Best m42 camera?

[Lucius]

I once owned a Zenit 12, which weighed around 640 grams. You can find cameras heavier and lighter. There are different models, I believe the 12XP was the latest and had LED viewfinder lights vs the earlier match needle. All are TTL metering.

Viewfinder coverage is small, maybe around 60%, but it's a such a nice camera in your hands. Get one w/ a Helois 44 lens and you will have image quality as good or better than almost anything made at the time, or since. I never had any pics that were bad due to the small viewfinder coverage because nearly always my subject is right in the center of the photo. Anything unwanted can be easily cropped, but that never came up. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

The best bet is to buy one and send it out for a CLA, or buy one that has been serviced. Mine made killer photos, that Helios lens is amazing. It has just the right amount of softness wide open for portraits, and 3D sharpness when stopped down a little.

Nice pics! I do actually have a Zenit TTL with a preset Helios 44: both seemed virtually unused when I bought them (more or less accidentally), and apparently in perfect working order (shutter seems smooth, light meter accurate). I've shot the Helios with a Chinon (not sure I appreciated the swirly bokeh, but I do like its like greater focal length). What stopped me from using the camera was its dim viewfinder, and the ugly bulky ever-ready case it came in - but I should give it a try.

 

[Lucius]

I have heard the Spotmatics don't depend on voltage because of the type of bridge they use, so you may be fine. I will have to try some vinegar. Some of my Spotmatics respond, but got the wrong direction, some just don't respond. I am fine with hand held meters also.

Apparently (or so I read) it's only Spotmatics F that are believed to be insensitive to voltage (though in the most detailed online discussion on the topic I ever saw, somehow no-one actually tried testing the same camera with different types of battery), whereas the earlier models are supposed to require 1.3v. batteries.

Do try some vinegar (just a a couple of drops on a cotton bud) - I was really surprised that it actually works most of the time. If the meter responds in the wrong direction, it may be just that the battery sits upside down: at least some types of circuits behave like this, rather than completely not working, when + and - are put the wrong way.

 

[Lucius]

My MTL5 is rougher winding than the LTL3. The LTL3 is actually really smooth. I suspect it could be just the specific examples, or it may be due to small design changes over the years. I kind of like the cammed winding of the Prakticas (as well as the idea of the vertical travellling metal shutter).

The metal shutter is a strong point, and it's pretty light too, but between my Spotmatics, Fujicas and Chinons, I just never had an urge to reach for a Praktica. Maybe one day...

 

[Ian Grant]

Like others the Spotmatic F. My first M42 camera was a Zenit E and 58mm f2 Helios, I wore it out quickly, but I did have my first newspaper front page photo with it, also my first magazine front cover. I replaced it with a Prakticamat and Pancolar lens but had exposure issues, it turned out the lens aperture never stopped down consistently, so a brief spell with an Edixa before finally getting the Spotmatic F for my 21st birthday.

What a difference the Spotmatic F opened doors, I used it commercially alongside a pair of S1a's, but sold them early 1980s as I needed faster changing bayonet mount cameras for work (shooting rock band live).

Now I'm back with a Spotmatic F and an SPII and an SP500, also an SV, I've almost got the kit I always lusted after back in the 1960s when a school friend was using his father's Pentax cased outfit. But I don't have the same directions it was more a case of seeing a well planned outfit.

Ian

 

[Les Sarile]

Second, I want a built-in light meter: I don’t trust myself to rely on the sunny 16 rule, and I find it too fiddly to use an external meter.

I would like to address your second point about metering.
I've found that if I am shooting during daylight hours using most all color negatives or b&w film that I don't even need a meter due to the excessively wide latitude of these films particularly on the overexposure side. Below shows what I mean using Kodak Portra 400 and Ektar 100 compared to the digis I had at the time I conducted the test. As you can see - even using RAW, the digis are unusable about +4 while Portra at +10 is completely usable with modest post work using WB and levels.

Kodak Portra 400 overexposure by Les DMess, on Flickr

Not only does this give you much looser metering options but also some artistic latitude. For instance I came upon this scene and my meter recommended 1/60 speed but the the waterflow was so light I needed at least 2 seconds in order to get the smoothness I wanted. Knowing Fuji 100 had latitude for this much overexposure I was confident in taking the shot.

Fuji 100-26-26B by Les DMess, on Flickr

May be this gives you more freedom in your acquisition and use?

These are some of my M42 lens mount cameras . . .

Selection 75 by Les DMess, on Flickr

And I do use the M42 to K mount adapter making the Pentax MX probably the smallest fisheye combination . . .

Pentax MX in chrome and black by Les DMess, on Flickr

 

[Paul Howell]

I have heard the Spotmatics don't depend on voltage because of the type of bridge they use, so you may be fine. I will have to try some vinegar. Some of my Spotmatics respond, but got the wrong direction, some just don't respond. I am fine with hand held meters also.

Yeah , you just a battery that fits the compartment. I forget I what I use, something I picked up at the hardware store.

 

[tom43]

I love M42 cameras…

All M42 cameras beside the Bessaflex TM have some flaws. But it has a much higher price and will become more a collectors item…with some Zeiss ZS M42 lenses this is really an expensive alternative but then in competition with a FM3A or R6.2.

Having less costly alternatives in mind I would recommend the MTL50 or the Spotmatic SPII. The Pentax has much better quality and the better viewfinder (but not perfect), but the light meter usage is irritating. The MTL50 has very good ergonomics, LED light meter (in contrast to MTL5 and MTL3), but quite a dark viewfinder and a strong mirror slap. But you will not be wrong with both…

 

[Lucius]

I've found that if I am shooting during daylight hours using most all color negatives or b&w film that I don't even need a meter due to the excessively wide latitude of these films particularly on the overexposure side. Below shows what I mean using Kodak Portra 400 and Ektar 100 compared to the digis I had at the time I conducted the test. As you can see - even using RAW, the digis are unusable about +4 while Portra at +10 is completely usable with modest post work using WB and levels.

Thanks, that's really helpful! I didn't realise Portra was so forgiving - I figured it was a 'professional' emulsion, hence with less tolerance. Most of my cameras have meters that overexpose by 1 to 3 stops, which I compensate for with the ISO setting. I guess I should try compensating less. I also tend to shoot expired film, and had recently a couple of rolls come back badly underexposed, not sure if that was because I overcompensated or just the emulsion lost too much sensitivity...

I'm interested in Ricoh TLS 401: it seems to be on the heavy side (like Chinon CS?), but I can think of occasions when its viewfinder might be useful. Can you recommend it?

 

[Lucius]

I love M42 cameras…

All M42 cameras beside the Bessaflex TM have some flaws. But it has a much higher price and will become more a collectors item…with some Zeiss ZS M42 lenses this is really an expensive alternative but then in competition with a FM3A or R6.2.

Having less costly alternatives in mind I would recommend the MTL50 or the Spotmatic SPII. The Pentax has much better quality and the better viewfinder (but not perfect), but the light meter usage is irritating. The MTL50 has very good ergonomics, LED light meter (in contrast to MTL5 and MTL3), but quite a dark viewfinder and a strong mirror slap. But you will not be wrong with both…

Even Bessaflex isn't perfect (from what I've read)! Apparently it has some compatibility issues, the mirror hitting certain lenses.

Is MTL50 any different from MTL5 and MTL3, other than the LED readout? I have the latter two, but don't feel particularly warm towards them...

 

[Paul Howell]

I had the Ricoh 401, well built, the waist level finder, I found it rather dim, don't recall that I ever used it. I much preferred my Spotmatic or newer Chinon. Not mentioned much is the Vivitar Xc 2 and 4, made by Cosina, the Xc2 has both average and spot metering.

Vivitar XC-2 - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

 

[jtk]

Have you played with and carefully studied (on good light box) fractional brackets (quarter/half/whatever stop) ?

Given that you do scan (you've shown us that), are you also willing to use a little PS ?

 

[Bill Burk]

I’m bragging, but this is the best M42 kit on earth right now.

What makes the camera great is its recent complete overhaul and calibration. It’s the only 100% restored body I have right now. I bought a half dozen or so with the idea that I would fix them and get them out there. I spent a lot of time on a learning curve and I didn’t want it to just be so I could fix my own camera… but that’s where I am now.

 

[BobD]

Vivitar made an adapter for its TX interchangeable mount lenses for the Fuji ST-series cameras that includes a meter coupling tab for open aperture metering.

 

[Les Sarile]

Thanks, that's really helpful! I didn't realise Portra was so forgiving - I figured it was a 'professional' emulsion, hence with less tolerance. Most of my cameras have meters that overexpose by 1 to 3 stops, which I compensate for with the ISO setting. I guess I should try compensating less. I also tend to shoot expired film, and had recently a couple of rolls come back badly underexposed, not sure if that was because I overcompensated or just the emulsion lost too much sensitivity...

I'm interested in Ricoh TLS 401: it seems to be on the heavy side (like Chinon CS?), but I can think of occasions when its viewfinder might be useful. Can you recommend it?

I believe badly underexposed negatives must be meter related. Generally, shutter speeds on manual cameras tend to get slower and not faster and minilab scans tend to overexpose so this combination should result in lighter images.

I don't know how expired your films are but I picked up a box of Kodak Ektar 125 that's been sitting out in a hot Atlanta, Georgia open driveway for almost 20 years and shot an initial roll to see what the current speed was.

Kodak Ektar 125 box by Les DMess, on Flickr

Kodak Ektar 125-1_03 by Les DMess, on Flickr

From my results, I figure it was down to ISO64 - ISO32. Depending on how old and how it was kept, the film's speed could definitely have shifted some.

Contrast this to an almost 20 year expired Kodak Royal Gold 25 that was refrigerated that still seems perfectly good.

Kodak Royal Gold 25 by Les DMess, on Flickr

I don't know what the CS weighs but the TLS401 is heavy at 787g compared to the Spotmatic F at 639g. I have tried the top viewer and you will have to put your eye closer and it does crop a bit all the way around the frame compared to the eyelevel view.

Ricoh TLS401B by Les DMess, on Flickr

You might be better served with an adapter like the OM Varimagni Finder if it fits your camera. I've found it to fit quite a few of my cameras of various brands/models.

OM Varimagni Finder by Les DMess, on Flickr

 

[Joel_L]

I have been fond of my Mamiya 1000 DTL for many years. The spot and average metering work really well, I'm still impressed with what it is considering it's age. I was young guy in the 60s when my dad had it, remember using it back then.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

I’m bragging, but this is the best M42 kit on earth right now.

What makes the camera great is its recent complete overhaul and calibration. It’s the only 100% restored body I have right now. I bought a half dozen or so with the idea that I would fix them and get them out there. I spent a lot of time on a learning curve and I didn’t want it to just be so I could fix my own camera… but that’s where I am now.

How is your ES II working out for you? I occasionally consider buying one but have not acted yet. Is the viewfinder brighter than the original Spotmatic?

 

[Bill Burk]

How is your ES II working out for you? I occasionally consider buying one but have not acted yet. Is the viewfinder brighter than the original Spotmatic?

This one’s perfect, but all the ES-II I bought have a cracked shutter switch. They always need foam replacement especially around the prism. Viewfinder is identical to Spotmatics. One had really bad CdS cells. They typically are ok mechanically except the mirror charge lever tends to stick. Might be weak second curtain spring but I usually tend to the latch for temporary success. Actually once in a while the mirror fails to return. So even this one could be better.

 

[Lucius]

I’m bragging, but this is the best M42 kit on earth right now.

What makes the camera great is its recent complete overhaul and calibration. It’s the only 100% restored body I have right now. I bought a half dozen or so with the idea that I would fix them and get them out there. I spent a lot of time on a learning curve and I didn’t want it to just be so I could fix my own camera… but that’s where I am now.

Nice! I tried to take off the top plate on a Spotmatic to replace its broken focussing screen, but couldn't unscrew one of the pieces, and what's worse, I pushed the rewind shaft in (after unscrewing its nob), so can't open the film compartment any more...

 

[Lucius]

Vivitar made an adapter for its TX interchangeable mount lenses for the Fuji ST-series cameras that includes a meter coupling tab for open aperture metering.

And another for Spotmatics F and ES? Tamron Adaptall has these too, as well as one for the Mamiya SX version of the m42 mount.

 

[Lucius]

I believe badly underexposed negatives must be meter related. Generally, shutter speeds on manual cameras tend to get slower and not faster and minilab scans tend to overexpose so this combination should result in lighter images.

I don't know how expired your films are but I picked up a box of Kodak Ektar 125 that's been sitting out in a hot Atlanta, Georgia open driveway for almost 20 years and shot an initial roll to see what the current speed was.

...

I don't know what the CS weighs but the TLS401 is heavy at 787g compared to the Spotmatic F at 639g. I have tried the top viewer and you will have to put your eye closer and it does crop a bit all the way around the frame compared to the eyelevel view.

You might be better served with an adapter like the OM Varimagni Finder if it fits your camera. I've found it to fit quite a few of my cameras of various brands/models.

I guess it must be a combination of me overcompensating for the meter and underrating film degradation. One was ORWO 27, some 30 years old, which I rated at ISO 160, but probably that was too optimistic. The other was Ilford XP2, which was just past its expiration date, so I shot it at its nominal ISO 400. I guess I need to try again with a more reliable camera.

I also have a 100ft spool of Konica VX 400, some 25 years old - I shot one roll, and it came completely black, or rather dark grey (including the perforated sides). The lab swear they didn't mess it up, so it must be an extreme case of degradation.

Thanks for the tip - an angle viewfinder probably does make better sense than getting another camera just for the purpose. Is the Olympus one better than others, or just any would do (there seem to be similar finders from Pentax, Mamiya and Yashica around)?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I had a Fujica in the 1970s, it was a very nice camera. I use mostly Fuji optics on my large format cameras these days.

I suggest that by nowM42 cameras are hopelessly outdated. Some are are a bargain (Praktika) but most are low-tech bricks. In today's market You are much better off with a 2nd-hand name-brand prosumer camera such as Nikon, Olympus just to name a couple. Forget M42 and move on!

 

[Neil Grant]

...maybe the best reason for 'doing' the m42 thing is the the acces to vintage lenses with their unique/quirky rendering. Manual or preset diaphragms are commonplace - making for slow operation. It's just part of a more primitive imaging and recording system. For my part, I have a pair of Chinon cameras. The oldest, a foundling, is an all mechanical M1. Meter unworking. Functional but unlovable. The newer one is a CE 'tron. I think Chinon made some real effort with this one: aperture priority (stop down Silicon cell meter), 1/2000 top 'speed' and a film transport that feels as though it's on rollers. More functional than the M1, but not the glamour nor useability of a contemporary Nikon FE, FM or an Olympus OM.

 

[jtk]

I suggest that by nowM42 cameras are hopelessly outdated. Some are are a bargain (Praktika) but most are low-tech bricks. In today's market You are much better off with a 2nd-hand name-brand prosumer camera such as Nikon, Olympus just to name a couple. Forget M42 and move on!

Ralph, there's apparently a typo in your domain name.

 

[Lucius]

I suggest that by nowM42 cameras are hopelessly outdated. Some are are a bargain (Praktika) but most are low-tech bricks. In today's market You are much better off with a 2nd-hand name-brand prosumer camera such as Nikon, Olympus just to name a couple. Forget M42 and move on!

That's a valid point, but I'm too invested in m42 already and learning it the hard way. On the other hand, my mode of shooting is pretty basic, point-and-shoot more or less, so specs-wise I'm fairly happy with the better ones of the m42 cameras. One weak point of these is compatibility - they are designed to be used with dedicated lenses, but other systems clearly don't solve the issue. Reliability and general quality may be another, but will a Nikon or an Olympus will always be radically more dependable than a Spotmatic?

 

[Lucius]

I had the Ricoh 401, well built, the waist level finder, I found it rather dim, don't recall that I ever used it. I much preferred my Spotmatic or newer Chinon. Not mentioned much is the Vivitar Xc 2 and 4, made by Cosina, the Xc2 has both average and spot metering.

Vivitar XC-2 - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

Thanks, yes, the Vivitars XC-2 to 4 seem to be based on Cosina CSR/CSM - will keep eye out.