and I knew from reading the manual about the M42 to K-Pentax adapter ring, but I don't know where to find it and, I fear, the possibility of full aperture measurement would be lost.

 

[loccdor]

You're right. I wouldn't use an M42 adapter for it besides the one designed specifically for the camera. This camera does not closely follow the K standard.

About that M42 adapter:
The M42 adapter that shipped with the camera is pretty clever. When attached to a screw-mount lens, the combination may be mounted the same as a K-mount lens with the interesting feature that the adapter is retained by the regular lens retention pin rather than the complicated system of small metal stops/springs used by Pentax. The flip side is that the mount itself lacks the usual adapter retention mechanism. Unfortunately, the special M42 adapter is hard to find, so hard to find that a good photo does not appear to exist on the Web.

Strong Caution!!
As noted above, while the lenses made for the Automat are broadly compatible to other K-mount cameras, the mount on the Automat itself is NOT standard K-mount and may not play well with other than those Soviet lenses and accessories. The summary points regarding compatibility are:

• Standard non-flanged M42 adapters should not be used on the Automat. The mount lacks the standard stop/retention parts and the adapter may over-rotate in the mount and get stuck
• The cutout on the lower part of the mount face (used by the dedicated M42 adapter) has potential to foul or damage the contacts on KA and newer series lenses
• The retaining pin on the mount may not engage with some lenses due to slot designs that are less generous than those on Soviet/Russian K-mount lenses

The strong implication is that even a well-preserved and working Zenit Automat may not be a safe toy to use with one's normal "quiver" of K-mount lenses. Again, the mount on the Automat is not a standard K-mount

Zenit Automat - Third-Party Manual Focus Film SLRs - Pentax Camera Reviews and Specifications

Zenit Automat camera reviews and specifications. The Zenit Automat was the first Soviet camera to use the Pentax K-mount and in many ways was a significant step away from previous Zenit SLR designs.

www.pentaxforums.com

 

[Gero Giambrone]

Thank you very much. I've seen that non-Soviet adapter rings are dangerous for the camera and lenses, and you can't even find images of the Soviet ones. Soviet lenses with a K mount are very few, and almost only 50mm. Do you know which Western lenses with a Pentax mount (Pentax, Cosina, Tamron, Soligor, etc.) can be mounted on the Zenith Automat without problems, from your direct experience?

 

[4season]

In the first edition of The Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras, Jean Loup Princelle notes the following K-mount lenses, but does not mention whether most are compatible with a specific camera body. And I imagine that some are quite rare!

16/2.8 Zenitar-K c.1989
20/2.8 Mir-47K
20/2.8 Mir-64K c.1990
28/2.8 Mir-61K c.1986
35/1.4 Mir-46MK c.1982
50/1.4 Zenit AR-K c.1985-1992
58/2 Helios-44K c.1987 (Zenit 14)
58/2 Helios-44K c.1985
85/1.4 Zenitar 1-Kc.1986 not mass produced
135/3.5 Jupiter-37K c.1986
135/2.8 A MC Apo-Telezenitar c.1986-1990
135/1.8 MC Fodis-K c.1985
300/4.5 MC Telezenitar-K c.1985
300/4.5 MC-Apo Telezenitar c.1988
35-100/2.8 Variozenitar-K c.1985
35-70/2.8-3.5 Variozenitar-K c.1991
200-500/5.6 Granit-16K c.1986

And IIRC, the Belomo-made 8 mm Peleng circular fisheye lens was available in K-mount, and so were some "Lomography x Zenit" lenses.

Almost forgot: 50/2 MC Zenitar-K2s "plastic bullet" sold with Zenit 122K and other post-USSR cameras

 

[loccdor]

Do you know which Western lenses with a Pentax mount (Pentax, Cosina, Tamron, Soligor, etc.) can be mounted on the Zenith Automat without problems, from your direct experience?

I don't know - if it were me I'd purchase a cheap off-brand 28mm or something to see if it mounts correctly. You could always sell it or use it on a different camera. These cameras don't seem to have been very popular so there isn't tons of information around.