bits and pieces

[wayne naughton]

just got hold of a minolta to M42 screwmount adapter. anyone use one? what lenses can i use? what functions will be available?

also got a couple of minolta brand close up filters (0 and 1) what sort of picture quality will i get out of these?

Jeff, i managed to find a voigtlander on camera meter (the old selenium cell) it's in next to mint condition and i guess if i check it against my most accurate camera meter (the 8000i, i guess) it should do the job....grin

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Wayne;

An M-42 lens to Minolta SR/MC/MD body adapter and an M-42 lens to Minolta AF, "A" mount, or Maxxum body adapter are on the way to me. I will be experimenting also. Let's see what happens.

The Minolta screw-in close up lenses are pretty good. I use the "0" with longer lenses, and the "1" and "2" with 50 mm to 100 mm lenses. For photographs of flowers and things where you need a light weight system, they are pretty good.

If I am serious about photographing small parts and other things where the geometry and resolution are important, I will use either the 50 mm f 3.5 Macro or the 100 mm f 4 Auto Bellows. Sometimes the choice depends on the desired magnification. I prefer the Auto Bellows III with the tilt/shift movement capability. The tilt/shift capability really helps in putting the depth of field where you need it. I have extension tubes, but I have not yet used them.

End of Part One of Two Parts.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Part Two of Two Parts.

The main point I have found in closeup work is to use a tripod or something to hold everything still, and I use a three piece hinged flat white reflector sheet to keep the wind off and reflect more diffused light on the subject when I am outdoors.

Sorry that I cannot give you a numeric value for an assessment of picture quality from the screw-in close up lenses. Try them and see how you like the results. As mentioned, they are fine for many subjects, but there are times when you might feel that you need a little more equipment to get the result you want.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins, who does not like that 1000 character limit to a message.

 

[wayne naughton]

not really serious wioth macro...i have 50mm f2.8 macro, 100mm f2.8 macro and 70-210 f4 macro and some tubes all af which gets me out of most situations and i haven't really got anything manual wise. i too loath this new setup

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

I have a Leica thread mount adapter for the Minolta. Is that the M42? It allows me to use the the Super Rokkor LTM lenses on my SR bodies, but only in macro. Not very useful, actually - since it's just as easy to use them on my Minolta 35 Model II and there I'm not limited in distance.

Now that I've typed this I'm pretty sure that the M42 is a different adapter - maybe for Pentax thread mounts?

Glad to hear about the "real" Voightlander meter, Wayne! Probably much cooler than my retro looking Cosina made one.

Jeff

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

Hello,

Don't let Wayne fool you.

He is a master of macro work. One of the best flower shooters I know. He's got more publishable shots lying around than I have taken of flowers (good and bad, combined) in my entire 25+ years of shooting.

He's also a master bird photography, of the highest order.

Sorry to bust you out, Wayne.

Jeff M

 

[wayne naughton]

(BIG BLUSH)...i think you might be due for a holiday, Jeff....funny, i just put a jimmy dale gilmore cd on the player before i found your message..... playing One day at a time track right now...how's that for karma....grin. you're right M42 adapter is for pentax screwmounts...now i'll be able to get radioactive like Dave....chuckle

 

[wayne naughton]

i'm wrapped finding that meter and i'm not worried that it's of the old variety...at least that's one less battery to worry about...and it'll bring a couple of meterless cameras that i have into 'play' a bit more often.....the autocord for starters

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Chaplain Jeff and Wayne;

Yes, with friends, who can keep a secret?

Also, yes, the Leica Thread Mount (LTM) is sometimes also called the M39 mount. That designation of 39 mm does distinguish it from the M42 or Pentacon/Practika/Pentax 42 mm diameter thread mount, frequently called the "Universal Thread Mount" bacause of its popularity. Then there is the 39 mm diameter mount used for enlarging lenses and large format. Usually it will be the same as the LTM, but there are some exceptions and variations in the thread pitch.

My old reliable meter, the Weston Master II, is still going, but the Master V needs to go to Quality Light Metric.

Debby has also pointed out that some of her crocuses and snowdrops are coming up, and she wants some photographs of them. Time to get out the short tripod and the folding white reflector again.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[wayne naughton]

Ralph, i've been keen to get a hold of a spotmatic and a set of those old takumar screwthreads for a long, long time mainly because imo that old pentax gear provides some of the finest portraiture kit in 35mm. anyway i reckon i'd bankrupt myself with a M39 mount....grin if anyone could provide me with a website or list for desirable M42 mount lenses, that would be appreciated

wayne

 

[wayne naughton]

i think minolta people are most probably the nicest, friendliest people you can find on these photowebsites and i've got to know quite a few of them over the years....chuckle

 

[Ralph Javins]

Hello, Wayne;

While there is an Asahi-Pentax somewhere in the house, I admit that I have never used it. It is Debby's camera, and she inherited it. She did use it many years ago, but I cannot label her "an avid photographer." So, I am not able to provide any direct knowledge.

However, there are other groups who specialize in the Exacta/Practika/Pentacon/Pentax/(et cetera) M42 x 1.0 mount system cameras, Pentax being probably the largest. I think there is a Pentax group here on APUG. Those guys can probably give you a detailed and extensive list for recommended lenses. I do know that there are still people who will insist that the screw-mount Takumar lenses are superior to anything else out there. Their recommendations are based on factors other than just lens resolution. They also refer to the "color" of a lens and other contributing effects on the image that appears on the film. Not everyone in the world is "wishy-washy."

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[wayne naughton]

i guess it's a case of the more you look, the more you'll find...grin. you know, i wonder whether the current lens technology is that much better than stuff put out in the 50's and 60's. the mechanics might have been improved, but i wonder whether the actual optics have progressed a great deal......

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Wayne;

Has lens technology improved over what we had available to us in the 1950's and 1960's? Yes, the "technology" has, mainy due to the use of computers in the middle 1960's to perform all of the calculations and variations in results in the optical formulas as we slowly change various parameters to see what result we get. The physics has become easier. Computers have helped there.

The physics is only one part. There are other "qualities" that go into the design of a lens that are more an art. People still speak of the "color" and the "warmth" of lenses, especially the Takumar lenses. This seems to come from choice of the design of the diaphragm, the allowed curvature of field, the choice of coatings, and many other factors. The Pentax people may still have something there.

End of Part One of Two Parts

 

[Ralph Javins]

Part Two of Two Parts

Have we made progress? Yes, but not in all of the ways. If we look at hurricane forecasting, our record today is just now beginning to surpass what Grady Norton was doing back in the 1940's and 1950's. He just seemed to have a "feeling" for what a storm was going to do. Lens design still may be a bit like that.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[wayne naughton]

i think the desirability of the takumars might have something to do with the coatings. pity they were so toxic. and if you look at the current sony lens catalogue, i don't think the basic primes have changed much in 60 years

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Wayne;

Yes, I have also looked at the current Sony lens catalog. (Boy, what a change. We have come a long way from the Trinitron.) Just the physical form of the catalog is impressive. There is one by Canon that is equally impressive. Right in there with the ones published by Leitz/Leica.

Anyway, yes, the prime lens technology is quite mature. The impressive advances have been in the zoom lenses. Now they are able to get performance very similar to prime lenses in the lens resolution. At least, with a good zoom, it is getting hard to tell by looking at the negative that it was not taken with a prime focal length lens. Again, a lot of this is the result of being able to alter a parameter and crunch the numbers in an optical formula on a computer to see what you get. Like so many things today, it seems that you need to be a good computer tech with a flair for mechanics, or optics, or microwave radio, or . . .

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[Terry Again]

Hi Ralph and Wayne, Could I have the details on your buys? Like where did you guys find them and how much did they cost,are they for what mount,MC,MD? I have a Suntar 135mm screwmount lens off of a Yashica TL ElectroX I had and I want a 135 so I wonder? Otherwise I have to figure a way to sell the lens and I can't afford to subscribe here I'm that poor off!!
Terry

 

[wayne naughton]

i bought mine at a camera shop in melbourne for 20 bucks. i think it might work with your lens, but doublecheck, theres plenty of info...just google M42 mount. just make sure it's for minolta. i reckon if you asked around here or at photonet you'd most probably get one. like ralph said check out the pentax group on this site.

wayne

 

[B&Jdude]

Wayne, are you still seeking a source for M42 mount lenses? They seem to come up often in the APUG Classifieds . . . there are two, a 50 and a 28 that just recently were listed.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Terry;

The M-42 to Minolta adapters that I have came from a collection of sources. Local camera shops, KEH (www.keh.com), e-pain, and some others. I have several. There is also an M-39 adapter that will work with Leica Thread Mount lenses, including the FSU and Chinese clones.

Terry, I have several lenses. It might be easier to answer your question about just the lenses that interest you at this time, instead of going through the entire inventory. The sources have been the same as the adapter listed above. Then there is also the point that we are limited to just 1000 characters for each message we type in here.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[wayne naughton]

oh, dear, oh dear...what sort of pandora's box have i opened.... just got a hold of a md 55mm reversal ring and a m42 to minolta af adapter. oh and i found a heap of minolta apochromatic filters... but he wanted far too much for them....so at least they stayed in the shop....what am i gonna do with all of this?????